Telecom to launch BEE procurement policy

TELECOM Namibia will launch a Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) procurement policy to take a proactive approach in redressing socio-economic imbalances in the country, the company announced yesterday.

The policy framework, aimed at the company’s significant supplier base, will be launched in Windhoek next week, and will include a rating system that will be used to evaluate potential suppliers, with BEE measures making up 15 per cent of the scores. Telecom Managing Director Frans Ndoroma said: “Telecom Namibia is committed to the BEE process.We are committed to BEE that is broad-based, the most difficult, yet the most rewarding form of such empowerment possible.”Ndoroma said the planned launch of the policy represents a “courageous” approach on the part of Telecom Namibia to broadening the stakeholder base of the company’s operations to the benefit of the company, the community and the national economy.In order to make a success of the policy, Ndoroma said the company would apply sound business and commercial principles and practices, the principle of Total Cost of Ownership Reduction in making procurement decisions, support the building of BEE supplier capacity, if needed, apply acceptable standards and operating requirements, and target suppliers with significant BEE ownership.”Properly managed, the BEE philosophy holds the promise of strengthening the social fabric by giving vastly greater numbers of people a stake in the economy,” he said.NamPower and mining companies from the south have put in place such similar policies to ensure that previously disadvantaged Namibians get a share of the country’s wealth.Meanwhile, Telecom has also announced it will be hosting the first ICT Summit 2007 with a focus on ‘translating an ICT vision into action’ for countries like Namibia and creating networking opportunities.The summit, which begins on Thursday, will bring together a number of the world’s leading ICT solution providers and will be attended by over 200 delegates, including Government officials, heads of regulatory authorities, senior directors and top management of fixed and mobile network operators and Internet service providers from across Namibia and the SADC region.”This is not a trade show; it is an intimate gathering of key decision makers with a strong emphasis on very high-level networking opportunities,” explained Coenraad Coetzee, general manager of ICT and corporate business solutions at Telecom Namibia.Keynote speakers at the event include representatives from Telecom, Microsoft, Huawei and Nokia Siemens Network.Telecom Managing Director Frans Ndoroma said: “Telecom Namibia is committed to the BEE process.We are committed to BEE that is broad-based, the most difficult, yet the most rewarding form of such empowerment possible.”Ndoroma said the planned launch of the policy represents a “courageous” approach on the part of Telecom Namibia to broadening the stakeholder base of the company’s operations to the benefit of the company, the community and the national economy.In order to make a success of the policy, Ndoroma said the company would apply sound business and commercial principles and practices, the principle of Total Cost of Ownership Reduction in making procurement decisions, support the building of BEE supplier capacity, if needed, apply acceptable standards and operating requirements, and target suppliers with significant BEE ownership.”Properly managed, the BEE philosophy holds the promise of strengthening the social fabric by giving vastly greater numbers of people a stake in the economy,” he said.NamPower and mining companies from the south have put in place such similar policies to ensure that previously disadvantaged Namibians get a share of the country’s wealth.Meanwhile, Telecom has also announced it will be hosting the first ICT Summit 2007 with a focus on ‘translating an ICT vision into action’ for countries like Namibia and creating networking opportunities.The summit, which begins on Thursday, will bring together a number of the world’s leading ICT solution providers and will be attended by over 200 delegates, including Government officials, heads of regulatory authorities, senior directors and top management of fixed and mobile network operators and Internet service providers from across Namibia and the SADC region.”This is not a trade show; it is an intimate gathering of key decision makers with a strong emphasis on very high-level networking opportunities,” explained Coenraad Coetzee, general manager of ICT and corporate business solutions at Telecom Namibia.Keynote speakers at the event include representatives from Telecom, Microsoft, Huawei and Nokia Siemens Network.