There was no need to change South Africa's Broad-based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) system, Trade and Industry Minister Mandisi Mpahlwa said on Friday.

"We don't think we are at a stage of changing, we should rather focus on implementation," Mpahlwa told journalists in Pretoria.

He was speaking after a meeting which included representatives from Business Unity SA and the Black Management Forum.

The minister stressed that BBBEE was important to government and that it could not be allowed to be "relegated in order of priority".

Some of the matters voiced at the meeting included the possibility of reviewing the system. There was also need for better communication and implementation of the policy.

"A clear message for us [is that] we need to be focusing on implementation. The clear message we've got to send out is that work needs to continue," he said.

He said there was no need to rush into changing the system but rather that there was awareness of problems.

Commenting on progress made on the Presidential Advisory Council on BEE, Mphahlwa said his department was engaging with the president in the view of concluding the membership of the council.

The council's aim was to provide guidance and monitoring of the performance of BBBEE across the economy.

An IT portal launched in September this year to assist companies in understanding and completing their BBBEE status had seen more than 1000 companies registered on the portal.

The meeting had not really discussed the global financial crisis.

"It was not a big item of discussion," said Mpahlwa.

Sapa