Kelly Burke

By Devan Moonsamy, CEO of The ICHAF Training Institute A sound policy structure in the workplace is an insurance blanket against many common problems. It protects both employer and employee. But having a great policy will make no difference if personnel are not aware of it. They should be expected to know, understand and follow its guidelines and rules. Not all employees have the time to go through policy documents, however, and it can be tedious reading. The best thing to do is to give employees a summary of the policy. They can be asked to sign in agreement with the policy, which will encourage them to get to know its provisions well. What works even better is to train employees on the policy, for example, by putting them through a workshop. This need not be a dreary affair. In fact, it can be really fun if approached in the right way and if it focusses on how the policy benefits the employee. The right facilitator can ensure staff understand, but don’t feel overburdened by the new policy provisions. This is a very effective preventative measure which ensures employees know exactly what is expected of them and what their rights are. People often focus a lot on what went wrong, especially reactively after a problem arises, such as a nasty incident between co-workers. But telling staff what they can and should be doing at work beforehand is more effective than just giving them a long list of what they can’t do. This helps them focus on being productive and getting along rather than worrying about how they might slip up. Teaching and emulating good behaviour is also vital. Management sets the standard of behaviour. Employees never know everything they need to when starting a new job. There’s always things to learn, and it is extremely effective when one is taught the right behaviour as early on as possible. The policy document itself is a critical backup. Staff members trained on key organisational policies can more firmly be held to account. If …

By Devan Moonsamy, CEO of The ICHAF Training Institute On an otherwise lovely holiday in Southeast Asia, I experienced something I am not entirely unused to – racism. But, being on holiday, and shopping in the beautiful surroundings of Thailand, it caught me by surprise. I was in Asia and as a person of Indian (Asian) descent. Why did I experience racism? The simple answer is that I am dark skinned. I know this because shop owners and staff would go to my fair-skinned travel companion and ask him if he needed help. But I seemed invisible to them. Our tour guide confirmed my suspicion that it is because I am dark skinned, which to them is the same as me being poor. While it is true that India remains a low-income country, there is a large economic disparity. The poor are very poor; the rich are very rich. If I were from India, it does not automatically mean I am poor, especially considering that I would have been able to afford the four-hour flight from, say, New Delhi to Bangkok. I should have stood out as a tourist. Yet my presence at a shop in Thailand was taken as pretty much irrelevant. If I was lighter skinned, not necessarily white, just a bit lighter, might I have received a little better treatment? It is incidents like this that can make skin a very sore point for people of colour (black, mixed race, Indian, etc.). You do feel like you are being told you are ‘less’ – less important, less valuable, even as a customer, less attractive. And this hurts people of colour so much. It can start to make one feel an urgency to change oneself rather than resisting the influence of such unjustifiable racism. What this further goes to illustrate is just how rampant racism is worldwide. We sometimes think we as South Africans are unique in our racism problems. But we need to be aware that such problems are by no means singular to any one nation. From London to Lusaka to Los Angeles, racism continues to fester. It makes breaking news often, but we also …

By Devan Moonsamy, CEO of The ICHAF Training Institute ‘We used to look up to you!’ Student responds to KPMG’s disgraced partners Students want auditing professionals to speak to them directly on the issues ‘This is very serious in more ways than people will realise at first,’ says Issie, a young third-year student at NMMU in George, Western Cape. ‘You have let down the youth as well. It affects how we will be viewed in our jobs one day.’ Over the past few years, South African students (and indeed students worldwide) have shown just how fed up they are with their elders. The handling of responsibility and of funds have been major points of contention. It seems big private sector players can really let students down where it most hurts too. Initially, KPMG had to take disciplinary action for certain partners’ failure to declare financial interests. Shortly after this news broke, major clients, including Parliament, other government bodies, and Barclays Africa, cancelled contracts with the company. Meanwhile, that infamous name – Gupta – has also crawled out the woodwork, overseas KPMG shareholders are up in arms, and the company apparently isn’t sure whether it will continue to service the SA market in future. KPMG has thus begun a review of work completed over the last year and a half to identify the extent of the problem and they have promised to address everything. The big auditing group is seeking reform and ‘to put quality and integrity at the heart of the firm’ again. We wish KPMG the best of luck with that, and for the sake of those innocent parties (particularly other auditors and the broader public which KPMG directly and indirectly serves in many ways) it had better be done right and soon. What is the full extent of the damage caused by those who refuse to follow ethics codes in auditing? Some have said that there is also a certain arrogance and bad attitude about some in the auditing field, as though they believe their feet don’t touch …

South Africans with Albinism Keep Shining Despite Discrimination By Devan Moonsamy – CEO the ICHAF Training Institute: Powerful messages are being sent about the reality of the condition, conscientising people, and making a real difference in fighting prejudices People who have the condition albinism have a complete or partial absence of skin, hair and eye pigment. It is considered a disability because of how it affects the person’s health. In Africa, people with albinism are subject to very poor treatment including discrimination and worse in some cases. There still exists a strong feeling among many today that lighter skin is better. This is very sad, and it’s somewhat surprising then that people with albinism are marginalised in African society. South Africans have been guilty of colour discrimination, we are no stranger to the problem. In the case of albinism among African people, they are often rejected, poorly treated in school and the community, and their family’s even fear for their lives. Just this year, a sangoma was charged with the kidnap and murder of two children with albinism. Shockingly, their bodies were to be used for muthi. The sangoma has been labelled a fraud and not a real practitioner of traditional African medicine and healing. Sangomas have struggled with a bad reputation because of those who use unethical and criminal methods. Most sangomas don’t do such things though. Government and sangomas themselves are trying to address these problems, maintain professionalism, and fight criminal elements. Awareness raising about the facts of albinism is critical, but there has been staunch opposition. It’s quite frightening to experience this first-hand, as I have in trying to address sangomas on the issue recently. Many also still believe that people with albinism and their families are bad luck or bewitched. People with albinism and other disabilities are often kept hidden away because their families are afraid. This is a problem …

Disabilities No Reason for Unemployment and Lack of Training by Devan Moonsamy – CEO the ICHAF Training Institute People living with disabilities face many challenges in finding work and in training as well, particularly regarding access. This is often as a result of misconceptions about disabilities. There are many types of disabilities, but most do not prevent a person from taking up employment, and there are ways to get around the obstacles associated with disabilities. A disability is something that prevents a person from doing something/s or functioning in the usual way that other people do. One may often find that people with disabilities (PWDs) learn to work around their disability, and it need not prevent them from entering the workplace provided they have opportunities and are not discriminated against. The SADC nations have collaboratively developed the Southern Africa Inclusive Education Strategy 2017-2021 (SAIES) for ensuring disabled children’s access to the education system. This is great news because, in the future, it will translate into adults with disabilities being better educated and more active in the economy. However, there are currently many adults with disabilities who are ready and able to enter learning and workplaces, but they do not get the chance. The SAIES prioritises inclusive quality education. It was developed directly as a result of concerns over research showing that it is economically irrational not to invest in educating PWDs and to not employ them. The challenges that a person faces should never prevent them from creating value in the way they can. It is critical for individual wellbeing as well as society’s wellbeing. We must never think that PWDs are incapable or helpless. Instead, we must adopt the attitude that PWDs, like everyone else, need employment opportunities and support. A growing number of companies offer learnerships to PWDs, which can be a highly successful means of ensuring their access to …