Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana says BEE can’t just be done away with because it is a constitutional requirement. Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana has called for a significant shift in the debate surrounding the country’s Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) policy. Rather than continuing the contentious conversation regarding the potential scrapping of the policy, Godongwana urges stakeholders to focus on the unintended consequences that may have arisen from its implementation.
“We must have an honest debate about it. First and foremost, it’s a constitutional injunction. You can’t dismiss Black Economic Empowerment.
“Now, what you need to say is, ‘Are there any unintended consequences?’ You can’t say, ‘Do away with it’. Are there any unintended consequences?” said Godongwana. He was responding to DA MP Andrew Bateman when he upped the ante on his party’s calls to scrap BEE when Godongwana and the National Treasury made a presentation on the 2026 Budget before the joint meeting of the Finance and Appropriations parliamentary committees on Friday.
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Bateman said BEE has been damaging to investment, economic growth, and job creation. “In other words, it has contributed to massive issues we face with unemployment and the general lack of opportunities for advancement if we look at its effect.” He also said BEE has empowered some black South Africans at the expense of all South Africans, a vast majority of whom are black. “So, it failed in its central objective on balance,” said Bateman.
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