DA's new economic transformation model aims to uplift the poor - Zille

The Democratic Alliance (DA) has unveiled what it calls its next step in the fight to replace BBBEE with economic inclusion for all.

It comes after the party launched its Economic Inclusion for All Bill - a proposed new law that it says represents a move toward 'achieving the vision of genuine economic empowerment for all South Africans'.

"We don't need race as a proxy, we can design our policies to help the poor up the ladder, not enrich the elite," DA federal chair Helen Zille said on Tuesday.

For almost 30 years, BBBEE has been the government’s key tool for economic transformation. But while it was created to correct the injustices of the past, critics says it has often missed the mark.

The DA says that instead of redressing past injustices, BBBEE has "entrenched a millionaire class of politically connected insiders".

Under the party's new model, it promises that preference for government business will be given to companies that make "measurable contributions toward clearly defined goals", and that race will no longer be the indicator of disadvantage.

Zille says the party formulated it's policy of economic inclusion for all in the 1990s.

"At the time, we said cadre deployment would lead to the corrupt and criminal state...and of course everybody at the time called us racists."

Zille said the DA's prophecy came to be.

"To the point where corruption IS the system, it's not disrupting the system, it IS the system."

Zille claims that BBBEE has resulted in the massive impoverishment for the majority of South Africans.

ALSO READ: DA to reveal next step in push to replace BBBEE, but will it alienate black voters?

To listen to DA Federal Council Chairperson Helen Zille speaking on the party’s new economic transformation model, click the audio below.