MESSAGE FROM Seara Macheli-Mkhabela, Group Transformation Committee Chairman
Transformation at Altron, “A mission to build a world-class group.”
An important development took place on 9 February 2007, which should make it easier for South African corporations to plan their response to Black Economic Empowerment (BEE). The Department of Trade and Industry (dti) published the BBBEE CoGP, reaching a significant milestone of one of South Africa’s essential consultative processes.
Altron is a very proud South African corporate citizen, having contributed to the formulation of the broad-based BEE framework. We played a central role in developing the information and communications technology (ICT) industry, thus shaping the thinking that eventually saw the birth of the BEE CoGP. Along with other committed corporate citizens of this country, we applaud the dti for giving clarity through these codes, on how BEE can be measured and monitored.
Our commitment to broad-based BEE is also, and more importantly, a priority within our Group. It is summed up in our Vision 2010, which has now been adapted to Vision 2012.
Altron seeks to achieve commercial growth targets by doing good, ie playing our part in increasing the participation of black people in the mainstream economy. This is the gist of the Strategy for Broad-Based BEE, published by the dti in March 2003. By reconciling our growth targets and the policy objectives of BEE, we have implemented and continue to devise means to facilitate South Africa’s economic transformation through:
- Direct empowerment – increasing the level of black ownership of businesses and other financial assets, as well as raising the extent to which black people, especially women, youth, workers, rural communities and the disabled, control enterprises;
- Indirect empowerment – promoting the ownership of sustainable black enterprises by giving preference to black suppliers in procuring our various supplies, and by actively helping black enterprises through training, coaching, mentoring, financial and non-financial support, as well as improving the quality of life in disadvantaged communities; and
- Human resource and organisational development – prioritising the reflection of South Africa’s demographic reality throughout our entire Group by appointing, promoting and retaining black people, with emphasis on women, people with disabilities and the unemployed in the form of learnerships.
Through our Transformation committee (Transcom), we are continually looking at ways to coordinate the initiatives of all our companies into a coherent Group BEE strategy. This strategy is still work in progress, with the overriding consideration being to make Altron a superior contributor to BEE in the long run.
We plan to work with all our stakeholders to make BEE work for our Group companies, their communities and the entire country. This is vital for us, considering that we are in ICT, a priority sector for South Africa, the continent’s New Partnership for Africa’s Development (Nepad) and the global economy.
Transforming our Group companies, therefore, is not a matter of complying with legislation, but playing our part to make the world’s economic growth meaningful and sustainable. Altron should never find itself classified amongst those that see transformation as a matter of mere compliance – we must seek to exceed the targets for the sake of the sustainability of our business and in order to maintain our wellearned position as a leader in our industry.
In ensuring that we meet our Vision 2012 goals we are gearing ourselves to set targets for our senior executives to encourage them to make BEE a priority. BEE will henceforth form part of our ongoing performance management in order to integrate it into business planning and performance.
BEE is central to our mission to building a world-class Group. Our companies have attained varying levels of success in implementing BEE. They will continue to do so to position Altron as a true member of the South African business community.