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Ten Propositions about Black Economic Empowerment in South Africa

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  • Roger Southall

Abstract

Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) has become one of the most high profile strategies of African National Congress (ANC) government. Yet BEE has also become highly controversial, critics arguing variously that it serves as a block to foreign investment, encourages a re-racialisation of the political economy, and promotes the growth of a small but remarkably wealthy politicallyconnected ‘empowerment’ elite. There is considerable substance to such analyses. However, they miss the point that BEE policies constitute a logical unfolding of strategy which is dictated by the ANC's own history, the nature of the democratic settlement of 1994 and the structure of the white-dominated economy. This paper seeks to unravel that logic through the pursuit of ten propositions. An overall conclusion is that while there is a strong case for arguing that BEE (or some similar programme to correct racial imbalances) is a political necessity, the ANC needs to do more to combine its empowerment strategies with delivery of ‘a better life for all’.

Suggested Citation

  • Roger Southall, 2007. "Ten Propositions about Black Economic Empowerment in South Africa," Review of African Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 34(111), pages 67-84, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:revape:v:34:y:2007:i:111:p:67-84
    DOI: 10.1080/03056240701340365
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    Cited by:

    1. Jon Phillips & Saska Petrova, 2021. "The materiality of precarity: Gender, race and energy infrastructure in urban South Africa," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 53(5), pages 1031-1050, August.
    2. Ethné M. Swartz & Frances M. Amatucci & Jonathan T. Marks, 2019. "Contextual Embeddedness As A Framework: The Case Of Entrepreneurship In South Africa," Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship (JDE), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 24(03), pages 1-24, September.
    3. McWalter, Thomas A. & Ritchken, Peter H., 2022. "Black economic empowerment regulation and risk incentives," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 139(C).
    4. Scully, Ben, 2023. "South Africa's response to the Covid-19 pandemic: The crisis in the context of the history of South African capitalism," IPE Working Papers 220/2023, Berlin School of Economics and Law, Institute for International Political Economy (IPE).
    5. Thando Vilakazi & Stefano Ponte, 2022. "Black Economic Empowerment and Quota Allocations in South Africa's Industrial Fisheries," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 53(5), pages 1059-1086, September.
    6. Juliet Eileen Joseph, 2022. "So Close but yet So Far: South African Women’s Challenges in a Post-Colonial Local Government," Eurasian Journal of Social Sciences, Eurasian Publications, vol. 10(2), pages 91-109.

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