Promises are the sweetest lies, reads a five-word inscription on my daughter’s WhatsApp profile picture. She is only 14, but this message struck a chord with me when I first saw it, something that caught me by surprise from the introverted teenager. The message forced me to reflect on a string of broken promises made by our elected politicians under the guise of broad-based black economic empowerment (B-BBEE) policy, which has throughout its various iterations over the past 26 years only benefitted a tiny politically-connected black elite while widening inequality among the people it was supposed to uplift.
The policy’s failure to deliver on its promise of radically increasing black economic participation is becoming a source of frustration and disenchantment among its intended black beneficiaries. As a result, an opposing view is beginning to emerge that B-BBEE will have to be completely overhauled or scrapped if black participation is to be deepened after the Covid-19 lockdown is lifted and the economy re-opened.
This alternative, the anti-B-BBEE view emerged at a recent live Facebook panel discussion, known as Lockdown Convo, which I participated in alongside Thabo Masombuka, a lawyer and former policymaker at the department of trade and industry, and entrepreneur Mxolisi Goodman Buthelezi.
Panellists in the discussion, moderated by Miso Tini, agreed that B-BBEE was utterly ineffective and stuck in the mud. Simply put: The policy is encouraging conspicuous consumption by the black elite instead of aiding black people to be producers and distributors of goods and services.
This story is from the 25 June 2020 edition of Finweek English.
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This story is from the 25 June 2020 edition of Finweek English.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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