NEWS RELEASE
TOURISM EMPOWERMENT COUNCIL AND PRIVATE SECTOR
COMMIT TO BEE
The Tourism Empowerment Council of South Africa (TECSA) and 10 private sector stakeholders have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to promote BEE in the tourism sector.
TECSA Chairman Tami Sokutu says the goals of the agreement are to communicate and popularise Broad Based BEE and provide practical implementation support to the private sector and beneficiaries of transformation. “This brings to fruition our stated approach to work in partnership with other relevant stakeholders to bring about transformation and particularly BEE in the tourism sector.
“It will also monitor implementation, report on progress and set up capacity, systems and processes for verification. Furthermore, it will provide incentives to recognise contributors, facilitate implementation of mechanisms to fast-track BEE and advise the Minister on related BEE legislation.”
The 10 organisations are the Federation of Unions of South Africa (FEDUSA), an umbrella body for 26 affiliated trade unions, the Association of South African Travel Agents (ASATA), a non-profit association with more than 500 travel agents and tour operators as members, the Federated Hospitality Association of Southern Africa (FEDHASA), who represents the Southern African hospitality industry to government and other industry operators, as well as its Inland and Cape regions.
Also on board are the Southern Africa Tourism Services Association (SATSA), a non-profit association that represents both small business and principals in the private sector of tourism, the Club Management Association of Southern Africa (CMASA), an association of country, city, social, sports and recreation clubs in Southern Africa, the International Festivals and Events Association (IFEA), representing events across South Africa, BnB Sure, who provides insurance coverage for the bed and breakfast and guesthouse industry and AA Travel Guides, a leader in travel and tourism publishing in South Africa.
Sokutu says this historic agreement between like-minded stakeholders is set to change the face of empowerment in tourism in South Africa, creating an enabling environment for transformation.
“Much has been done since Environmental Affairs and Tourism Minister Martinus van Schalkwyk launched the Tourism BEE scorecard in 2005. The objective of the scorecard was to facilitate transformation in the tourism sector, eventually leading to a charter on how BEE can be monitored and reported on.”
The scorecard provides for transformation in seven areas of business, namely ownership, strategic representation, employment equity, skills development, preferential procurement, enterprise and social development.
Each of these indicators is measured proportionally to a company’s compliance in that area and two targets were set for each indicator – 31 December 2009 and 31 December 2014.
Sokutu says Government, through the Department of Trade and Industry, created a standard framework as the foundation for BEE in South Africa, across all industries. This led to the development of the Codes of Good Practice for Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment, which were gazetted in February last year.
“These codes exempt businesses with an annual turnover of less than R5 million from complying with any of the seven elements, while the tourism scorecard exempts such businesses from the ownership element only. Robust debate followed on whether the tourism industry should decide to stick to its own scorecard.
“The process of aligning the Codes of Good Practice and the tourism industry’s own BEE scorecard is now almost complete and the gazetting of the tourism codes of good BEE practice is expected soon.
“This will speed up the process of transformation in the sector. However, waiting for the codes to be gazetted did not hamper TECSA as a transformation partner, to work hand-in-hand with the private sector to help grow this industry which, undisputedly, has the greatest potential for job creation and foreign exchange earnings.
“Forging links with reputable players in the tourism arena certainly paves the way to exciting transformation in an industry that plays an increasingly important role in building both the South African economy and the country’s branding as a destination of choice,” says Sokutu.
| Issued by: | Martin van Niekerk
Junxion Communications
012 804 8812
083 447 4864 |
| For: | Beulah Mosupye
Tourism Empowerment Council of South Africa
011 384 7630 |
| Date: | 22 April 2008 |