The Minister of Trade and Industry, Dr Rob Davies, has invited the public to give input and comment on the Draft Amended Construction Sector Code gazetted in terms of the Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) Act.
The closing date for comments is 28 December 2016.
“The Construction Sector Code remains one of the key sector codes that affect domestic infrastructural development and as such is one of the catalysts for the implementation of B-BBEE in the country,” said Davies. “One of the key unique features of the draft sector code is that the target for Black Ownership is set at 35% (32.5% for the first four years of implementation thereafter 35%). This is higher than the ownership target for the generic codes and it is the second highest black ownership target, behind the black ownership target of 40% of the Media and Advertising Sector Code (MAC),” he said.
The code further stipulates that at least 50% of black shareholding needs to be held by professionals, so as to discourage passive shareholding.
“The Amended Construction Sector Code recognises that the nature of the construction sector is that it is dominated by joint ventures and outsourcing,” said Davies. “However, in order to ensure that outsourcing does not dilute actual benefits accruing to black people, it stipulates that no more than 25% of the value of a contract can be outsourced to an entity or entities with a lower B-BBEE status Level.”
