VOA常速英语2008年-Race Consultants Help S. African Companies Impl

By Terry FitzPatrick
Cape¹ Town
21 April 2008

A new type of business consultant² is emerging in South Africa. They help companies complete racial scorecards the government now requires under its black economic empowerment program. Some observers say the consultants³ are vital. But others think they hurt South Africa's effort to transform its apartheid-era economy. For VOA, Terry FitzPatrick reports from Cape Town.

 

Keith Levenstein teaches companies how to cope with a new program intended to change the way South Africans do business. The program, Black Economic Empowerment, or BEE, is a government initiative to move financial control away from whites and into the hands of the country's black majority.

The heart of the program is a racial scorecard that companies must complete each year. It tracks if a business has black owners, managers, employees, trainees⁴ and suppliers. Levenstein goes over the scorecard's point system.

 

"Okay, so let's take a look at the scorecard. Ownership is worth 23 points, 20 for procurement⁵, five for socio-economic development….," he said.

The scorecard rules are complex, with nearly 30 ways to earn black empowerment points. Each category has a target. A company should have 25 percent black ownership. Junior management should be 68 percent black. Half of a company's supplies should come from black-owned firms. A lot is at stake. Only companies with good scorecards will be able to compete for government contracts. Levenstein says this has made business owners confused and afraid.

 

"There's a lot of fear. They're fearful about BEE," he said. "It's a fear of change and not knowing what they really need to do."

This fear has helped launch a new industry: private consultants who provide racial advice and independent auditors⁶ who certify⁷ scorecards are accurate. Levenstein says most advisors⁸ are trustworthy, but many are not.

 

"Lots of companies are jumping on the bandwagon. I get very concerned about them because they honestly don't get the job right," he said. "They simply are attorneys who see that there's a way to make a bit of money."

 

Critics complain that unethical consultants are helping⁹ companies manipulate their BEE scorecards. Mbulelo Bikwani is a member of South Africa's Black Management Forum¹⁰.

 

"BEE is a cry of black people saying: "take us out of this spiral of poverty," said Bikwani. "And if people don't have that philosophy before they jump into consulting, then they would allow certain things that would not advance the cause of BEE to happen, because they want to satisfy their clients."

Paul Hoffman, at South Africa's Center for Constitutional Rights, says a single word describes the new breed of race consultant.

 

"They are parasites¹¹ who are living on the system of black economic empowerment by preparing these fancy little scorecards and making sure that everybody has got their ducks in a row," he said. ""Parasites, that's what they are."

Hoffman says black ownership is the biggest problem with consultants and scorecards. He says white-owned companies are being advised to recruit black partners, whether they are qualified¹² or not, just to earn scorecard points. Hoffman says this does not strengthen the economy.

 

"It lends itself to fronting and tokenism," he said. "And tokenism and fronting are not a way to make a country grow. It's a way to drop a country into corruption¹³ and decline."

 

Hoffman says South Africa needs to focus more on training and education. Mbulelo Bikwani agrees that whites should be transforming their companies not only in the boardroom but on the factory floor. But he says whites should not fear what Black Economic Empowerment is trying to accomplish.

 

"Those companies that are regarded as white companies must not panic," he said. "There is no way they can function and really make money out of a country where the majority of the people are poor. BEE is trying to help those that are poor in order for us to grow the economy."

 

The BEE scorecard program is just beginning. The deadline for companies to complete their first black empowerment report is August. Authorities hope the problems caused by unscrupulous consultants and auditors will end soon. New rules to regulate their industry should take effect in May.

1 cape   

n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风

参考例句：

• I long for a trip to the Cape of Good Hope.我渴望到好望角去旅行。
• She was wearing a cape over her dress.她在外套上披着一件披肩。

2 consultant   

n.顾问；会诊医师，专科医生

参考例句：

• He is a consultant on law affairs to the mayor.他是市长的一个法律顾问。
• Originally,Gar had agreed to come up as a consultant.原来，加尔只答应来充当我们的顾问。

3 consultants   

顾问( consultant的名词复数 )； 高级顾问医生，会诊医生

参考例句：

• a firm of management consultants 管理咨询公司
• There're many consultants in hospital. 医院里有很多会诊医生。

4 trainees   

新兵( trainee的名词复数 )； 练习生； 接受训练的人； 训练中的动物

参考例句：

• We've taken on our full complement of new trainees. 我们招收的新学员已经满额了。
• The trainees were put through an assault course. 受训人员接受了突击训练课程。

5 procurement   

n.采购；获得

参考例句：

• He is in charge of the procurement of materials.他负责物资的采购。
• More and more,human food procurement came to have a dominant effect on their evolution.人类获取食物愈来愈显著地影响到人类的进化。

6 auditors   

n.审计员，稽核员( auditor的名词复数 )；（大学课程的）旁听生

参考例句：

• The company has been in litigation with its previous auditors for a full year. 那家公司与前任审计员已打了整整一年的官司。
• a meeting to discuss the annual accounts and the auditors' report thereon 讨论年度报表及其审计报告的会议

7 certify   

vt.证明，证实；发证书(或执照)给

参考例句：

• I can certify to his good character.我可以证明他品德好。
• This swimming certificate is to certify that I can swim one hundred meters.这张游泳证是用以证明我可以游100米远。

8 advisors   

n.顾问，劝告者( advisor的名词复数 )；（指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• The governors felt that they were being strung along by their advisors. 地方长官感到他们一直在受顾问们的愚弄。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• We will consult together with advisors about her education. 我们将一起和专家商议她的教育事宜。 来自互联网

9 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

10 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

11 parasites   

寄生物( parasite的名词复数 )； 靠他人为生的人； 诸虫

参考例句：

• These symptoms may be referable to virus infection rather than parasites. 这些症状也许是由病毒感染引起的，而与寄生虫无关。
• Kangaroos harbor a vast range of parasites. 袋鼠身上有各种各样的寄生虫。

12 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。

13 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。