Estate agents, licences and BEE scorecards. They want a level 8, let's give them a level 2

Before I launch into why this is a travesty and an application of extremely arbitrary flexing of authority that is not backed by anything related to legislation, I will say the following, in a large font

THE PPRA WANT A LEVEL 8.  WE ARE GOING TO GIVE THEM A LEVEL 2.  YOU STILL RETAIN CONTROL OF YOUR BUSINESS AND THE BEE CODES HAVE NO PROBLEM WITH IT.  MOST IMPORTANTLY THERE ARE NO TAX IMPLICATIONS.  GO TO AANDELE, FILL IN THE FORMS AND WE'LL SORT IT OUT

I agree with Piet le Roux who told Stephen Grootes (who strangely enough was an awful interviewer in this instance) that the BEE requirement for a Fidelity Fund Certificate is a level 8 and that this was wholly unconstitutional and arbitrary.  Piet argues that legal manager and acting transformation manager at the PPRA, Deli Nkambule may want a level 8 now but what's stopping them from asking for a level 7 the year after.

I was messaging Piet at the same time telling him that getting to a level 8 is a very expensive process.  If you haven't got ownership then you'll need skills, ED, SD and SED and you'd better hope that your procurement is OK.  Rudolf and I have just come back from a large QSE that needs a level 8 and they don't get to the level 7 to drop to a level 8. 

What grates me is that both Ms Deli and her boss Thato Ramaili don't understand what it takes to be a level 8.  And I quote

“the PPRA’s position is that it will not issue an FFC unless a compliant BEE certificate accompanies the application. The accepted level of compliance is 40 points or more (BEE Level 8). You will not be issued a BEE certificate if you score below 40 (making your BEE certificate non-compliant).”

Getting to 40 points without ownership means you need 55 points.  And if your business is 51% black owned and you turnover less than R50m then it's an affidavit, not cost and you're a level 2.

I come back to what I said.  This is a game.  You want a solution that gets you to a level 2, costs you a fraction of what it would cost to get to a level 8 and you keep control. I have one - you call now.  It's a game, the rules are never consistent but we are.