2023 will mark two decades since the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) Act was passed. What is BBBEE? In brief, BBBEE, or more commonly known as BEE, is aimed at addressing the racial inequality that was a product of the Apartheid regime, by creating a more representative distribution of wealth and opportunity amongst the various racial groups. This of course primarily focusses on employment. This is the illusion that has been sold to South Africans for 20 years.
Now that you know what BEE entails and what it is intended for, I have a few questions for you: Why are almost 35% of South Africans unemployed today? Let me add some meat to this question – Why are almost 20 million people in South Africa still living in extreme poverty, with the poverty threshold at 2.73 AUD, daily? What is BEE doing if not just a method of implementing reverse racism as a front of hope for the almost 20 million South Africans whose children go to bed hungry at night? What has BEE done other than increase corruption and slow down a once world class economy to an almost screeching halt? A once thriving country, now without electricity for up to 12 hours a day. Country wide. Every, single, day. Electricity they don’t have, which they still have to pay for.
Not only is the gap between rich and poor in South Africa the highest in the world, inequality has increased since Apartheid ended in 1994. This, despite our ruling party, the African National Congress’s (ANC) mandate to redress inequality. This is what BEE was designed to do. To be used as a measure of addressing racial inequality in South Africa. The reality is this; BEE has not worked and where we are today as a nation and an economy is a disaster. Almost 60% of our population is poor. We do not even have a proper middle class and talks are we are nearing recession conditions.
BEE causes a slowdown in growth, that has an adverse effect on the economy. BEE is actually hindering the equitable distribution of wealth and business representation, as it exacerbates the political injustice of the past and at best implicitly maintains the status quo. Why? Because BEE is implemented if someone is qualified to fill a position or not. To give you an extreme example of this, our former president, president Jacob Zuma, one of the most corrupt ‘leaders’ to date, who built himself the most expensive presidential ‘home’ in the history of the world; with tax payers money, valued at R 246 631 303 – did not finish primary school.
These same metrics are applied in all companies, small businesses, institutions and of course the government itself, on a daily basis in South Africa. To worsen matters, if you do not adhere to BEE standards and do not have a certain amount of black people (qualified or not) employed in your business, you can get fined and the government refuses to do business with you. This, to the extent of firing qualified white individuals or denying them promotions to adhere to BEE standards.
BEE in essence, is reverse racism. Not only is BEE not benefiting the very people it was intended to benefit, it is also completely disregarding the mere 7.6% of the South African population that is white. The only country in the world where the majority is protected against the minority, by law. 80,2% of a population is being ‘protected’ from racism and inequality against 7.6% of a population being legally denied these same fundamental rights. While that same country has been under the ruling of a party masking good intentions to grow a ‘rainbow’ nation of equal opportunity and unity. A mask that has been used to corrupt South Africa for what will be 30 years in 2024.
So, what is the moral of this story? Racism is racism and fighting an injustice with the same injustice for 30 years, will put you, well – in South Africa.