Master Builders South Africa (MBSA) last month called on its members to get firmly behind the transformation goals of the newly released draft construction sector code for black economic empowerment (BEE).
The revised code evolved from the 2009 construction sector code, which the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) repealed in February. It sets higher and stricter targets for BEE in terms of ownership, management and procurement, while purposely closing many of the loopholes being used for fronting or misrepresenting BEE compliance.
MBSA executive director Roy Mnisi says the association wholeheartedly supports the new draft code and believes it is critical to attaining the country’s development agenda, as adoption of the code will broaden economic participation in industry while driving growth, job creation, skills development and poverty alleviation.
“We therefore want to encourage and support all our members to adopt and comply with the new code,” he avers, explaining that the draft code will be open for comment for a 60-day period subsequent to being gazetted.
Mnisi predicts that the final sector code will be gazetted in October.
“Rather than being punitive, we want to get behind our members and assist them in whatever way possible to meet the new goals set out by the CSCC. With the adoption of the new code, the construction industry has the opportunity to become a beacon of transformation in the country and we want all master builders to be part of it.”
While the new draft code is available from the CSCC and will be gazetted in the near future, MBSA is discussing, in-depth, the requirements of the new draft code at its yearly Master Builders Congress currently being held in KZN.
