The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) has published new draft employment equity regulations for the ICT sector.<\/p>\n
The purpose of the draft regulations is to \u2018promote equity ownership by Historically Disadvantaged Persons and to promote Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE)\u2019, Icasa said.<\/p>\n
The group said it plans to introduce these changes through:<\/p>\n
Notably, the regulations also introduce strict punishments for non-compliance including a fine not exceeding R5 million or 10% of the company\u2019s annual turnover.<\/p>\n
Icasa said that compliance by existing licensees with these regulations is required within 24 months of being published.<\/p>\n
South African businesses are also preparing for planned\u00a0amendments<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>to the Employment Equity Act (EEA) which promise a number of significant changes to the country\u2019s employment equity laws.<\/p>\n Announced by Labour minister Thulas Nxesi in July 2019, the amendment bill will regulate the setting of\u00a0sector-specific employment targets<\/strong>\u00a0to address the gross under-representation of blacks, women and persons with disabilities.<\/p>\n It will also ensure that an employment equity certificate of compliance becomes a precondition for access to state contracts.<\/p>\n A draft version of the bill\u00a0published<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>at the end of 2018 indicated that the changes being were made to speed up transformation.<\/p>\n The bill states that while the public sector has seen significant changes, the private sector continues to lag behind.<\/p>\n