\u201cWe do not have black economic empowerment in South Africa,\u201d Roodt said. \u201cThat claim is simply untrue.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He explained that giving a select group of connected individuals shares in large companies is not black empowerment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt is not black empowerment when a large portion of black kids go hungry at night,\u201d Roodt said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He referenced studies which showed that as much as a third of kids in South Africa suffer from malnutrition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhen you want to empower a specific group in a population, you start where it really matters \u2013 giving them food,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Roodt said if the government truly wants black empowerment, it will create a safe environment and give them a world-class education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTrue empowerment is cleaning up the streets and giving households electricity and water,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Roodt argued that the narrative should change, where people highlight that black empowerment does not exist in South Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His views align with many others, who said BEE in South Africa has been designed to enrich the political elite.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Political economist Moeletsi Mbeki said that it is a misconception that BEE places the economy in the hands of the majority of black people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Instead, it benefits a small handful of politically connected elites and hinders the emergence of entrepreneurs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBEE does not create new wealth but rather incentivises becoming parasitic on the existing companies and at the same time to become parasitic on the state,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
DA proposes a new form of empowerment<\/h2>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/mat-cuthbert-1024x576.jpg\")
<\/a>The DA\u2019s head of policy, Mat Cuthbert<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nOn Monday, 20 August 2025, the Democratic Alliance (DA) launched its \u201cEconomic Inclusion for All Bill\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It explained that the Bill aims to replace South Africa\u2019s current BEE laws with an inclusive procurement regime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis will replace years of ineffective ANC empowerment policies that have left the majority of South Africans unemployed, impoverished, and hopeless,\u201d the party said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The DA\u2019s head of policy, Mat Cuthbert, said around 44 million South Africans are stuck in poverty, and 12 million are stranded in unemployment queues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis is not the inclusive country we envisioned building when we lined up to vote on 27 April 1994,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSince the ANC\u2019s BEE policy was first introduced in 2003, conditions have significantly worsened for the people it claims to represent.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The unemployment rate for black South Africans was 36% in the last quarter of 2024, compared to 7% among white South Africans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
From 2014 to 2024, the black unemployment rate increased by nine percentage points, while the white unemployment rate decreased by one percentage point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He added that the BEE model has become a key driver of corruption within our society, with widespread looting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The DA\u2019s Economic Inclusion for All Bill seeks to amend the Public Procurement Amendment Act of 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It will repeal all race-based preferential procurement provisions and replace them with a real empowerment system that targets poverty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This bill aims to create a public procurement system that encourages genuine economic empowerment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It will offer incentives for tangible developmental outcomes such as job creation, poverty reduction, and skills enhancement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The ANC says BEE is here to stay<\/h2>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Mahlengi-Bhengu-1024x576.jpg\")
<\/a>ANC spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nCuthbert argued that the ANC\u2019s BEE laws encourage a fronting culture, while the DA promotes social impact and value-for-money in procurement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cUnder the ANC, race is the sole criterion, whereas the DA emphasises needs-based empowerment,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe DA\u2019s approach to empowerment fundamentally differs from the ANC’s. While the ANC\u2019s policy is only for cadres, the DA\u2019s policy demands no political connections,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
ANC spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu hit back, dismissing the DA\u2019s proposal and saying transformation laws are here to stay in South Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe idea of a future South Africa without transformation laws, starting with triple-BEE, is one that must be challenged by all democracy-loving people and patriots,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bhengu added that there are many black people who have been beneficiaries of BEE and transformation policies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe have seen a lot of excellence, with people rising in the corporate sector and the public sector,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She added that many women have climbed the corporate ladder and have risen to executive level at Eskom and elsewhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMany of those people are proud beneficiaries of black economic empowerment,\u201d Bhengu said in an SABC interview.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She said there will not be a situation where the race-based policies are replaced in South Africa with other empowerment laws.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere will not be a day in South Africa where black economic empowerment is scrapped as legislation,\u201d Bhengu said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She added that there can be amendments. However, these amendments should not deviate from the substance of the legislation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
President Cyril Ramaphosa said he had not seen the DA\u2019s \u201cEconomic Inclusion for All Bill\u201d and could, therefore, not comment directly on it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, he added that if the DA wants amendments to the BEE policy, they must take their proposal to parliament.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, he said the current BEE policies, which are rooted in the constitution and the laws they have passed, remain in effect.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Renowned economist Dawie Roodt argues that there is no true black empowerment in South Africa, as a large part of the population is unemployed and lives in poverty.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":840536,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[1875,22379,1293,1329,1459,22560,23865,23864,22324],"class_list":["post-840509","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-government","tag-anc","tag-black-economic-empowerment-bee","tag-cyril-ramaphosa","tag-da","tag-dawie-roodt","tag-democratic-alliance-da","tag-mahlengi-bhengu","tag-mat-cuthbert","tag-moeletsi-mbeki"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/840509","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=840509"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/840509\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":840538,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/840509\/revisions\/840538"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/840536"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=840509"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=840509"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=840509"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
<\/a>On Monday, 20 August 2025, the Democratic Alliance (DA) launched its \u201cEconomic Inclusion for All Bill\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It explained that the Bill aims to replace South Africa\u2019s current BEE laws with an inclusive procurement regime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis will replace years of ineffective ANC empowerment policies that have left the majority of South Africans unemployed, impoverished, and hopeless,\u201d the party said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The DA\u2019s head of policy, Mat Cuthbert, said around 44 million South Africans are stuck in poverty, and 12 million are stranded in unemployment queues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis is not the inclusive country we envisioned building when we lined up to vote on 27 April 1994,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSince the ANC\u2019s BEE policy was first introduced in 2003, conditions have significantly worsened for the people it claims to represent.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The unemployment rate for black South Africans was 36% in the last quarter of 2024, compared to 7% among white South Africans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
