Make your own free website on Tripod.com

Black Economic Empowerment in South Africa - Introduction

Home

The South African Situation

Legislation and Definitions

Criticisms and Evaluation of BEE

BEE @ the Grassroots Level

Links and Sources

Implementation

Black Economic Empowerment

Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) is a government initiative enshrined in a range of measures which have as their aim the reducing of racial inequality in South Africa, a legacy of the apartheid era. BEE is therefore a policy tool to integrate black South Africans into the economy in order to put them on the same economic footing as whites, who dominate the economy. The method of integration is primarily market oriented and seeks the promotion of a black capitalist class who can control the economy and hold political power.

Through these measures, it is hoped that BEE will bring about greater long term macroeconomic and social stability. South Africa currently has one of the highest Gini coefficients in the world and 90% of farm land is white owned. Such inequality is not sustainable in an emerging democracy, and Zimbabwe’s problems provide a regional warning of what can happen if the problems of inequality are not addressed.

The government faces constraints, however, in trying to maintain rates of growth needed for poverty reduction, whilst trying to bring about an equitable society. To a large extent, the former entails not irritating business by burdening it unnecessarily so that innovation is stifled. At the same time, it is clear that equality will not come about by free market policies alone, so government intervention is warranted.

The government’s strategy has been a mix of redistributive fiscal policy, legislation promoting black interests in the economy, preferential government contracts for black owned companies and government charter which set targets for market share of key industries by a specified date. The approach has been one of consensus building between conflicting parties through the use of public dialogue and open debate. As such BEE has become the dominant issue in South Africa and something in which the whole country feels it has a stake.

The aim of this web presentation is to provide information about the situation which has given rise to BEE, describe methods of implementation and explore the effects it is having on South African society.

The dynamics of societal change are such that it is too soon to ascribe success or failure to BEE policies. However, there are encouraging signs that black economic power is emerging in South Africa. The question is whether empowerment will spread or merely result in the creation of another elite, defeating the BEE’s fundamental goals.

Please click on the links above to find out more about BEE. We hope you enjoy the site! (Best viewed on IE)