Former President Motlanthe says B-BBEE tarnished by elites

Former President Kgalema Motlanthe says Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE), as a policy, is unproblematic. However, it has been tarnished by elites who have abused it. 

Motlanthe has come out in support of the policy as it faces domestic and international pressure to be scrapped. 

The former president was participating in the Frank Dialogue event discussing the legacy and future of B-BBEE.

Meanwhile, former Statistician General, Pali Lehohla, made a passionate argument, backed by data, that racial inequalities in the country have been further entrenched since the turn of democracy. 

"And the question is, what is BEE doing. I am doing a mega challenge, not small inputs into BEE 101. What is the mega challenge we want to see, what is the impact we want to see and what is the society we want to see? When we ask these questions, then the BEE fails with change."

Motlanthe said transformation policies like B-BBEE  have moved the needle a bit. However, much more needs to be done to close the racial, economic gaps. 

"The problem, however, is not the principle of B-BBEE, it's the practice. The repeated selection of a small elite, so-called usual suspects, has left the policy vulnerable to attack."

A representative from the Afrikaans movement, Solidarity, said  B-BBEE has not worked and must be replaced with a better affirmative action policy.