Widespread panic was caused when new BEE laws were proposed recently. The new codes were amended so that smaller businesses would have an easier time of becoming BEE compliant and BEE consulting firms believe this is the wrong way to go. In the short term, this seems like a route that is likely to get more businesses involved in the movement. BEE is short for Black Economic Empowerment which is a means of financially righting the wrongs caused by the injustices of the past. In South Africa small to medium sized businesses are those that are defined as having fewer than 50 employees and less than 10 million in turnover. For these companies, all that is required to become BEE is to provide an affidavit.
The problem lies, says leading BEE consulting companies, in the long term fraudulent activities and that there will be those who will take advantage of …