First allocations of Santam's BBBEE staff trust made

Santam has this week successfully made the first allocations to staff from the Santam Black Economic Empowerment Staff Trust. The Staff Trust forms part of Santam’s bigger Broad-based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) transaction that acquired 10% of Santam’s issued shares at R82 per share inMay2007.

Ian Kirk, Santam CE, says even though a lot has been done towards meeting the objectives of BBBEE over the years, economic inequalities are still deeply embedded in our society.

“We are delighted that our own staff corps is the first to experience real benefit from the overall Santam BBBEE initiative. As a Santam shareholder, staff will directly participate in the success of the Santam business.

“The primary aims of the BEE Staff scheme are to create an ownership initiative for all qualifying black staff in order for staff to understand and participate in an ownership process, as well as to establish a continuous mechanism for the recruitment and retention of targeted black employees, in order to ensure significant longer-term organisational performance improvements.”

Kirk says Santam has done the entire BBBEE deal because “we believe it will be good for Santam.”

“Successful transformation will make for a much stronger, more competitive Santam and that will be good for all of us. It will also enable us to participate and contribute sustainably within the South African economy. If you consider the environment we are part of and our future client base it is very important for the long term growth, profitability and sustainability of Santam that we focus on transformation.

“We need to position ourselves as a company that attracts a diversity of staff and as a brand that a diversity of clients want to be associated with. Our transformation efforts are thus actually aimed at securing the future of all Santammers,” he says.

Besides the Staff Trust (26%), Santam’s BBBEE transaction also includes two more trusts, namely:

* the Business Partners Trust as to 49% (which will include black brokers and strategic business partners); and

* the Community Trust as to 25% (which will focus on specific community projects).

Santam will now focus on allocations to the participants of the Business Partners trust and Community Trust, which will made during the first half of 2008.