THE government, the financial services industry, industry charters in general and verification agencies are all contributing to the continuation of fronting, delegates at the Broad-based Black Economic Empowerment Commission conference on fronting say.Fronting refers to misrepresenting a business as black-owned and run in order to secure contracts, although the real decision-making is done by white people, who also reap the financial benefits. Fronting is a criminal offence under the recently amended Broad-based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) Act.Sisa Ntshona, of the Enterprise Development Council of SA, said at the conference in Midrand on Tuesday that the necessary legislation was in place, but the right intention had to be there as well, and it could not be legislated.Large firms had supplier-development initiatives in place that they applied to all their black suppliers, even those that had run businesses for years. But going through these programmes did not guarantee that ...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.