MINING IN FOCUS
B
road-Based Black Economic Empowerment
(B-BBEE) deals in South Africa have
become a controversial subject and remain
politically loaded. For some companies,
it has been a hindrance, with disastrous
consequences. For others, their B-BBEE partners
have brought new ideas, knowledge, experience and
diversity – all key to the growth and sustainability of
an organisation.
For Vincent Raseroka, new chairman
at Johannesburg-based specialist
demolition company Jet
Demolition, the initial Black
Economic Empowerment
(BEE) deals that happened
after 1994 were symbolic
and necessary to
encourage people
previously not part
of the mainstream
economy. “Those
empowerment deals
were beacons of hope,
and benchmarks
of possibility.
Unfortunately, however,
it also cultivated a culture
of entitlement,” Raseroka
tells African Mining.
B-BBEE challenges
Raseroka, who has more than 35-years business
experience, and an impressive resumé, was recently
appointed as chairman of Jet Demolition in a deal that
would see the company achieve a Level 4 B-BBEE rating,
and 51% black ownership. As part of the same deal,
which was concluded in July 2019, Lebogang Letsoalo
was appointed as non-executive director. Letsoala
has extensive experience in supply chain
management, procurement, and project
development, and has 19 years’
experience in holding executive
portfolios within the energy,
chemicals, and mining
industries.
“If you don’t have matching
value systems it is bound to end
in conflict. Any company, and its
partners, should value, most of all,
their people, and if they can’t do that,
they are on the road to failure.
Letsoalo says that BEE
deals have created a
lot of opportunities,
but also many
challenges, and have
exposed a number of
unethical practices.
“One of the biggest
disappointments in
the past has been
that the BEE partners,
in many cases, failed
to learn and actively
participate in the day-
to-day activities of their
business partners. The
perception was that becoming
a partner meant that you became
an investor, and all you would do is
wait for the next dividend payment,” she
says.
“The truth is that you have to learn to be able to grow as
an individual,” she adds. Another challenge, according
to Letsoalo, is that many companies injected capital
into outside organisations without truly empowering
people and small ventures. “The purpose of enterprise
development is to grow and nurture new companies and
service providers so that they can be sustainable in the
future,” Letsoalo says.
Building a legacy
“We have to go back to the basics and realise that one
has to work hard to reap the rewards. You won’t treasure
anything that you haven’t worked for. In the end, it
shouldn’t be about the money, but about the legacy,”
says Raseroka.
“It’s been a long hard road for Jet Demolition to find the
right BEE partners who share the same values, passion,
and ethics,” says Liz Brinkmann, one of the two executive
directors of Jet Demolition. Brinkmann and her husband
Joe founded Jet Demolition in 1994, having evolved from
sister companies Blastech and Jet Technologies. “It took
us 11 years to find the right partners” says Joe. But, for Liz,
Vincent Raseroka, chairman at Jet Demolition.
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African Mining Publication
African Mining
African Mining October 2019
35