Dearth of verification agencies slows down pace of transformation

Despite a six-month delay in enforcing new legislation which made the use of approved verification agencies mandatory, the freight/ transport industry still faces a dearth of black economic empowerment (BEE) agencies qualified in their specific field of industry. This was the result of a complete reversal of the previous policy, where the department of trade and industry had not made the use of a verification agency mandatory. But, in the April 9, 2009 Government Gazette, the minister of trade and industry, Mandisi Mpahlwa, issued a notice that said: “As from August 1, only certificates issued by accredited verification agencies – or one that has a pre-assessment letter from the SA National Accreditation System (Sanas) – will be valid.” Which effectively meant that even those companies in the freight and trading industries that were well advanced in the selfassessment of their BEE ratings would still have to have their final documentation “rubber-stamped” by an accredited verification agency from August 1. But, on that August date, the minister extended the introduction of the policy to February this year – largely driven by a desperate shortage of agencies putting themselves forward for approval. An interesting point to note, according to Keith Levenstein, CEO of empowerment consultants EconoBEE, was that – on August 1 last year, there was not one single agency accredited for the freight and transport sector. That shortage persisted from this February to end April,” he told FTW. “And even now – out of grand total of 35 accredited agents nationwide – there are only three or four that have the approved talents for this industry sector. “That’s causing quite a problem.” What it means is that, after February 1, you could no longer accept just any BEE certificate from your suppliers. That certificate must have been produced by an agency accredited by Sanas. That also means that your own certificate which you supply to your customers must be a certificate produced by an accredited agency. According to Levenstein, there is an added problem. Each sector of industry has to compile a scorecard exclusive to their relevant sector. “The problem here,” he added, “is that there have been agencies which have assured members of the freight/ transport industry that they have the specific qualifications – but are not Sanas-accredited for this sector.” His advice is: Make sure. Ask for firm proof of an agency being accredited to audit companies in the freight/ transport sector before you take them on. And, if you make more than 50% of your income from freight/transport functions you will have to have a scorecard that complies with that sector’s BEE code. “It is as relevant now, if not more so, to calculate and improve your own scorecard before you call in a verification agency,” Levenstein said. “A verification agency’s job is to verify your data, not to just give you a scorecard or certificate on request. Successful companies should work hard at building up a scorecard, getting expert advice, gathering data, calculating their score, and then calling in a verification agency to verify the accuracy of the data.”