Black Economic Empowerment Case Study

Black Economic Empowerment: Is BEE apartheid in reverse?

Black Economic Empowerment is an initiative by the South African government after 1994 to address the racial injustices, restrictions that existed in the past and to also equalise the economic imbalances created by South Africa’s past apartheid system. BEE is set out to compress the inequality and exclusion that Blacks, Coloureds and Indians faced during the apartheid era and to give them the economic privilege that they were deprived, so that they can participate fairly in the economy.

After the democratic elections, the South African led government introduced the new bill of rights. One of the rights is that every citizen should be treated equally. In fact that is what the new South

BEE has done justice to the people who were previously advantaged until a certain stage. The policy users misunderstood BEE policies and used it to crush and take people down. It should always dwell at the back of the minds of policy implementers that White people are part of the new South Africa and they deserve to be treated well too. It is not all of them who do not need assistance from the government. BEE has mainly profited people who are politically active instead of everyone who was previously disadvantaged.

Black Economic Empowerment is now used as a way to get back at Whites. The ruling party makes White people to feel left out in their businesses and those who seek employment. It is like they are saying, we only cater for Blacks, Coloureds and Indians, Whites you will have to make a plan on your own. The South Africa’s BEE strategy document states “No economy can grow by excluding any part of its people, and an economy that is not growing cannot integrate all its citizens in a meaningful way.” This must simply remind the policy implementers that the White population is also part of the South African

South Africa still has problems of income inequalities due to race and gender. Bhorat and Kanbur (2006:5) says that “income inequality has increased with the Gini coefficient rising from 0.565 to 0.577 between 1995 and 2000.” This simply means all the hard work of implementing BEE does not show.

“Is it Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) or Black Economic Self Enrichment or Black Economic Embezzlement or Black Economic Disempowerment?” (Masito 2013:1). Nowadays people depend on BEE and forget about education. Most blacks depend on BEE tenders to sustain their every needs, it is better to be educated first. Things should be done the way White people do it, they do not depend on the government for everything, they make their way to the top in most cases due to BEE, and it made them feel like outsiders. BEE tenders should be granted on a person’s level of education.

The BEE tenders that are given to Blacks haphazardly, just in a random manner, do not happen to be fruitful at all. Whereas the truth that is hidden is that Whites can do a better job with these tenders. White people’s opportunities are just being limited and hindered by things that do not really add up together or make any sense. Skin colour should not limit one’s opportunities in