For millions of South Africans, the debate over Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment is not an abstract policy argument. It touches wages, jobs, land, education and the unfinished promise of 1994. Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni has reaffirmed that the policy remains a central instrument for addressing the injustices of Apartheid, framing it as a constitutional duty owed to citizens rather than a negotiable preference.
Speaking to IOL, the Minister argued that redress is not optional. “Apartheid was declared a crime against humanity. It was also an economic crime. Families were forcibly removed from their land. Workers were barred by law from skilled jobs,” she said. “Black children were given an education designed to keep them in servitude. In 1994, South Africans chose redress over retribution. B-BBEE is an instrument of that choice, and section 9(2) of the Constitution requires it. Redress is a constitutional obligation, not a bargaining chip. And it is working. Behind every figure is a South African whose life has changed.”
The human stakes she described are considerable. According to the Minister, 3.4 million black South Africans now belong to a middle class their parents were barred from by law, with R400 billion a year in spending power. Through the Youth Employment Service, created under the B-BBEE framework, some 240 000 young people have received a full year of paid work, earning R15 billion in salaries. More than half of them are young women. Through Equity Equivalent Investment Programmes alone, global companies have created more than 2 000 jobs, backed 87 black-owned businesses, almost half of them owned by black women, and trained more than 2 500 people.
The legal basis of the policy is set out in the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Amendment Act, which defines BBBEE as the viable economic empowerment of all black people, in particular women, workers, youth, people with disabilities and people living in rural areas, through diverse but integrated socio-economic strategies. These include increasing the number of black people who manage, own and control enterprises and productive assets, among other measures.
What changed for investors: the Minister was careful to address concerns about how the policy affects them. B-BBEE, she stressed, is not a precondition for investing in South Africa. It applies where a company requires a licence from the state, such as in mining and ICT. Multinationals whose policies, on proof thereof, do not allow them to sell local equity can comply through EEIPs. President Cyril Ramaphosa explained the origin of that mechanism in his newsletter to the nation in June last year, noting that the EEIP was created to accommodate multinationals whose global practices or policies prevent them from complying with the B-BBEE ownership element through the traditional sale of equity or shares. The programme allows such companies to invest in socio-economic, skills and enterprise development in South Africa without selling equity in their local subsidiaries.
Companies that have taken this route include Dell, Microsoft and HP, which comply through EEIPs by investing in black-owned businesses and skills instead of selling equity. The Minister noted that others continue to expand: Microsoft has announced a R5.4 billion investment in local cloud and AI infrastructure, the US International Development Finance Corporation has invested $50 million in the Phalaborwa rare earths project, and Amazon Web Services is investing in cloud infrastructure over several years. A detailed account of her remarks is available at https://www.sanews.gov.za/south-africa/ntshavheni-reaffirms-b-bbee-key-instrument-economic-redress.
On mining, she said ownership requirements are not arbitrary. Under the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act, South Africa’s minerals are the common heritage of all South Africans, held by the State as custodian. “Those who extract them must share the benefit with the people who own them. Multinationals that do not wish to sell equity have a clear alternative in EEIPs,” she added. Flexibility also exists across sectors, with each sector governed by Sector Codes negotiated by a charter council within agreed-upon frameworks. “Under the B-BBEE Codes, a multinational that cannot sell local equity, by virtue of their policies, can instead make an equivalent contribution to black-owned enterprises and suppliers, skills development and other national priorities through an EEIP. Cabinet has also supported a review of the framework to strengthen it for transformation and growth,” she explained.
For the public, the core of her argument is that fairness and growth are inseparable. “B-BBEE ensures that growth is shared, and that is what makes it sustainable,” she told IOL. She added that South Africa determines its domestic policy on the basis of the best interests of citizens, and that its energy, telecommunications and mining rules are made by South Africans, under the Constitution, to serve the country’s development, while providing fair market access for all partners. As a founding member of the World Trade Organization and a non-aligned country, she said, “Non-discrimination is a principle we hold to. Every investor plays by the same rules in our country, wherever they come from.”
The unfinished work remains large. The Minister noted that the progress has not come at the expense of white South Africans, who continue to prosper in the economy, and that the policy “belongs to the whole nation.” Yet 23.1 million black South Africans remain outside the fruits of economic prosperity. A typical black African worker earns R5 200 a month, while the typical white worker earns R25 000. “To abandon redress now would be to tell these South Africans that their freedom ends at the ballot box,” she said. While South Africa wants foreign capital, she concluded, it wants capital that builds processing, beneficiation and manufacturing capacity at home. “That is investment with development, not investment at the expense of development. Our minerals belong to the people of South Africa and must work in their interest. Investors who help build these value chains here are partners in that project, and we are actively seeking them.” The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition is already taking investors through what the policy provides, including its flexibilities, and engages companies on individual transactions.