Archive for June, 2010
New Mining Charter released
Posted by Keith in BBBEE Knowledge, Charters, True Empowerment on June 30th, 2010
The minister of mineral resources has released the latest mining charter. See http://www.buanews.gov.za/news/10/10063015151001
My only comment before I get down to studying it in great detail is: Why on earth can the mining charter not fall under a charter as contemplated in the B-BBEE codes of good practice?
The new charter still has no relevance to the B-BBEE codes: It was produced and is controlled by the department of mineral resources. It does not use a scorecard. It does set some targets, but nowhere as clear as the B-BBEE codes. The B-BBEE codes allow for charters, so why can’t the mining charter be aligned to the codes and gazetted? Cynics will say that the dti is too slow. Cynics will say that the B-BBEE codes are not good enough for the mining industry. My cynic will say this is the same governmernt we are dealing with and there is no reason why different departments and ministers should not be consistent. If the dti is not good enough, why is it managing the rest of the codes. If is good enough why does the dept of mineral resources not ask the dti to do the job? If the dti’s mandate does not apply to the mining industry why not? If the B-BBEE codes do not apply to the mining industry, why can’t they. If the mining industry has a better set of codes or transformational policies, why does the rest of South Africa not adopt it, and the dti then follow the mining industry?
The main point here is consistency, and by not being consistent the government causes confusion and this fosters excuses to not comply with any of the legislation.
And guess what? The level of compliance remains extremely low.
Referees vs SANAS re-visited
Posted by Keith in Accreditation, General on June 28th, 2010
After watching the Germany/England match with its atrocious refereeing, I have to take back what I said about SANAS. I asked tongue-in-cheek if SANAS accredited FIFA referees. However SANAS are not as bad as the referee, or as bad as FIFA that refuses to investigate or overrule any referee decision. I think the result – Germany winning – was the right outcome as in my opinion Germany were the better team, but referee mistakes leave a bitter taste in the mouth.
I have never been a soccer fan – I personally enjoy watching rugby more, but I fully support the World Cup in South Africa. However the matches, and the irritating prima donna players and poor refereeing, and very aggressive FIFA attitude has not succeeded in converting me to a die-hard soccer fan. After the World Cup is over I’m not going to be a follower of Ronaldo, Messi, etc
The analogy to B-BBEE is right here: Just as I think that FIFA should do everything in its power to bring soccer to the people, and get even more support, the same goes with government, dti and B-BBEE. We need to do everything in our power to show the benefits of BEE and encourage everyone to be as positive about BEE as possible. We should give support to those organisations trying to become compliant. Government should lead the way by encouraging/rewarding companies rather than making life even more difficult for them. And yes, SANAS, or the new accreditation agency appointed to replace SANAS must do a better job.
Does SANAS accredit football referees?
I’m amazed how how different referees handle different games. Many of us believe that the Bafana Bafana vs Uruguay game was badly refereed. The Uruguyan player was offside before he took the ball into the penalty area and was fouled by our goalkeeper. The referee saw it the other way. Another referee never penalised Thierry Henry for handball in the game against Ireland and instead awarded a goal.
There is very little consistency about refereeing decisions. Even the same referee will see different players differently and award a free kick or even a red card, when a bit later on, he will have no problem with a similar incident.
The players now know very well how to play the ref – how to fly theatrically through the air in the hope of getting a free kick. How many times do you see both players claim the free kick, or the throw-in or the corner?
How many times have you seen a referee reverse his decision? The players crowd around him and argue for ages, but he will not even look at the big screen and even if he has made a mistake, is unlikely to reverse the decision, even if he knows he had mad a mistake. The biggest concern is refereeing is inconsistent, and referees do not always apply the law properly.
The only conclusion I can come to is all referees have been accredited by SANAS. That would explain a lot!!!
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