Servest Group: A Level 4 B-BBEE Organisation

Over the last decade and a half very few topics within our country have generated the debate and discussion as the policy of black economic empowerment. To the man on the street the term is largely linked to affirmative action and the idea of increasing employment opportunities amongst previously disadvantaged communities. Whilst the strategy definitely includes employment equity as an element, broad based black economic empowerment (B-BBEE) is more a holistic strategy for national economic growth, and aims to address the weakest part of South Africa’s economy: inequality.

An economy cannot achieve its’ full potential without the participation of all its citizens, and to this end South Africa’s B-BBEE policy aims to achieve the following:

• Empower more black people to own and manage enterprises. Enterprises are regarded as black-owned if 51% of the enterprise is owned by black people, and black people have substantial management control of the business.
• Achieve a substantial change in the racial composition of ownership and management structures and in the skilled occupations of existing and new enterprises.
• Promote access to finance for black economic empowerment.
• Empower rural and local communities by enabling their access to economic activities, land, infrastructure, ownership and skills.
• Promote human resource development of black people through, for example, mentorships, learnerships and internships.
• Increase the extent to which communities, workers, co-operatives and other collective enterprises own and manage existing and new enterprises, and increase their access to economic activities, infrastructure and skills.
• Ensure that black-owned enterprises benefit from the government's preferential procurement policies.
• Assist in the development of the operational and financial capacity of BEE enterprises, especially small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) and black-owned enterprises.
• Increase the extent to which black women own and manage existing and new enterprises, and facilitate their access to economic activities, infrastructure and skills training.

A standard code of good practice was developed in 2007 to help businesses achieve their B-BBEE compliance. The 7 elements of the code are outlined below:

B-BBEE SCORECARD

Element Points

Ownership 20

Management control 10

Employment equity 15

Skills development 15

Preferential procurement 20

Enterprise development 15

Socio-economic development 5

TOTAL 100

Servest Group is proud to be recognised as a Level 4 contributor meaning it scores between 65 and 75 points on the above scale. We are rated annually by a SANAS approved rating agency and it remains a strategic imperative to continue our efforts to contribute to South Africa’s broad based economic growth. If you have any questions regarding Servest’s B-BBEE initiatives and the B-BBEE benefits of doing business with Servest, please contact us via our website.