SAfrica's trade dept says Sasol BEE misses target

By James Macharia

JOHANNESBURG, Sept 14 (Reuters) - South Africa's department of trade and industry (DTI) said on Friday that Sasol's (SOLJ.J: Quote, Profile, Research) affirmative action plan, the country's biggest yet, fell short of empowerment targets because it envisages selling shares to some white employees.

Sasol, the world's largest maker of oil from coal, on Monday announced the biggest black empowerment deal since the end of apartheid, saying it would sell 10 percent of the company to blacks for 18 billion rand ($2.50 billion).

Under Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) codes, the government is asking companies to sell a particular portion of their stake to blacks to redress the wrongs of apartheid, during which blacks were excluded from the mainstrean economy.

The government has set targets for different sectors, and Sasol would likely not meet its targets by including whites under its scheme, the DTI said in a statement.

But Sasol defended the plan, adding it was fully aware that it could not include white employees in the calculation for credits under the DTI's Codes of Good Practice.

It said even with the inclusion of white employees in the employee share ownership (ESOP) scheme, the company would meet the targets set for firms in its sector.

The DTI had said it was concerned that Sasol's proposed ESOP falls short of the level of empowerment envisioned in the Codes of Good Practice for broad based BEE.

"The BEE Act and its accompanying Codes of Good Practice were specifically intended for the benefit of black South African citizens," the DTI said in a statement.