BEE Policy & Strategy

Background

Black Economic Empowerment

Whilst we acknowledge that there is currently no national consensus on the definition of Black Economic Empowerment (BEE), our organisation, Hambanathi, however, subscribes to a broadly accepted definition that has both been tested and debated in the media. The following definition was, subsequently, officially adopted by the BEE Commission, whose findings are largely anticipated to significantly inform the proposed legislation on empowerment:

BEE is an integrated and coherent socio-economic process that is located within the context of the country’s national transformation programme, namely, the RDP.

The RDP is aimed at redressing the imbalances of the past by seeking to substantially and equitably transfer and confer the ownership, management and control of South Africa’s financial and economic resources to the majority of its citizens.
It seeks to ensure broader and meaningful participation in the economy by Black people in order to achieve sustainable development and prosperity.

BEE Framework

The formation of Hambanathi was reengineered and re-modelled steeply on the basic tenets of the BEE framework, to ensure that empowerment permeates all levels, spheres and facets of our business. Briefly, these are:

Equity: The Black empowerment component in terms of shareholding exceeds the absolute minimum requirement of 30% at 58%. In practical terms, this translates into massive significant voting rights on the Board.

Control:Control in the case of our Company centres around the authority and power to manage assets, the goodwill and operations of a business, the determination of policies and the directing of business operations. This (control by Blacks) is demonstrated at two levels within Hambanathi:

Ownership:, management responsibilities and the assuming of risk. Individuals from a previously disadvantaged background occupy most of the key management positions, including, inter alias, a strategically critical position of the Chief Executive Officer.

As indicated above, the majority of voting rights on the Board are in the hands of its Black empowerment component.

Operational Management: Hambanathi is steadfastly balancing the scales in terms of ratios, by appointing previously disadvantaged individuals (PDI’s) to significant positions within our operational structures, particularly Managers and Key Account Managers of our travel agency.

The HDI’s now hold over 77% of the critical operational positions. This is hailed as a great achievement against the backdrop of the legacy of South Africa’s recent past.

Hambanathi prides itself on service delivery supported by sound corporate values. The Company fully subscribes to ideologies that seek to advance social justice, Black empowerment equity, as envisaged by the Employment Equity Act, Promotion of Equality Act, Black Economic Empowerment Bill, and the South African Constitution.

The organisation has further made remarkable strides in its quest to entrench a service-oriented corporate culture. There is a commitment to invest in the human resource development within the organisation, which investment will translate into the inculcation of this new culture, as a profit strategy.

To realise the aspirations of our empowerment policies, Hambanathi has identified the following three (3) key instruments that will serve as pivots of delivery.

Employment Equity

In Hambanathi’s understanding, Employment Equity seeks to level the playing fields by bringing onboard previously disadvantaged individuals and further, to de-racialise and democratize our workplace, with an ultimate goal of fully transforming the corporate landscape to become reflective and representative of all national demographics.

As an organisation entrenching itself as a player of note in the industry, Hambanathi fully endorses what the mandate of EE seeks to achieve. To this end, we use acceptable measures within the confines of the provisions of an Affirmative Action policy, to ensure that persons who were previously discriminated against on the basis of race, gender, physical status and otherwise, play a meaningful role.

The Human Resources (HR) management of Hambanathi shall ensure that - whilst we espouse values that seek to entrench our Company as an equal opportunity employer - first preference is given to PDI’s where such feasible opportunities arise in order to fast track the process of transforming the face of our organisation. We believe that a greater cultural diversity in the Company will produce a more effective organisation in Southern Africa.

However, in order to guard against exposing ourselves to perils of token appointments, thereby defeating our good intentions, we have devised specific programmes that seek to groom and prepare those earmarked for possible future responsibilities.

Affirmative Procurement Policy

An Affirmative Procurement Policy is a procurement policy, which uses procurement as an instrument of social policy in South Africa to affirm the changed or changing environment, government’s socio-economic objectives and the principles for the Reconstruction and Development Programme.

We believe that the “unlocking” of the country’s full economic potential can only benefit all those that participate in it. For this reason, we believe that previously disadvantaged groups should be afforded a platform to release their entrepreneurial abilities.

We realise and acknowledge that established businesses like ourselves have to play an active role in supporting and uplifting Small & Medium Enterprises conforming to the aspirations of Black Economic Empowerment Policies of our country.

To further this purpose, the Company will align its policies to capture the essence of the above undertaking in as far as business partnerships, sponsorships, donations and procurement. Please refer to our guidelines on the next page.

The reality of the South African situation is that there is a legacy that may hamper and bottleneck progress in terms of appointing ABE’s as suppliers particularly in highly specialised, technical fields. An example would be Information Technology. In such cases, Hambanathi in awarding contracts shall always endeavour to blend emerging practitioners with a reasonably good measure of experience. The purpose is to facilitate meaningful skills transfer and cross-learning processes. We are also awaiting some of our contracts with suppliers to run their full course before they are subjected to reviews. In future, the formation of our suppliers’ organisations will have a major bearing on our deliberations.

Guidelines

Business Partnerships

In seeking appropriate business partners as might be necessitated by economic conditions, the Company will only deal with organisations that are adequately representative of our national demographics in their equity structures.

Sponsorships & Donations

These would be advanced only to organisations whose aim is to advance social equity, justice and who possess a successful record in the general upliftment of communities.

Procurement

The Company’s expenditure has a very direct bearing on the prosperity of those that receive the money. Care would be taken to ensure that the money is spent on organisations that need it the most and that conform to the Black Empowerment Policy of our country. To achieve this, the Company undertakes that 75% of its total annual expenditure is expended on organisations that fulfill the aspirations of the Black Economic Empowerment Bill.
Monitoring

Hambanathi is responsible for monitoring and ensuring compliance with these undertakings and in addition, adherence to statutory laws.