AmCham hints at new multinational offering

Johannesburg, 04 Jun 2004

The American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) has hinted that a group of multinationals may present "specific offerings" to the ICT Empowerment Charter working group at this weekend's meeting in which AmCham will act as a mediator.

A group of ICT multinationals will meet the Empowerment Charter working group and AmCham representatives in Johannesburg this weekend to discuss issues in the proposed Charter.

Luanne Grant, AmCham executive director, says the multinationals have prepared an official response to the third draft of the Charter and aim to discuss issues around scorecard requirements, equity ownership and "specific offerings" that they will discuss with the working group.

However, Grant would not elaborate on the contents of the "specific offerings" or whether the multinationals were changing their stance from their initial submission to the working group last year in which they suggested equity equivalents instead of black equity ownership.

Grant reiterates the value that multinationals bring to SA and the process of transformation. "Many International companies have different offerings to contribute to the growth of an effective and vibrant local ICT economy, and these should not be discarded in the process," she says.

"Members of AmCham represent some of the major suppliers, employers and contributors to the development of the ICT industry and are deeply committed to the black economic empowerment."

She reaffirms AmCham`s support to the ICT Charter in further promoting transformation within the ICT sector. "For many years the chamber and its member companies have taken significant steps to increase broad-based black empowerment. The Group fully supports the goals of the Charter in effectively managing the transformation process within the industry," she says.

AmCham ICT industry members include: Accenture, Dell, IBM, Microsoft, Novell, Veritas, HP, Intel, Oracle, Unisys, EDS, Cisco, Sun Microsystems, PeopleSoft, Computer Associates, SAS, DST Intl and Progress Software.