ANC’s BBBEE policy has only served to enrich the politically connected‚ says DA

The ANC’s policy of BBBEE has clearly failed and has managed to only enrich the politically connected‚ the DA says.

The ANC’s policy has by extension widened the gap between those who are included and excluded in the formal economy‚ the party said on Saturday.

“This is why the DA rejects the ANC’s version of BBBEE. We will not be forced to view our own alternative through the prism of the ANC’s failed policy formulation‚” it added.

The party was speaking at the conclusion of a two-day meeting of its federal executive.

DA spokesman Solly Malatsi said that the function of any policy that sought to redress the injustices of the past‚ which saw black South Africans systematically locked out of opportunities‚ could not replicate the very evil of apartheid.

“It must seek to actively empower those who have been disempowered‚ the majority of whom are black. And that empowerment must focus on creating jobs. The DA unreservedly supports the goal of economically empowering black South Africans who are currently left out of the economy.”

Malatsi said that no policy of this nature could negate the fact that race still remained a proxy for disadvantage in South Africa.

“While we should strive to get to the point where this is no longer the case‚ we are certainly not there yet. In building One South Africa for All‚ the DA will seek to rely less on race as the inequality gap lessens in our country. Until then‚ we must be innovative and look at various models such as reviewing the score-card in order to ensure that black empowerment is truly broad-based‚” he added.