Despite how BEE has been under attack, very few people have raised their voices to defend it. (Images: Freepik) 
I’m sure you’ve noticed that black economic empowerment (BEE) suddenly seems up for discussion again. I think some of this is because of Elon Musk and some of it is because the DA is now in government.
I’ve made the point before that considering how almost fundamental it is to the South African project, it’s strange we don’t discuss it more often. Especially when you consider that it (BEE) is an exercise in constructive social engineering.
But I’ve been surprised that, despite how it’s been under attack, very few people have raised their voices to defend it.
I wondered if maybe some people in the ANC are finding it difficult to defend. Perhaps because when we talk about BEE, we might mean other things, such as cadre deployment or corruption.
One of the things that State Capture damaged was the argument for BEE, even though it really had nothing to do with it.
Cadre deployment
I think you can conflate BEE with cadre deployment and all that follows.
But in reality, they are completely different things.
I think for some people there is a real hope that BEE will disappear.
I was on a panel recently and, when the issue came up, you could almost feel the anticipation in the audience.
I can understand why. I think some people simply feel they are being excluded because of BEE. They worry about themselves, but they worry about their families and their children too. And that makes it really fundamental.
There are things you might accept for you. But you will not accept them for your children. It is almost our duty to fight harder for our children than we do for ourselves.
Several years ago, I was at a weekend event attended by many of the great and good. In the bar, over a solitary dose of the medicinal, I got into a conversation with someone who has made an important contribution to our country.
But he told me his company couldn’t get any bigger without him handing over control of it to someone else. So, he could do that and get out. Or, he could start another company from scratch.
Or, he could sail his yacht around the world.
I’ve often wondered what he did. This is someone who could create jobs and services, but was being actively disincentivised from doing it. So, I don’t blame him if he set sail for seas afar.
Economy
But I also get irritated with this idea that if we end BEE, then our economy will magically start growing. I don’t think it works like that at all.
Yes, BEE may be a factor. But I don’t think it’s a major factor.
And consider the alternative of what happens if we end BEE. And this is where those who argue that we must keep it are on pretty strong ground.
Saki Macozoma, now the chairman at Vodacom, at Safika Holdings, and someone who has done many many things with his life, has given an important defence of BEE.
Yes, he has benefitted from it himself, so have others. But his words are still important.
Speaking on The Money Show on Wednesday night, he said that BEE was adopted in the 1990s because: “We understood that we could not have a group of people of a certain hue holding political power, and another group of people of a different hue holding economic power. That’s a recipe for disaster. And a lot of poor people in the process.”
Of course he is entirely correct.
He went on: “So, until we reach a certain equilibrium between those two forces in society, we will always have tumultuous times.”
If you look at the debates in our society, how we still fight and argue with each other (unless Donald Trump or the All Blacks are in the room, in which case we will all band together and fight them), you can see that what Macozoma says is true.
Inequality
Our inequality is one of the most important factors that leads to the divisions between us.
And we should be clear about this; they will not resolve themselves through “trickle-down economics”. It will take a concerted and deliberate effort.
That said, nothing is going to change without growth. If we don’t create jobs, and don’t create an enabling environment for jobs, then all that will happen is that we will fight harder over shrinking pieces of the pie.
So many people have spent so much time discussing growth in recent days, but very few have brought up BEE as a major factor.
For me, I think we abandon race-based redress at our peril. Without it, and the real difference it makes in people’s lives, and the hope it brings countless others, we could be doomed. DM