From 2014 to 2024, the black unemployment rate increased by nine percentage points, while the white unemployment rate decreased by one percentage point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He added that the BEE model has become a key driver of corruption within our society, with widespread looting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The DA\u2019s Economic Inclusion for All Bill seeks to amend the Public Procurement Amendment Act of 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It will repeal all race-based preferential procurement provisions and replace them with a real empowerment system that targets poverty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This bill aims to create a public procurement system that encourages genuine economic empowerment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It will offer incentives for tangible developmental outcomes such as job creation, poverty reduction, and skills enhancement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The ANC says BEE is here to stay<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<\/a>ANC spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nCuthbert argued that the ANC\u2019s BEE laws encourage a fronting culture, while the DA promotes social impact and value-for-money in procurement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cUnder the ANC, race is the sole criterion, whereas the DA emphasises needs-based empowerment,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe DA\u2019s approach to empowerment fundamentally differs from the ANC’s. While the ANC\u2019s policy is only for cadres, the DA\u2019s policy demands no political connections,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
ANC spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu hit back, dismissing the DA\u2019s proposal and saying transformation laws are here to stay in South Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe idea of a future South Africa without transformation laws, starting with triple-BEE, is one that must be challenged by all democracy-loving people and patriots,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bhengu added that there are many black people who have been beneficiaries of BEE and transformation policies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe have seen a lot of excellence, with people rising in the corporate sector and the public sector,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She added that many women have climbed the corporate ladder and have risen to executive level at Eskom and elsewhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMany of those people are proud beneficiaries of black economic empowerment,\u201d Bhengu said in an SABC interview.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She said there will not be a situation where the race-based policies are replaced in South Africa with other empowerment laws.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere will not be a day in South Africa where black economic empowerment is scrapped as legislation,\u201d Bhengu said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She added that there can be amendments. However, these amendments should not deviate from the substance of the legislation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
President Cyril Ramaphosa said he had not seen the DA\u2019s \u201cEconomic Inclusion for All Bill\u201d and could, therefore, not comment directly on it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, he added that if the DA wants amendments to the BEE policy, they must take their proposal to parliament.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, he said the current BEE policies, which are rooted in the constitution and the laws they have passed, remain in effect.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Renowned economist Dawie Roodt argues that there is no true black empowerment in South Africa, as a large part of the population is unemployed and lives in poverty.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":840536,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[1875,22379,1293,1329,1459,22560,23865,23864,22324],"class_list":["post-840509","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-government","tag-anc","tag-black-economic-empowerment-bee","tag-cyril-ramaphosa","tag-da","tag-dawie-roodt","tag-democratic-alliance-da","tag-mahlengi-bhengu","tag-mat-cuthbert","tag-moeletsi-mbeki"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/840509","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=840509"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/840509\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":840538,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/840509\/revisions\/840538"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/840536"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=840509"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=840509"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=840509"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
<\/a>Cuthbert argued that the ANC\u2019s BEE laws encourage a fronting culture, while the DA promotes social impact and value-for-money in procurement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cUnder the ANC, race is the sole criterion, whereas the DA emphasises needs-based empowerment,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe DA\u2019s approach to empowerment fundamentally differs from the ANC’s. While the ANC\u2019s policy is only for cadres, the DA\u2019s policy demands no political connections,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
ANC spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu hit back, dismissing the DA\u2019s proposal and saying transformation laws are here to stay in South Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe idea of a future South Africa without transformation laws, starting with triple-BEE, is one that must be challenged by all democracy-loving people and patriots,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bhengu added that there are many black people who have been beneficiaries of BEE and transformation policies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe have seen a lot of excellence, with people rising in the corporate sector and the public sector,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She added that many women have climbed the corporate ladder and have risen to executive level at Eskom and elsewhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMany of those people are proud beneficiaries of black economic empowerment,\u201d Bhengu said in an SABC interview.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She said there will not be a situation where the race-based policies are replaced in South Africa with other empowerment laws.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere will not be a day in South Africa where black economic empowerment is scrapped as legislation,\u201d Bhengu said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She added that there can be amendments. However, these amendments should not deviate from the substance of the legislation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
President Cyril Ramaphosa said he had not seen the DA\u2019s \u201cEconomic Inclusion for All Bill\u201d and could, therefore, not comment directly on it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, he added that if the DA wants amendments to the BEE policy, they must take their proposal to parliament.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, he said the current BEE policies, which are rooted in the constitution and the laws they have passed, remain in effect.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Renowned economist Dawie Roodt argues that there is no true black empowerment in South Africa, as a large part of the population is unemployed and lives in poverty.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":840536,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[1875,22379,1293,1329,1459,22560,23865,23864,22324],"class_list":["post-840509","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-government","tag-anc","tag-black-economic-empowerment-bee","tag-cyril-ramaphosa","tag-da","tag-dawie-roodt","tag-democratic-alliance-da","tag-mahlengi-bhengu","tag-mat-cuthbert","tag-moeletsi-mbeki"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/840509","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=840509"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/840509\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":840538,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/840509\/revisions\/840538"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/840536"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=840509"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=840509"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=840509"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}