B-BBEE: Government to take control of BEE ratings?

The DTI recently announced that it would be looking at “downgrading” verification agencies to fulfil advisory roles only and that the state would be taking over the verification of B-BBEE credentials of the private sector in future. No details were provided on timeframes and how this would actually be accomplished. Presumably existing verification agencies are not too pleased with this announcement and will be seeking legal recourse should it be enforced. However, there may be a silver lining, if the DTI can actually implement something in a reasonable, coherent fashion for a change. At the moment there is massive legal uncertainty in the realm of B-BBEE verification because verification agencies are largely left to their own devices in interpreting the B-BBEE Codes. We have seen numerous instances where their interpretations are not only unreasonable, but patently incorrect. We have even seen instances where different analysts within the same verification agency differ completely on their interpretation and application of the Codes. This simply cannot stand. It may therefore be that having a single, unified verification body could bring more certainty to a very murky and unstable area of the law, but this remains to be seen.

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