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Cape Town - Parliament has blasted oil companies, including state-owned PetroSA, for not buying into transformation and has threatened more regulation to force firms to comply.
Aside from Shell, Engen, Total and Chevron, PetroSA was also in the firing line during public hearings on Wednesday on the Liquid Fuels Charter, which was supposed to guide the transformation of the sector for the past decade.
MPs on parliament's energy portfolio committee said oil companies had "just scratched the surface" when it came to transformation, especially employment equity and ownership.
Oil companies and legal experts argued the charter was vague on several issues, especially ownership and equity participation.
Shell said it was the only international oil company to have attained a level 3 broad-based black economic empowerment (BBBEE) rating, and that 74% of its staff was black.
However, co-chairs of the hearings Freddy Adams and Elizabeth Thabethe said this wasn't enough, especially considering that employment equity was "clearly lacking" in positions of authority and decision-making.
PetroSA also came under fire for employment equity. Although it has a BBBEE level 2 rating, Thabethe agreed with other ANC MPs who suggested that oil companies were wasting parliament's time with presentations that lacked substance.
"PetroSA should be leading by example. But it is not. When is this caravan going to move? These companies are just using nice words to try and make it look like they have achieved (transformation targets)."
PetroSA agreed that it had not done enough, and promised to do more.
Chevron Southern Africa agreed that much more needed to be achieved, but highlighted how the company had done a BEE deal in 2002 which saw 25% of Chevron Southern Africa being sold to a broad-based consortium. The company stressed that this deal would be "fully funded" by October 2010 - well ahead of the 2013 deadline.
While Chevron also pegged its employment equity at 74%, it conceded that the greatest challenge was achieving employment equity at senior management and executive levels.
Thabethe, however, failed to be impressed, saying that no real progress was being made in this sector. Parliament, she said, would have to consider ways to amend legislation as well as the charter to force transformation.
- Fin24.com
Aside from Shell, Engen, Total and Chevron, PetroSA was also in the firing line during public hearings on Wednesday on the Liquid Fuels Charter, which was supposed to guide the transformation of the sector for the past decade.
MPs on parliament's energy portfolio committee said oil companies had "just scratched the surface" when it came to transformation, especially employment equity and ownership.
Oil companies and legal experts argued the charter was vague on several issues, especially ownership and equity participation.
Shell said it was the only international oil company to have attained a level 3 broad-based black economic empowerment (BBBEE) rating, and that 74% of its staff was black.
However, co-chairs of the hearings Freddy Adams and Elizabeth Thabethe said this wasn't enough, especially considering that employment equity was "clearly lacking" in positions of authority and decision-making.
PetroSA also came under fire for employment equity. Although it has a BBBEE level 2 rating, Thabethe agreed with other ANC MPs who suggested that oil companies were wasting parliament's time with presentations that lacked substance.
"PetroSA should be leading by example. But it is not. When is this caravan going to move? These companies are just using nice words to try and make it look like they have achieved (transformation targets)."
PetroSA agreed that it had not done enough, and promised to do more.
Chevron Southern Africa agreed that much more needed to be achieved, but highlighted how the company had done a BEE deal in 2002 which saw 25% of Chevron Southern Africa being sold to a broad-based consortium. The company stressed that this deal would be "fully funded" by October 2010 - well ahead of the 2013 deadline.
While Chevron also pegged its employment equity at 74%, it conceded that the greatest challenge was achieving employment equity at senior management and executive levels.
Thabethe, however, failed to be impressed, saying that no real progress was being made in this sector. Parliament, she said, would have to consider ways to amend legislation as well as the charter to force transformation.
- Fin24.com
