The momentum of reporting by companies on their empowerment activities has stalled and something has to be done to fix it, the head of the Broad-Based BEE (BBBEE) Commission told MPs on Wednesday.
Commissioner Tshediso Matona suggested that companies be incentivised to comply with reporting requirements and that organs of state have to be serious about applying BBBEE laws. A company’s BEE score is supposed to be a critical element in its success in winning state tenders.
The commissioner noted that the sector code councils experience a similar problem of failure to report.
The commission needs enforcement powers to deal with non-reporting, Matona said in an engagement with parliament’s trade, industry & competition committee. No penalties are provided for in the law. “My sense is if companies are not reporting, they are not implementing. There is a habit of non-reporting or inconsistent reporting.”
Organs of state, public entities and companies have to submit their financial statements and annual reports to the commission outlining their compliance with elements of the BBBEE legislation relating to ownership, management control, skills development, enterprise and supplier development, and socio-economic development.
Companies also have to report BBBEE transactions of R25m and above.
Matona said the trajectory of BBBEE policy needs to be reviewed if empowerment and transformation are to be advanced. “We are at a turning point,” he said.
Slowdown in transactions
There was a slowdown in the number of major BBBEE transactions reported, with 22 reported in the first three quarters of 2025/26 compared with 55 in the same period the previous year.
Matona reported that in the first three quarters the commission assessed 106 reports from JSE-listed companies, 76 from organs of state and five from sector education and training authorities. The assessment showed that R5.8bn had been spent on enterprise development, R4.8bn on supplier development and R19.8bn on skills development. The total value of registered BBBEE transactions during this period was R19.6bn.
Since 2017 — when the commission started monitoring the data — R93bn has spent on enterprise and supplier development and about R72bn on skills development.
Read: BBBEE policy is a ‘substantial burden on SA economy’, report states
DA spokesperson on trade, industry & competition Toby Chance said the commission reported “very dismal results” on reporting by companies, which indicated a lack of compliance. “There is compliance fatigue, I would suggest, or a general disinterest, which cannot be good,” he added. The reporting also bears no relation to what is happening in the economy.
MK party MP Siyabonga Gama said BBBEE has gone backwards, with ownership structures of the economy remaining largely unchanged.
Trade, industry & competition minister Parks Tau has announced a review of the BBBEE legislation, which President Cyril Ramaphosa said in his state of the nation address in February would be intended “to refine, realign and strengthen our broad-based BEE framework to ensure that it supports greater transformation and inclusive growth”.
Deputy trade, industry & competition minister Zuko Godlimpi assured committee members that the review will look into the efficacy of existing instruments to achieve desired outcomes. The review panel has not yet been appointed, and the committee will be consulted as to the scope of the review of the legislation, he said.
Matona said the review could address weaknesses of the BBBEE legislation, which are causing reputational damage as to its effectiveness.
Competition Tribunal executives led by chair Mondo Mazwai also briefed the committee on the entity’s performance, highlighting how unfilled vacancies are hampering its work. The tribunal has been criticised for the long time it takes to decide on mergers.
“While we have performed well in dealing with uncontested mergers, for contested mergers and prohibited practices that run for longer periods there is insufficient capacity,” Mondo said, adding that a process is under way to fill the vacancies.
The law provides for a maximum of 15 members of the tribunal but it has only two full-time members, including the chair, and four part-time members, which will reduce to three from April 1.
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