Black Economic Empowerment: It Isn't Working
Black Economic Empowerment, or BEE (or BBBEE – Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment, the more recent variant intended to improve on previously very small advantaged groups), is something that any South African knows about. It is a racially selective programme that was launched by the South African government to equalize inequalities created during the era of Apartheid. The programme was launched by the African National Congress (ANC) after it was decided that direct intervention was needed in the redistribution of assets and opportunities amongst South African citizens.
The rationale of BEE is to transform the South African economy to be representative of the racial demographic of the country. In the 2001 BEE Commission Report, BEE was defined as follows:
“It is an integrated and coherent socio-economic process. It is located within the context of the country’s national transformation programme, namely the RDP. It is aimed at redressing the imbalances of the past by seeking to substantially and equitably transfer and confer the ownership, management and control of South Africa’s financial and economic resources to the majority of its citizens. It seeks to ensure broader and meaningful participation in the economy by black people to achieve sustainable development and prosperity.”
If successfully implemented, BEE is also meant to encourage economic growth in South Africa. BEE was implemented in 2003 and was modified in 2007, after the programme was criticised for only benefiting a small group of previously disadvantaged South Africans.
So why is it not working?
Well, let’s start with the reasons I would give to prove that it isn’t working. In 2016, South Africa’s unemployment rate is at 26,7%. It is the highest it has been since September 2005. To put this into perspective, it means that more than a quarter of the citizens of South Africa who are actively seeking employment, cannot find jobs. Is that, as alleged, solely due to racism? It is true that white citizens statistically find jobs more easily than black citizens. Some blame this on what they call “structural racism”. I blame it on lack of equal opportunity.
First, let’s quickly look at “structural racism”. It is true that white people make up a disproportionately large part of the labour force. And the higher up in management one looks, the more likely the workers are to be white. I argue that this is not because of some conspiracy to keep black people out of high up positions, but because certain positions require certain qualifications and a certain amount of experience. Due to Apartheid, older black individuals are less likely to have these qualifications and experience, while younger individuals have often not yet had the decades of experience needed to qualify for a post at top management level. But, the numbers are indeed stabilising, adjusting year by year towards being truly representative of the racial demographics of South Africa.
This process is good. Each year, the labour force reflects the demographic of South Africa more accurately. The senior management is slowly replaced as they retire (keep in mind that senior management positions will have a slower turnover rate than lower positions and that the key to getting to the top management positions is to start at the bottom). I do not believe this change to be due to BEE, however.
Despite BEE, black people are less likely to be employed than white individuals. As mentioned above, the legacy of Apartheid does influence this. But, more importantly, our government has failed us.
In 22 years, the government has been unable to create the opportunity we as South Africans need to further ourselves: education. The building block for getting anywhere in life is education. The government has failed to create the opportunity for people to be educated properly, to a high and equal standard, which is the root of many problems in South Africa. Instead, the government implements racial quotas, which often results in employees being hired for their skin colour, not their qualifications. The result of this is often employee incompetence, undermining the proper functioning of the economy. I would like to liken these racial quotas to icing a cake instead of making sure it is baked right, as if the appearance alone is enough to make it taste good.
This situation saddens me, because the longer our government postpones building schools and creating the opportunity for education, the longer these racial inequalities in South Africa will remain. After all, BEE cannot go on forever and not everyone is guaranteed a job by the BEE programme. The only way one can secure a job for oneself is through education (well, as far as one can secure a job in the current weak economy, that is).
BEE in itself also affects South Africans negatively. Aside from the direct consequences of hiring less qualified individuals, BEE creates a lazy mind-set in some individuals classified as “previously disadvantaged”. Because these individuals know they have an advantage due to their skin colour, they do not work as hard as one might expect them to. They become complacent, relying on being “owed a job”. The opposite is true for many white individuals. Because they know they are at a disadvantage due to their skin colour, they work harder. They believe that they will only be hired if their skills are markedly better than an individual that is labelled as previously disadvantaged.
Don’t get me wrong, not all white people in South Africa are hardworking, just like not all black people are lazy. But one can easily see the trends in South Africa, reconfirming that pressure to excel is a stronger motivator than being rewarded for something one cannot control.
The general mind-set in South Africa is currently one of “the world owes me”. So, instead of working towards what they want, far too many people choose to wait and complain. People expect the government to give them good lives. And in a way, the government should. The government is responsible for creating the opportunities people need to build good lives for themselves. In this case, the key words are “for themselves”. No one can give a person a good life, that person must make one themselves.
Recently, the mind-set has shifted from “the world owes me” to “the white man owes me”, amongst certain vocal sections of the black population of South Africa. Unfortunately, I must emphasise the following: not only does the world not owe anything, and indeed the world offers you the very air you breathe for no charge, the white man doesn’t owe you a good life either. You are responsible for yourself, and that is the truth of this life.
Every man and woman is owed a fair and equal opportunity to reach towards their dreams. If someone in South Africa feels they have been left out, let down and excluded, ask these questions: Who denied me the chance to be properly educated? Why are there so few jobs around? Why are we arguing over words when some people do not have food? Why spend money on new road names instead of RDP housing and education support? What have the ANC done, in 22 years, to make life better for all – and how much of that improvement happened before Mandela stepped down as president?
Please watch the following YouTube videos (also linked below). The first is “What does the white man owe blacks” by KingfishMs and the second is an interview with Dinesh D’Souza about racism. Although these videos are both American, what is said is applicable to South Africa as well.
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