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Why Need A Council
Recognizing the Constitution of the Republic of SouthAfrica Act 108 of 1996 inter alia, section 9 on equality and unfair discrimination in the Bill of Rights states the imperative of redressing historical and social inequalities;
Further recognizing that the Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) Amendment Act of 2014 seeks to promote the achievement of the right to equality, increase broad based and effective participation of Black people in the economy and promote equal opportunity and equal access to government services; and the accompanying amended BBBEE Generic Code of Good Practice including necessary score card and the empowerment elements contained therein; Also considering the Electronic Communications Amendment Act No.1of2014 seeks to promote the empowerment of Black people, with particular reference to women, youth and people with disabilities; and to promote SMMEs in the ICT sector. In order to address certain inequalities in the Information Communication Technology (ICT) sector as identified by government in terms of the Codes of Good Practice as being of national strategic importance. Stakeholders made up of the industry associations, NEDLAC Community constituency and the DTPS signed and adopted the ICT Sector Code.
INTRODUCTION
The B-BBEE ICT Sector Council was appointed on 24 September 2015, with a mandate to: The custodian of the B-BBEE ICT Sector Code;
- Advise the organs of state on all matters relating to B-BBEE in the ICT sector;
- Monitor and review the implementation of the ICT Sector Code and all related matters;
- Develop and foster common standards and code of ethics in the implementation of ICT Sector Code;
- Assess, evaluate and commission research on specific areas where such research is not available;
- Responsible for the accreditation of the national ICT projects aimed at “bridging the digital divide” conjunction with the existing bodies such as the USAASA, the Digital Divide
- Partnership, ICASA, the CSIR, trade unions, NGOs and other organs of civil society;
- Provide guidance on sector-specific matters affecting B-BBEE in entities in the sector
- Compile reports on the status of B-BBEE within the ICT sector
In appointing the Council, the Minister of Telecommunications and Postal Services made absolutely sure that the Council had representation across all the ICT Sub-Sectors,namely:
→ Electronics
→ Information Technology
→ Telecommunications
→ Broadcasting
The membership was extended to Social partners in the form of the following groups:
→ Youth in ICT
→ Labour Unions
→ Persons with Disability
There was also an addition of representatives from government in the form of the Line Department (DTPS) and the Departments of Telecommunications.
The nomination and appointment to serve in a Council or Board structure of government or government institution is an expression of confidence in an individual and in their ability and competencies in a particular area of responsibility. There is therefore an expectation, fairly or unfairly, that persons appointed to these positions are committed to make a difference in society, and sometimes making some sacrifices doing so.
Government recognises that even volunteerism and sacrificial behaviour need to be reinforced and encouraged with support and adequate support. Such support would be in the form of a budget for the work to be done, including specialised work to be carried out by service providers, logistics for meetings and other activities relating to meetings, workshops, conferences, printing and the time that members spend on Council work.
At a strategic level, the Council was required to:
→ Review and amend the 2012 B-BBEE ICT Sector Code and get it approved by the Line Minister and the Minister of Trade and Industry, gazetted and monitored for implementation. This would include consultative workshops with the Sector and the actual writing of the Amended Code, workshopping it among members and the line Departments and thereafter channelling it through relevant approval processes.
→Development of the B-BBEE ICT Sector Monitoring Report. This process involves requesting B-BBEE Verification Reports from Verification Agencies, capturing the information, computing it to get aggregate results on each of the elements and then the report, which explains the results, analyse them and makes conclusions and recommendations.
→ Provincial Roadshows to promote, educate, explain and advocate around the Amended Code. This involves traveling to different provinces, communicating with stakeholders and responding to queries they raise, whether it be about the Amended code or B-BBEE related issues in general (including complaints).
2. At an Administrative level, the Council was expected to set up processes and systems to enable it to carry out its work, specifically the following:
→ Development of the Council’s Constitution
→ Establishment of Sub-Committees
→ Development, adoption and signing of the Non-Disclosure Agreement
→ Development, Agreement, adoption of the Declaration of Interest Framework
→ Establishment of the Council Website to communicate and interact with Stakeholders (Notices, programmes, information, events etc)
Stakeholder Engagement Framework