Black Economic Empowerment: For a connected elite, or effective transformation device?
As criticism against Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBB-EE) mounts, experts like Leslie Dikeni weigh in the policy’s future.
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702 and CapeTalk's Aubrey Masango is joined by author Leslie Dikeni.
Listen below:
The debate around Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBB-EE) is heating up once again.
In a recent Sunday Times article, 'BEE is killing our economy', Professor William Gumede argues that the current model has failed South Africa, lining the pockets of only a politically connected few.
The renewed focus on BBB-EE follows last week's presidential White House meeting between Cyril Ramaphosa and Donald Trump, at which Starlink founder Elon Musk was also present.
It also comes following newly gazetted policy changes by Minister Solly Malatsi, which would allow multinationals (like Starlink) alternative ways of meeting empowerment requirements.
Author and development expert Leslie Dikeni joins Masango to ponder the question: Is BEE still relevant, or is it losing its grip?
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"... a policy framework paved with good intentions, but it has not met up to this standard."
- Leslie Dikeni
Dikeni suggests that to answer the question of why it has not, in practice, lived up to its theoretical 'good intentions', we must look at what the primary objectives of the framework were.
"... [it was] to deal with the deep-seated, historical, racial, colonial practices of our past which are continuing today."
- Leslie Dikeni
"It has failed to empower Black South Africans."
- Leslie Dikeni
"BBB-EE only empowers a few elite."
- Leslie Dikeni
He suggests, like Gumede, that the policy has been 'abused'.
"Business people in South Africa thought that the State is a cow, therefore, this cow must provide milk."
- Leslie Dikeni
And like Gumede suggests in his article, Dikeni believes the time has come to 'reset' BBB-EE by cancelling how it exists in its current iteration.
"When policies are not working, we need to rethink them... so that they meet their historical objectives."
- Leslie Dikeni
Scroll up to listen to the full conversation on BBB-EE with Masango and Dikeni.