The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) rejects the Democratic Alliance (DA)’s naïve call to scrap Broad-Based Black Empowerment (BBBEE). The Federation is steadfast in its support for the progressive objectives of BBBEE and remains convinced of its fundamental necessity for a country still struggling to overcome 350 years of systematic discrimination under colonial and apartheid rule.
As long as South Africa remains scarred by the painful legacies of exclusion, then transformation legislation such as BBBEE and Employment Equity will continue to be critical tools to overcoming our still entrenched levels of poverty and inequality. These centuries of state and capital discrimination have ensured that the colour of one’s skin is intrinsically linked with one’s ability to find work, establish a business and secure a decent standard of income for themselves and their families.
COSATU is dismayed that the DA has chosen to raise long debunked fairy tale claims by William Gumede that BBBEE has seen R1 trillion handed over to 100 politically connected persons yet cannot say who these individuals are nor where the monies came from. It is unhelpful for the DA to dismiss the many gains of BBBEE under government led by the African National Congress which have begun to chip away at racial inequalities. We are surprised that the DA has jumped upon the demagogic bandwagon of conflating BBBEE with billionaires and ignoring the millions of ordinary South Africans it has benefited.
It’s bewildering that the DA has opted to feed into the myth that BBBEE is about a few individuals. It is strange that its announcement omits the core fact that BBBEE has three paths; the 30% historically disadvantaged individuals, Employee Shareholder Ownership Programmes (ESOPs) or worker ownership, and equity equivalent investments supporting locally produced goods and businesses, workers and communities. It is disconcerting that the DA is calling upon Parliament to throw the baby out with the bath water.
ESOPs have been particularly successful, enabling 500 000 workers of all races, to become shareholders at their companies. This has boosted their incomes and put money in their pockets. It has created a sense of inclusion and boosted workplace productivity. These are key to inclusive economic growth.
The objectives of BBBEE are sacrosanct. Where modalities need to be enhanced or implementation challenges addressed, then sober discussions must be held at Nedlac and Parliament. However, these must be anchored upon accelerating not abandoning the nation’s constitutionally mandated transformation journey.
Whilst at face value utilising the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, of which South Africa is a signatory, may appear attractive, we fear that they will simply be unwieldly and make the administration of public procurement a nightmare for public servants and unfathomable for SMMEs.
Issued by COSATU
Matthew Parks (COSATU Parliamentary Coordinator)
Mobile: 082 785 0687
Email: matthew@cosatu.org.za
