De minimus non curat levenstein

Do you think that the Levenstein household is breaking out the champagne with their self-declared success in the war against "fronting". It would seem almost wrong to point out to their pater familias that he has not in fact won at all. Yes a number of BEE certificates have been recalled on ABVA's instruction, but significantly ABVA has offered no explanation as to why they needed to be withdrawn. Many think that SANAS did this just to get rid of the incessant Levenstein yapping. Of course Levenstein regards this as a victory – the hollowness thereof is obviously not a concern. Perhaps Levenstein is trying to distract himself from the impending defamation cases against him. I have heard that his employees (read – his family) are terribly concerned about his mouthing off. There must be a genuine fear there that he will lead them into litigious hell with nothing to show for it.

Now I am forced to ask the question that everyone is asking, why the crusade? Is Levenstein not aware that he is now viewed as a transformation saboteur, this one deed has wreaked havoc within SANAS, who don't know what to do so they look to the DTI who have said absolutely nothing. It might be (as EconoBEE wrote) "if your scorecard is produced using the wrong sector codes please contact us to help you convert your scorecard into the correct BEE sector scorecard." A very small prize for such a dangerous activity.

The real gist is the DTI's silence. This LevensDiatribe has shown a total lack of leadership from the DTI. This is the department that develops the policy, publishes the codes and ensures that the B-BBEE Act is implemented. When faced with a question that requires a simple matter of interpretation they clam up and leave the decision making to SANAS, resulting in the agent provocateur proclaiming victory and leaving the verification agencies with no sense of where they may or may not have gone wrong. This is a very serious problem with very dangerous consequences. The most serious of which is that one maverick is now running around like a loose cannon informing all and sundry that they are fronting and that their BEE certificates are invalid, and this is in spite of the overwhelming legal opinion that more than suggests that there is no basis for these allegations. And what if he gets away with this – will it now seem that he is able to bully his way through the DTI to pursue his own nefarious ends?

This needs real leadership and so I turn to Rob (him of Davies – sorry Nomonde but I think you've failed dramatically here). You've got to step in here and make some pronouncements that clear this issue up. And this has to be done quickly. I know this is a daunting task especially if you think of the consequences. I mean you could:

1. proclaim that Levenstein is correct. This would effectively remove BEE's voluntary status. You also remove the principle that all sector codes enjoy equal status, along with a number of paragraphs contained in the codes. This would open the way for a legal challenge from some Hugh Glenister type. The only upside is that Levenstein will get off Nomonde's back on this issue, but he may think that he now has the right to bother her about other issues.
2. provide guidance as to the actual status of BEE as a legal requirement. By doing so you will then show when and why a charter might be applicable. This might result in a legal challenge from Levenstein – but I think he might have his hands full with his other defamation cases.

These defamation cases might also detrimentally affect BEE, Rob. In order for Levenstein to succeed in these cases he is going to have to show that the allegations are true in law and that they are in the public interest. In other words a court will need to decide as to whether these charters are (amongst other things) i.) applicable ii) that have been gazetted following the correct procedure, and iii.) they are strong enough documents to stand on their own – because the majority of them are so vague that it's almost impossible to figure out what you are supposed to do with them. Should a court make a negative pronouncement on this, it's only a matter of time before the whole BEE process gets thrown into disarray and we head back to the wild west. Already there is one too many cowboys playing out there, we really don't need your entire transformation strategy to hinge on the interpretations, protestations and declarations of a single loudmouth.