{"id":648869,"date":"2026-05-21T07:12:05","date_gmt":"2026-05-21T05:12:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/?p=648869"},"modified":"2026-05-21T07:36:16","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T05:36:16","slug":"united-states-giant-dell-in-bee-battle-in-south-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/business\/648869-united-states-giant-dell-in-bee-battle-in-south-africa.html","title":{"rendered":"United States giant Dell in BEE battle in South Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Members of South Africa’s Parliament have continued to grill communications minister Solly Malatsi about his stance on US tech giant Dell’s Equity Equivalent Investment Programme (EEIP).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The most recent scrutiny came in a Parliamentary question to Malatsi from MP Sihle Joel Ngubane, a member of the Umkonto weSizwe (MK) party.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ngubane asked Malatsi whether his department had intervened in engagements with Dell Technologies over its transformation commitments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ngubane also asked if the minister was informed of any concerns regarding alleged interference in the work of the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) policies in the ICT Sector Council.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He specifically referred to disputes involving Dell Technologies and the council’s oversight of transformation in the ICT sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The questions followed Malatsi’s recommendation that the Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, Parks Tau, approve a new Dell EEIP certificate for 10 years, following the previous one’s lapse in 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Dell’s proposed EEIP investment exceeds R230 million directly into the local economy, with its value extending far beyond funding opportunities for SMMEs and young people,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Malatsi said that Dell’s investment would provide access to capital and growth support for sustainable expansion and enable the adoption of AI-powered tools to strengthen finance, marketing and operations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also highlighted that Dell would support entrepreneurship and incubation opportunities and advance skills development that enhances digital capability and competitiveness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In his response to Ngubane, Malatsi highlighted how the ICT Sector Council had dragged its feet in considering Dell’s new application. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Malatsi said it was evident that the council has not effectively fulfilled its role in monitoring and evaluating EEIPs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“There has been no functional monitoring and evaluation framework in place, and no performance reports have been provided on the previous Dell EEIP,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“This has contributed to the current concerns regarding oversight and impact.” Malatsi said the department recently concluded an investigation into the functioning of the council.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The minister was considering the next steps based on the findings, but Malatsi said that Dell was concerned that the expiry of its BBBEE certificate was creating business risk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the absence of verified monitoring reports from the council, the department undertook its own assessment of Dell’s EEIP application.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This was based on the information submitted, the strengthened commitments made by Dell following direct engagement, and alignment with the requirements of the ICT Sector Code.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Four months with no answer<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Solly Malatsi, South African Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Malatsi outlined the timeline of events preceding his recommendation to the DTIC that Dell’s new EEIP be approved: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  • 11 February 2025<\/strong> \u2014 Dell approached the department, indicating its intention to apply for a 10-year EEIP programme. The department advised Dell to engage the ICT Sector Council in accordance with the ICT Sector Code.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • 1 August 2025<\/strong> \u2014 The department was copied on correspondence from the deputy chairperson of the council outlining the process and information requirements for the application. <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • 12 August 2025<\/strong> \u2014 The Department was advised that the council had requested information from Dell that was considered to fall outside the scope of its assessment.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • 16 October 2025<\/strong> \u2014 The Ministry wrote to Dell, setting out the information required to support the council’s assessment.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • 17 October 2025 <\/strong>\u2014 Dell submitted additional information to the council, which was acknowledged by the council.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • 31 October 2025<\/strong> \u2014 Department convened a meeting for Dell to present its EEIP, to which the ICT Sector Council was invited and which its deputy chairperson attended. The meeting was to facilitate engagement, not replace the council’s role, the minister said. The council agreed it would continue engaging with Dell to finalise outstanding issues.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • 5 November 2025<\/strong> \u2014 Dell provided the council with its previous EEIP implementation.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • 3 December 2025<\/strong>\u00a0\u2014 The Min<\/span>istry invited Dell to present its application directly to the minister, DCDT director general, and relevant officials.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    He also denied that the ministry or department received correspondence that the council said it sent on 9 December.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    “Internal checks confirmed that there is no record of receipt, and the first sight of this correspondence was when it was shared with my office by the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee,” Malatsi said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Malatsi also said it was not an anomaly or deviation from the EEIP adjudication process for the communications minister to arrive at a different conclusion than the ICT Sector Council.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    “The ICT Sector Council’s role is to assess applications and make a recommendation,” Malatsi said. “This recommendation is advisory in nature and is not binding.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    “The ICT Sector Council’s primary role is to oversee implementation of the ICT Sector Code, monitor compliance, and provide guidance on B-BBEE matters in the sector.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Malatsi said the role did not extend to making binding determinations on EEIP applications, as the recommendation rested with the communications minister.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    He said the minister must lawfully, rationally, and independently consider the application and make a recommendation to the Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, who is the final decision-maker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Expanded geographical reach of Dell’s EEIP<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
    \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    Malatsi said Dell’s application was assessed independently and strengthened through direct engagement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    “My recommendation was made based on the improved quality of the proposal, its alignment with policy and Code requirements, and the conditions imposed to ensure accountability and impact,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    “Where information relating to projects and beneficiaries was not available from the council, this was obtained directly from Dell as part of the department’s assessment process.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    In considering Dell’s application, Malatsi raised specific concerns about the programme’s breadth and impact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    That included expanding the geographical reach of interventions and ensuring more inclusive beneficiation with meaningful impact, particularly in underserved areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    He said the grounds for the approval were outlined in an internal memo prepared for the minister and deputy minister and signed by the director-general, Nonkqubela Jordan-Dyani, on 24 January 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    “Importantly, conditions were also attached to the recommendation, including mandatory twice annual reporting to the Department, to ensure ongoing oversight and accountability,” Malatsi said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Members of Parliament have lambasted communications minister Solly Malatsi’s recommendation that Dell’s new application for a 10-year EEIP be approved without guidance from the ICT Sector Council.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":341042,"featured_media":648937,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[105375,225,52093,66538,12523,105373,18706,105372,76862,105371,2732,105374],"class_list":["post-648869","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","tag-broad-based-black-economic-empowerment-b-bbee","tag-dell","tag-dell-technologies","tag-department-of-communications-and-digital-technologies-dcdt","tag-ict-sector-code","tag-ict-sector-council","tag-parliament","tag-sihle-joel-ngubane","tag-solly-malatsi","tag-umkonto-wesizwe-mk","tag-united-states","tag-us-tech-companies"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/648869"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/341042"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=648869"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/648869\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":648932,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/648869\/revisions\/648932"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/648937"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=648869"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=648869"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=648869"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}