‘They can’t even explain it!’ – Ramaphosa slams BEE critics

Ramaphosa

Cape Town – President Cyril Ramaphosa has rejected criticism that South Africa’s Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) policy hinders economic growth, calling such claims baseless.

His comments come after criticism from the Democratic Alliance and the Trump administration.

Speaking at the Black Business Council Summit in Johannesburg on Friday, Ramaphosa defended BEE as essential for economic transformation, arguing it is an investment rather than a cost to the economy.

According to SABC News, he emphasised that now is not the time to abandon efforts aimed at redressing historical inequalities.

“We need to challenge the notion that black economic empowerment is a cost to the economy. There are those who say it is costing the economy too much. But when you ask how, they cannot explain. We must demonstrate that it is, in fact, an investment in the economy. Now is not the time to abandon the measures we have put in place to drive transformation,” the report quoted the president as saying.

Last week, Ramaphosa expressed his bafflement at claims that South Africa’s broad-based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) policies, stifle the economy, arguing instead that the real obstacle is the continued concentration of economic power in the hands of a privileged minority.

Responding to questions in Parliament in Cape Town, he cited studies by the World Bank and IMF that support this view, noting that more than 30 years after apartheid, White families still earn nearly five times more on average than Black families.

“This is what baffles me… those who are opposed to black economic empowerment, I say ‘what do you want to see happening? Do you want to see black people continuing to play the role of labourers, drawers of water… and consumers only? Why an’t black people be made to own productive aspects of our economy. Why can’t they be rich as well? That’s what needs to happen,” the president said.

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