Motlanthe: B-BBEE must be reimagined & implemented with decisiveness, empathy & vision

Former state President Kgalema Motlanthe said despite some issues with the implementation of broad-based black economic empowerment (B-BBEE), the policy should be expanded rather than scrapped.

The former president participated at the Frank Dialogue event in Sandton on Tuesday, which looked at the history and future of BBBEE.

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BEE was officially signed into law in 2003 and over the last two decades, it has been amended and reformed a number of times.

Motlanthe said the policy needed to evolve, closing loopholes that allow for abuse.

"The challenge before us is difficult, yes but it is necessary. We cannot postpone it, we dare not weaken it with cynical attacks or reduce it to narrow patronage. We must reimagine and implement triple BEE with decisiveness, empathy and vision."

Meanwhile, the Solidarity Research Institute said the BBBEE policy has been an impediment to investment in the country and has not resulted in the collective advancement of black people.

Head researcher, Connie Mulder: "First, Solidarity is not of the opinion that we should just abandon ship and do nothing. The answer is we need to start doing something else. What we're doing at the moment is not working, it's not achieving the outcomes that it should. We’ve heard the usual suspects are getting much richer and we have seen that happen, you have a small elite that has benefited significantly but the rest of the country has not."