KwaZulu-Natal's BEE ombudsman to tackle fronting
July 24, 2009
It seems that the scourge of fronting in empowerment transactions is still a problem, at least in KwaZulu-Natal. Unlike the more seemingly cosmopolitan Gauteng, some KwaZulu-Natal residents have been unwilling to embrace change, if the campaign against street name changes is anything to go by.
But for those businesses that think they can fudge empowerment, Economic Development and Tourism MEC Michael Mabuyakhulu warned "our government will leave no stone unturned in exposing acts of fronting" under the pretext of broad-based black economic empowerment (BEE). The province previously announced its intention to appoint an ombudsman to deal with broad-based BEE.
Without supporting legislation, the role of the ombudsman, it seems, would be limited to an investigator.
Nevertheless, the office will still be set up ahead of the legislation and until a legal framework is in place any action would be referred to the relevant agency.
But brow beating business into embracing change is really not what the MEC seems to want; instead Mabuyakhulu wants a partnership.
With 117 000 jobs shed in KwaZulu-Natal in the first quarter in the wake of a sharp contraction of 6.7 percent in the province's gross domestic product, a concerted joint effort between business, government and labour is needed.
Premier Zweli Mkhize, and Mabuyakhulu will next month host a summit to discuss strategies to mitigate the impact of the economic crisis.
But let's hope the summit is not just another talk shop. South Africans are still waiting for the national government to present its detailed action plans for South Africa's response to the economic crisis.
Transport service sting
The dispute between Imperial Holdings and the government over the amount owed for transport services provided by the listed transport and mobility group to the now disbanded Scorpions is taking an extremely long time to resolve and finalise.
The amount owing is also escalating by the day and the only winners are likely to be the legal teams representing each of the parties - at the expense of taxpayers.
The amount claimed by Imperial, including R11.35 million in interest, totalled R89.88m in September 2005. However, if Imperial is ultimately successful in its claim, the government will have to pay substantially more than this because interest at the prime rate is payable on the R89.88m from September 2005.
It does not appear that the full amount being claimed by Imperial is in dispute. In fact, the government has submitted a counterclaim for R21.98m.
As the government will use taxpayers' money to settle whatever amount it finally agrees to or is forced to pay through a court order, why has it not made a part payment for this portion of the total amount being claimed? This will, at least partially, reduce the mounting interest.
Another puzzling aspect is that the Transport Department was the custodian of the entire contract for all the participating departments, including the departments of correctional services, health, labour and water affairs and forestry.
Marion Sparg, then chief executive of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), said, in an affidavit filed in support of a High Court application by Imperial for summary judgment against the government for non-payment, that both the NPA and the Transport Department independently of each other in 2003 became aware of serious problems with the implementation and management of the contract.
Sparg said full particulars of these shortcomings and queries were given to Imperial to enable the group to address and resolve them.
She said Imperial was also given the assurance the outstanding amount would be paid once the documentation had been furnished and the queries raised had been explained or resolved, but had not fully and satisfactorily complied with this. This resulted in the suspension of payment.
The puzzling aspect about all of this is that at least five departments, excluding the NPA, were provided with transport services by Imperial's fleet management division. Despite this, neither the Transport Department nor any of the other departments got involved in any legal dispute with Imperial over the amount owing.
In-house land squabbles
Blessing Mphela, the chief land claims commissioner, this week said one of the challenges the commission faced when trying to resolve land claims was the contestation of ownership on tribal land.
"As far as we know, the land belongs to the community and the traditional leaders are supposed to act as trustees. But that is a huge area of contestation," said Mphela.
Mphela and his team said they were also struggling with the municipalities that owned land that has been claimed, particularly in the Western Cape.
It is ironic that processing land restitution claims could be held up by people who should have a better understanding of what the claimants went through when they were removed from their land.
This is another example of how South African leaders have a sense of entitlement to the country's assets and how this has diverted their attention from serving citizens. This habit has contributed to the poor service provision which has led to unruly protests countrywide.
There is also some truth in Mphela's statement that the commission has not received the support it required to fulfil its mandate. A lot of people have been quick to blame the commission for the failures of some of the farms after settlement, forgetting that this is not what it was set up for.
Mphela praised private sector stakeholders such as Mondi and Anglo American for coming to the party. Traditional leaders and municipalities should hang their heads in shame.
Edited by Peter DeIonno. With contributions from Samantha Enslin-Payne, Roy Cokayne and Slindile Khanyile
|
|
