DURBAN - A COLLECTIVE of six of South Africa’s broad-based black economic trusts yesterday welcomed Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC) Minister Ebrahim Patel’s public support for their broad-based ownership schemes.
The trusts, Kagiso Charitable Trust, Mineworkers’ Investment Trust, HCI Foundation, Women’s Development Bank Trust, Ditikeni Investment Trust and Wiphold Trusts, have been engaging with the government for the past 24 months to have their status formally recognised under current B-BBEE legislation, and to have this confirmed by the DTIC’s B-BBEE commissioner.
On Friday, Patel stated there was wide agreement that employee ownership schemes where shares vested in the names of individuals constituted genuine black ownership.
He was quoted as saying: “Everyone agrees that (they) fall squarely within the definition of BEE. “On the matter of broad-based trusts that hold equity and their status: I think that these are the pioneers of BEE and should be recognised appropriately, for example, companies such as Kagiso.”
Speaking on behalf of the six trusts, MIC chief executive Mary Bomela said they welcomed Patel’s comments that went some way to put an end to the uncertainty around the status of the pioneering B-BBEE trusts.
BUSINESS REPORT