Fronting Cripples Economic Transformation – B-BBEE Commission |
| The Executive Manager for Compliance at the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) Commission, Ms Busisiwe Ngwenya says one of the factors contributing to the slow pace of economic transformation is fronting. Ngwenya was addressing more than 750 delegates at the BEE provincial conference in East London.
The purpose of the conference was to educate, create awareness and showcase services from various government entities that are tailor-made to assist businesses, especially Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) and previously disadvantaged individuals to participate meaningfully in the South African economy. According to Ngwenya, the conference sought to empower the delegates to identify instances where they would know immediately when they are being exploited as fronts and prevent this. It was also aimed at identifying empowerment opportunities through enterprise, supplier and skills development programmes. “We are aware that fronting occurs in various ways, and has become even more sophisticated and looks genuine. When signing contracts, read the fine print or get someone who will be able to explain the terms in the simplest form in order to eliminate chances of you being exploited. Many black people sit in executive positions but fail to reap the benefits or take strategic decisions in line with their positions because they are not aware that they are used for fronting,” she said. Ngwenya urged delegates to report to the B-BBEE Commission if they suspected that they were being used for fronting. She added that fronting undermined economic transformation and should therefore be reported for proper consequences to follow.
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