UniPalm Investment Holdings LTD
Black Economic Empowerment (BEE)
Framework & Initiatives

December 2007

CONTENTS

Company Background

1. Shareholding
2. Employment Equity
3. Empowerment and Social Initiatives - The Youth
4. Affirmative Procurement Strategy
5. Concluding Remarks

COMPANY BACKGROUND

Unipalm has boldly and proudly aligned itself to the empowerment priorities as promoted by the South African government. Unipalm regards itself as a proactive contributor to society and we have adopted the youth as our focus for all our empowerment and social initiatives. In this regards we have contributed in three distinct areas, viz. education, family support and sport.

Unipalm is also driven by its internal commitment to its staff, not only through an employment equity policy but also consistently improving the overall technical abilities of our staff through specialized training.

Unipalm has structured its empowerment initiatives in the following areas;

1. Shareholding

It is the philosophy of the company to contribute to the economic empowerment of previously disadvantaged individuals (PDI) through ownership in Unipalm.

Unipalm Investments Holdings Limited, is a broad based empowerment company with over 400 direct PDI shareholders and over 30 000 beneficiaries through a number of trusts and union based companies.

Unipalm has achieved its mission by having a broad based empowerment company participating in a number of lucrative business opportunities.

A recent report by Empowerdex confirmed the Broad Based empowerment structure of Unipalm.

2. Employment Equity

Unipalm is firmly committed to the principles of Employment Equity throughout the staffing structure of the company.

Unipalm has developed and adopted an Employment Equity policy which is already bearing fruit throughout the company.

On board level, 10 (81%) of the 11 directors are PDI directors of which 3 (27%) are women.

On the staffing front, the focus is to create opportunities for PDI staff to move up the corporate ladder through training and career pathing.

The fundamental approach to affirmative employment adopted in Unipalm has instilled a vibrant working atmosphere blended with different cultures.

3. Empowerment and Social Initiatives - The Youth

Unipalm’s target group is the youth, since it is the youth that will guarantee the sustainability of our democracy and the principles on which it is embedded. The youth however face many challenges including the false allure of drugs. It is already an epidemic in some areas of Gauteng and the Western Cape where TIK has had a destructive impact. The youth who succumb to this false allure of drugs will not be able to contribute as productive citizens in fact they will most likely resort to crime and become a hindrance to the ideal of a safe and secure democracy.

In this regard, Unipalm has structured its initiatives in the areas of sport, family support and education. Through sport we can keep the youth away from crime and drugs giving them a means to positively express their energies. Education is the backbone of successful and stable societies and it is of utmost importance that the private sector support education initiatives.

4. Affirmative Procurement Strategy

Unipalm is fully committed to support government stance on empowerment in all spheres including procurement. In order to achieve its procurement objectives in this regard, the following government definitions are applicable;

• Black-owned businesses: companies 50.1% owned by black persons with effective management control;
• Black-empowered businesses: companies with at least 25.1% together with commensurate control by black persons;
• Black engendered companies: 25.1% owned by black women together with commensurate control by black women;
• Black Youth: any black person between the ages 18 and 35;
• SMME: small, medium and micro enterprises as defined in the National Small Business.

Objective

The objective of Unipalm’s procurement policy is summarized below;

to demonstrate commitment to government black economic empowerment policies by progressing to a point where the majority (50.1%) of Unipalm’s procurement spend is directed towards black empowered, black owned and black engendered companies.

In order to achieve this objective the following steps will be undertaken;

1. Companies (Suppliers) from whom Unipalm purchases services and goods will be informed of the company’s procurement objective;
2. Companies will be requested to submit independent verification of their BEE Status;
3. A database of each supplier will be kept by Unipalm and updated every 6 months;
4. A procurement report will be submitted to the Directors once every 6 months to ensure that the objective is monitored at the highest level;
5. In areas where new goods and/or services are required, preference will be given to black empowered, black owned and black engendered companies. These identified companies will be given an opportunity to quote and will be requested to give independent verification of their BEE Status;
6. Current suppliers who do not have any black ownership will be given an opportunity to do. Unipalm undertakes to discuss a timeframe will each of its current suppliers before other BEE compliant companies are considered.

Concluding Remarks

Unipalm’s empowerment framework is structured along the lines of demonstrating clear support of government’s black economic empowerment stance.

It is within this context that the policy has been developed to provide a practical tool for management without comprising on the efficiency of the company.