South African performance review

  Indicator   2009   2008   2007   2006   2005   2004    
  Empowerment rating     BBB   BBB   A   A   A    
  Executive management (% blacks on Bidvest Group Limited board)   26,1   26,1   26,1   29,2   22,6   23,3    
  Employee equity (% blacks as per skills levels 1, 2, 3 of EEA report)   32,2   32,2   28,9   30,9   24,7   24,6    
  Women employees (%)   46,4   46,4   49,1   46,6   44,9   44,2    
  Preferential procurement (R’billion, adjusted in terms of the DTI codes)   17,4   8,4   *   4,1   *   *    
  Total training spend (R’million)   181,4   141,5   118,1   83,0   74,6   58,2    
  Training investment per employee (R)   1 762   1 584   1 344   1 064   982   853    
  Black employees as percentage of those trained   88,9   88,9   88,0   81,2   83,0   86,7    
  CSI spend (R’million)    25,3   29,0   32,2   25,7   15,9   10,4    
 *Information not collated, not relevant or not entirely reliable

Corporate social investment is focused mainly on education programmes and community development. Voltex built four classrooms for a rural school in Hammanskraal, while Namsov built facilities for schools in Walvis Bay. Bidvest’s CSI spend totals R33,4 million, R25,3 million in South Africa. McCarthy’s Rally to Read is the Group’s flagship project. The literacy programme delivers books and reading material to thousands of rural schoolchildren.