BBBEE wrong

[JohnMasumba]

Am actually finding that my White friends get upset at the mention of BBBEE, and my more melanin-enriched friends prefer not to talk about it at all.

[Blurock]

Am actually finding that my White friends get upset at the mention of BBBEE, and my more melanin-enriched friends prefer not to talk about it at all.

My experience of BBBEE: In 2012 we started a factory to manufacture products that were mainly imported and sold locally by international companies who dominated the market.
The company was formed with the purpose of creating local jobs and manufacturing skills. Our aim was also to enter the export market to generate revenue to SA. in 2018 we were nominated in 3 categories as exporter of the year and awarded winner in one.
51% of the shares were allocated to our MD, a black South African who had work experience in the USA. The DTI was elated and came to visit us on several occasions, but not one cent of support or orders came from government. We had one of the best products on the market and built a brand known for quality and innovation. We eventually ran out of money because our BBBEE partner was not politically connected and could not raise any funds or orders.

The corporate pirates who then came in as equity investors eventually hijacked our business by not paying creditors, salaries & wages. They eventually appointed two BBBEE partners who came in as investors but no-one had any manufacturing skills or the ability to run such a technical business. After a period of declining sales because of poor quality and mismanagement, the BBBEE partnership was disolved and 70 empoyess were retrenched. Today this business exist in name only. The share price of the holding company fell from R18 to R1.10. In a matter of onlly 5 years they managed to destroy a very successful business with innovative products and decimated a workforce who were adequately trained in a number of skills.

I am all for equal opportunity and uplifting the poor, but none of the poor have benefitted from BBBEE. We have a duty to create not only jobs, but skills to save this country. BBBEE is nothing but corporate greed enriching the politically connected who does not care to steal the bread from their workers and their families. BBBEE = corruption!

[Blurock]

It is encouraging to see that more and more people are realising that BEE is wrong and is holding back the necessary growth and development to generate jobs and prosperity for ALL South Africans.

At the Built Environment Indaba on April 10, Danny Masimene, president of the Black Business Council for the Built Environment (BBCBE), delivered a bold critique of South Africa’s post-Apartheid progress. He declared that after more than 30 years of democracy, the country can no longer blame Apartheid for its economic woes. Instead, he held the black-led government – especially the ANC, which has ruled since 1994 – responsible for the persistent inequality and widespread failures.
Masimene asked, “What have we achieved?” and pointed to national debt, unemployment, poor service delivery, corruption, crime, a weak rand, and diplomatic strain as symptoms of mismanagement. Despite these issues, he argued for renewed commitment to transformation efforts like Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE), though he acknowledged they have mostly enriched a small elite rather than the broader black population.
He blamed poor implementation, saying the officials trusted with these policies have not acted with urgency or accountability. Financial sector transformation was singled out as sluggish, with black businesses still struggling for support. Public procurement processes were also criticised, as tenders are often awarded and then rescinded due to financial conditions, creating uncertainty and inefficiency.[/COLOR][COLOR=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9)]
Masimene was especially critical of Development Finance Institutions (DFIs), accusing them of mimicking commercial banks’ strict lending criteria, which undermines their purpose. He warned that without urgent financial sector reform, transformation would stall completely.
In closing, Masimene argued that while political freedom was won in 1994, true economic and social freedom for black South Africans remains elusive. He called for honest reflection, stronger financial support, and better governance to turn transformation from a failed promise into a meaningful reality.
Apartheid was never a valid excuse for the ANC’s economic failures to begin with.
Summary from Creamers Engineering News.