We consider it a business imperative
to have among our empowerment partners leading
black business groups which will provide leadership
in assisting our management to meet our strategic
business objective in a rapidly transforming South
African banking environment.
The charter’s six core commitments have been translated
into key business objectives for the financial sector.
These commitments cover human resource development,
ownership and control, access to financial services,
procurement, empowerment financing and corporate
social investment.
We, at Standard Bank, view the charter as being
core to our business as transformation and empowerment
are fundamental to the future growth and sustainability
of the financial sector and the South African
economy. The seriousness with which the charter
is being implemented is evident from the progress
we have made since the charter’s launch in 2003.
An immense amount of work was concluded in 2004
that further defined and quantified certain objectives
and key targets. This was achieved by a number
of industry work groups in collaboration with
other stakeholders. The composition of the charter
council was finalised, and certain other key technical
details clarified in 2004. There are a couple
of outstanding definitions and interpretations
that need to be agreed by the charter council.
To ensure the success of the charter’s implementation,
it is essential that it becomes an integral
part
of routine business operations and that our key
achievements be accounted for as part of our
corporate,
financial and operational performance. The scorecard
will be submitted to the charter council for
ratification,
as soon as the council has made decisions on
the outstanding issues referred to above.
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