It will be fair to say that 2018 started with much more certainty than 2017 did. At the same time last year various Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) Sector Codes were only in draft format and not yet aligned with the amended Codes of Good Practice. Out of a planning and budgeting point of view, it made life very difficult for all entities operating in any of the affected industries.
Since April 2017, 5 additional amended Sector Codes were published in the Government Gazette. The amended Forestry and Property Sector Codes were gazetted during April and June 2017 respectively and the amended Construction, Financial and AgriBEE Sector Codes were gazetted in December 2017. All the amended Sector Codes came into operation with immediate effect and it is therefore now compulsory to be verified in terms of the amended Sector Codes.
Only the Transport Sector Code is still in draft format and not yet aligned with the amended Codes of Good Practice. The 2009 Transport Sector Code is thus still applicable. All other industries are now in a position to focus on planning for their next verification without having to worry about the possibility of a new set of rules being issued without prior warning.
The following table represents a list of all the various amended Sector Codes with the dates of when they became operational:
| Sector Code | Effective Date |
| Tourism Sector Code | 20 November 2015 |
| Marketing, Advertising and Communications Sector Code | 01 April 2016 |
| Information and Communication Technologies Sector Code | 07 November 2016 |
| Forestry Sector Code | 21 April 2017 |
| Property Sector Code | 09 June 2017 |
| Construction Sector Code | 01 December 2017 |
| Financial Sector Code | 01 December 2017 |
| AgriBEE Sector Code | 08 December 2017 |
Should an entity fall within the scope of any of the abovementioned Sector Codes, it is important to ensure that the correct targets are used for all contributions towards Skills Development, Supplier Development, Enterprise Development and Socio-Economic Development.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Bernard du Preez is an admitted Attorney of the High Court who obtained his B.Com (Law) and LLB degrees at the University of the Free State. Bernard currently holds the position of SEESA BEE Provincial Manager at our Cape Town office.