Sorry, No donations to whites allowed!

2 November 2012 PLATINUM WEEKLY, 11 Marais Street, Tel: 014 592 5245 Fax: 011 252 6669, E-mail: news@platinumweekly.co.za

Sorry, 

No donations to 

whites allowed!

The work of numerous shelters like Childline would not be possible without the generosity and compas sion of businesses, individuals, De partment of Health and Social De velopment that fund them.

In terms of section 18A of the In come Tax Act, donations to Public Benefit Organizations’ such as the above non-profit organisations are tax deductible and businesses used to be able to also earn points on it’s BEE scorecard by donating to registered institutions like Childline. Not for long anymore if a new pro posed bill is approved. Businesses could lose black economic empow erment points for making donations to charities which do not have 100 percent black beneficiaries, it was reported on Thursday. The Plati num Weekly thought it to be a hoax and immediately investigated. Yes, Ripleys believe it or not, black on white (so to speak), on the website of the DTI, a confirmation of the above mentioned. Ammendmends was proposed to the BEE Codes of Good Practice, on the trade and industry department’s website, and available for public comment until December 2. “All stakeholders who have concerns and objections are requested to make use of the 60-day period to make their submis sion,” the department said.

Bridget Brun, a Durban BEE agen cy head, told the media: “This amendment will have a huge effect. It means that if the charity benefits any Indian, white, coloured or even a Mozambican or Zimbabwean child, companies will not be able to claim points on their BEE score card. We are going to have seg regated facilities.” Childline head Joan van Niekerk said BEE laws were becoming ridiculous.

“We don’t know the race of the child who phones us. It’s inappropriate to ask, ‘Are you black, and how black are you?’ This is a different kind of apartheid.”