{"id":91931,"date":"2025-10-23T17:18:50","date_gmt":"2025-10-23T17:18:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/the-real-problem-with-bee-in-south-africa"},"modified":"2025-10-23T18:25:18","modified_gmt":"2025-10-23T18:25:18","slug":"the-real-problem-with-bee-in-south-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/the-real-problem-with-bee-in-south-africa","title":{"rendered":"The real problem with BEE in South Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – South-Africa. <\/strong><\/span>Transformation in South Africa has become synonymous with enabling politically-connected individuals to acquire wealth through business deals that do not create value for the economy.<\/p>\n

This means that despite decades of transformation policy, such as Black Economic Empowerment (BEE), many individuals find themselves unable to participate in the local economy as it is stagnant and they are unemployed.<\/p>\n

While this might not have been the policy\u2019s intention, it has been the outcome so far in South Africa. This has hobbled the local economy and prevented millions from participating in wealth creation.<\/p>\n

This has been brought into stark relief in South Africa\u2019s mining sector, which was once the envy of the world but now finds itself among the worst jurisdictions to operate in.<\/p>\n

Modern Corporate Solutions mining analyst Peter Major explained this collapse and what needs to be changed about transformation policy to revive it.<\/p>\n

Major told BizNews that policy should focus on transforming the industry through growing it and by equipping individuals with the right skills to participate in this growth.<\/p>\n

South Africa\u2019s mining output has been stagnant for the past 20 years, with the country exporting less gold and coal than it did 30 years ago.<\/p>\n

There has also been no new exploration for minerals in the country for two decades, despite evidence of a rich bounty, due to policy and regulatory uncertainty. Threats of nationalisation have not helped.<\/p>\n

\u201cMining encompasses every trade known to man and every skill known to man. A flourishing industry has thousands of positive multipliers for a country that extend beyond getting minerals out of the ground,\u201d Major said.<\/p>\n

Major questioned whether the emergence of black CEOs and managers throughout the mining industry resulted from ANC policy or naturally due to growth, increased opportunities, and enhanced skills development.<\/p>\n

He argued that many of these individuals rose through the ranks of mining companies on merit and have risen to the top because they are the best people to lead these businesses at this point in time, not because of government policy.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is good that Minister Gwede Mantashe brings attention to successful transformation in the industry, but he has got to give credit where it is due, and that is to the people who have worked to get where they are,\u201d Major said.<\/p>\n

\u201cTransformation should be about transforming the country as much as the industry. It should be about taking an industry that is shrinking and making it grow again.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt should be about creating an industry that is globally relevant and one which can absorb the best and brightest from South Africa and abroad. People should want to send their engineers here, instead of taking them away.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople used to send their engineers from overseas to see how Eskom worked, because it was so efficient and professional.\u201d<\/p>\n

How BEE can work in South Africa<\/b><\/p>\n

Economist Dawie Roodt<\/p>\n

Major\u2019s comments echo those of Efficient Group chief economist Dawie Roodt, who explained that BEE and transformation policy should focus on expanding participation in the economy.<\/p>\n

Roodt argued that these policies should focus on creating an enabling environment for businesses and the economy to grow and absorb young South Africans into the workforce.<\/p>\n

This should be coupled with skills development programmes, improved education, infrastructure, and safety.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you talk about BEE and transformation in South Africa, it means that you take resources from one group of people and give them to another group of people,\u201d Roodt said.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s be honest about this \u2013 the resources are given to a select group of people. So, actually, what we have in South Africa is the empowerment of a very small group of connected individuals.\u201d<\/p>\n

This does not increase the participation of marginalised people in the economy. In some cases, it actively excludes expanding participation.<\/p>\n

Roodt explained that the way empowerment policies and transformation are currently implemented in South Africa does not improve the lives of most people.<\/p>\n

BEE and transformation currently redistribute existing wealth among individuals, and do not grow the economy to create more wealth for South Africans.<\/p>\n

Wits School of Governance Professor William Gumede estimated that up to R1 trillion has been redistributed to just 100 individuals and companies in South Africa under BEE.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have not done the calculations myself, but I think that could be quite close to the mark, with the beneficiaries of BEE being a handful of individuals that do not add value to South Africa,\u201d Roodt said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn my book, what it means to transform or to empower is very different from what we are doing in South Africa.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cReal empowerment is where you give people tools and create an environment where they can better themselves financially and economically.\u201d<\/p>\n

A key part of this is to give people the right skills through adequate education and improved pathways from education to the labour market.<\/p>\n

Currently, South Africa\u2019s education system does not produce enough of the skills demanded by businesses in the labour market, resulting in many university graduates being unemployed.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you look at skills development in South Africa, it is not only bad but is sometimes even the worst in the world,\u201d Roodt said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe majority of people who get these skills in South Africa are black. The education in South Africa is horrible, and the people who suffer the most from that are black people.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI would like to see a dramatic improvement in education and skills development in South Africa because that is how you get out of poverty and are empowered.\u201d<\/p>\n

This has to be coupled with an environment conducive to conducting business and growing companies that can absorb an expanding workforce.<\/p>\n

\u201cCreate an environment of empowerment. Give people a pavement. Give people electricity and water. Most importantly, give people a safe environment,\u201d Roodt said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose are the things you need to do in order to empower people. The state cannot empower anybody. The best the state can do is to create an environment for people to empower themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

Source: dailyinvestor<\/b><\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About South-Africa<\/span> Follow Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – South-Africa. Transformation in South Africa has become synonymous with enabling politically-connected individuals to acquire wealth through business deals that do not create value for the economy. This means that despite decades of transformation policy, such as Black Economic Empowerment (BEE), many individuals find themselves unable to participate in the local economy as it […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":91930,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,5],"tags":[275],"class_list":["post-91931","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-economy","tag-south-africa-2"],"yoast_head":"\nThe real problem with BEE in South Africa - South Africa<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Transformation in South Africa has become synonymous with enabling politically-connected individuals to acquire wealth t ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/the-real-problem-with-bee-in-south-africa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The real problem with BEE in South Africa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Transformation in South Africa has become synonymous with enabling politically-connected individuals to acquire wealth t ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/the-real-problem-with-bee-in-south-africa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"South Africa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-10-23T17:18:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-10-23T18:25:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/sites\/31\/2025\/10\/sm_1761231155.432015.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"675\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/the-real-problem-with-bee-in-south-africa#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/the-real-problem-with-bee-in-south-africa\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"The real problem with BEE in South Africa\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-10-23T17:18:50+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-10-23T18:25:18+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/the-real-problem-with-bee-in-south-africa\"},\"wordCount\":1014,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/the-real-problem-with-bee-in-south-africa#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/sites\/31\/2025\/10\/sm_1761231155.432015.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"South-Africa\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"economy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/the-real-problem-with-bee-in-south-africa#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/the-real-problem-with-bee-in-south-africa\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/the-real-problem-with-bee-in-south-africa\",\"name\":\"The real problem with BEE in South Africa - 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