DTI names first accredited B-BBEE verification agencies

The Department of Trade and Industry has recorded another milestone on its Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) journey with the appointment of the first accredited verification agencies. It’s a development that will be welcomed by the industry which has until now faced a difficult dilemma. A local agent for a line on the Far East trade recently commented to FTW: “Tenders are being received from the larger export houses which are requesting shipping lines and agents to confirm their progress on BEE, and give scorecard ratings. “But we are faced with a horrific problem. How do you get a rating if no accredited verification agencies are appointed yet?” And this problem has not just been confined to the shipping industry. The uncertainty ended last week when the first accredited BEE Verification Agencies (VAs) were named. The development coincides with the second anniversary of the gazetting of the B-BBEE Codes of Good Practice. Some 80 VAs have applied for accreditation and all the applicants are currently at various stages of the process, which entails document review, pre-assessment and final assessment. Those already accredited include BEE Matrix, BEE Verification Agency, DRGSiyaya, Emex Trust, Empowerdex, Empowerlogic, Honeycomb, NERA – Gauteng, NERA – KZN and NERA Western Cape. ”Final assessments are however still in progress,” a dti spokesman said. The dti website will be continuously updated as additional VAs successfully complete the accreditation process.