![[South Africa] B-BBEE Commission to embark on provincial conferences rollout](Images/2019/05/the dti b-bbee.jpg)
[South Africa] B-BBEE Commission to embark on provincial conferences rollout
The Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) Commission will embark on a series of provincial conferences 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.
The provincial conferences will kick-off in Mpumalanga on 13 June 2019 and will continue until March 2020. Entities that will form part of the conferences include Departments of Small Business Development, National Treasury, Labour, Companies and Intellectual Properties Commission (CIPC), Small Enterprise Development Agency (SEDA), South African Revenue Service (SARS), Small Enterprise Finance Agency (SEFA) and the National Empowerment Fund (NEF).
The B-BBEE Commission is a statutory entity operating under the Department of Trade and Industry (the dti) as a watchdog over B-BBEE policy implementation. The B-BBEE Commissioner, Ms Zodwa Ntuli, says that the commission as a public entity is mandated, amongst others, to oversee, supervise and promote adherence to the B-BBEE Act in the interest of the public and to promote advocacy, access to opportunities, educational programmes and initiatives of B-BBEE.
“The provincial conferences form part of a major education and awareness programme that will benefit small businesses and black people that are unaware of the economic benefits that government policies provide, especially those that are associated with B-BBEE,” said Ntuli.
Ntuli added that the B-BBEE Commission will continuously communicate with the public regarding various aspects of the B-BBEE Act that would go a long way in enlightening South Africans to identify instances where they will know immediately when they are being exploited as fronts and prevent these, and also to identify empowerment opportunities such as enterprise and skills development programmes.
