/ 18 June 2009

Govt tightens BEE verification laws

From the first of August, only organisations approved by the SA National Accreditation System will be allowed to issue BEE verification certificates.

From the first of August, only organisations approved by the South African National Accreditation System (Sanas) will be allowed to issue BEE verification certificates and self-assessments will no longer be accepted as proof of BEE procurement.

Verification certificates issued by a Sanas-approved agencies or agencies in possession of a valid pre-assessment letter from Sanas are the only form of evidence that will now be accepted as evidence verifying BEE procurement.

Verification agencies assess, verify and validate a company’s BEE status for compliance with the government’s BEE codes of good practice. The company is then given a rating, which is stated on the verification certificate.

‘In the past, verification agencies were not regulated. Anyone could issue BEE verification certificates,” Andile Tlhoaele, chairperson of the Association of BEE Verification Agencies (ABVA), told the Mail & Guardian Online on Thursday.

‘If you have two verification agencies investigating a company, they should produce the same scores as the same methodology [for assessment] has been used,” he said.

But because there was no regulations in place, the agencies could produce mismatched results.

‘However, with the new regulations, verification agencies have to adhere to stringent rules set by Sanas. This, says Tlhoaele, will ensure the consistent implementation of the code.

Tlhoaele believes getting rid of self-assessments is a positive move as some organisations ‘took advantage” of the provision.

‘There’s a risk attached to a self-assessment process because by definition, a consultant has been employed.”

He said in some cases consultants did not follow the verification manual, and ‘had the potential to misstate or circumvent” the codes of good practice.

According to ABVA, the new regulations will simplify the process of verifying BEE status for both companies submitting tenders and for procurement officers.