Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) is a program launched by the South African government to redress the inequalities of Apartheid by giving previously disadvantaged groups (black Africans, Coloureds and Indians) economic opportunuties previously not available to them. It includes measures such as Employment Equity, skills development, ownership, management, corporate social investment and preferential procurement. The Republic of South Africa is a constitutional democracy with a three-tier system of government and an independent judiciary, operating under a Westminster-styled parliamentary system. ... A segregated beach in South Africa, 1982. ... In the South African and Namibian context, the term Coloured (also known as Bruinmense, Kleurlinge or Bruine Afrikaners) refers to a rather heterogeneous group of people of mixed Khoisan, white European descent, Malay, Malagasy, Black (Bantu), and South Indian ancestry, especially in the Western Cape. ... Affirmative action (US English), or positive discrimination (British English), is a policy or a program providing advantages for people of a minority group who are seen to have traditionally been discriminated against. ...

Rationale

After the end of Apartheid in 1994 and with the advent of majority rule, control of big business in both the public and private sectors still rested primarily in the hands of white individuals. According to Statistics South Africa, Whites comprise just under 10% of the population, meaning that most of the country's economy was controlled by a very small minority. BEE is intended to transform the economy to be representative of the demographic make-up of the country. Majoritarianism (often also called majority rule) is a political philosophy or agenda which asserts that a majority (sometimes categorized by religion, language or some other identifying factor) of the population is entitled to a certain degree of primacy in society, and has the right to make decisions that affect the... < [[[[math>Insert formula here</math>The public sector is that part of economic and administrative life that deals with the delivery of goods and services by and for the [[government </math></math></math></math> Direct administration funded through taxation; the delivering organisation generally has no specific requirement to meet commercial... The private sector of a nations economy consists of all that is outside the state. ... Statistics South Africa is the national statistics board of South Africa. ...

Legislation

On 7 February, 2007, the first BEE Codes of Good Practice was gazetted by the South-African Government. This included the following Codes:

• Code 100 – Ownership
• Code 200 – Management
• Code 300 – Employment Equity
• Code 400 – Skills Development
• Code 500 – Preferential Procurement
• Code 600 – Enterprise Development
• Code 700 – Corporate Social Investments
• Codes 800 - 807 - Qualifying Small Enterprises

The following sector scorecards were also gazetted:

• Financial Sector Scorecard ^[1]
• Construction Sector Scorecard^[2].

Also gazetted were general guidelines and definitions, among which, the definition of the beneficiaries of BEE. ^[3]

Scorecards

Enterprises may be rated based on various scorecards, however only the following have been gazetted as of February 2007

• Generic Broad Based Scorecard
• Generic Narrow Based Scorecard
• Qualifying Small Enterprises Narrow Based Scorecard
• Qualifying Small Enterprises Broad Based Scorecard
• Financial Sector Scorecard
• Construction Sector Scorecard

Significant leniency for Small Entrprises has been built into the gazetted codes. Based on the Qualifying Small Enterprises Codes, all companies with a turnover under 5 million South African Rands per annum is completely exempt from BEE and automatically qualifies as a level 4 contributor or achieves 100 % BEE Contribution Recognition.

The generic broad based scorecard. All seven pillars must be addressed totaling 100 points

Small enterprises (those with an annual turnover between 5 and 35 million South African Rands) are rated on the following scorecard and may choose any four of the pillars to address, totaling 100 points

^[4].

Effects

The neutrality of this article is disputed. Please see the discussion on the talk page.

This policy has seen the development and acquisition of businesses by persons who were marginalised under apartheid. Typically, this would be done by guarantees (by quota) of black employment at certain levels of a company. BEE reaches much further than the affirmative action programmes in other countries. It sets quotas for black ownership of companies across various significant economic sectors in South Africa, including but not limited to mining, financial services, IT, tourism and agriculture. Image File history File links Unbalanced_scales. ... This article is about mineral extraction. ... Financial services is a term used to refer to the services provided by the finance industry. ... Information technology (IT), as defined by the Information Technology Association of America (ITAA)is: the study, design, development, implementation, support or management of computer-based information systems, particularly software applications and computer hardware. ... Tourists on Oʻahu, Hawaii Tourism is travel for predominantly recreational or leisure purposes, and also refers to the provision of services in support of this act. ...

The outcome today

Black economic empowerment is being used to enrich a small, politically-connected elite, while leaving the majority of poor black South Africans unaffected. This has arisen because many beneficiaries of BEE are close to the ruling party, the African National Congress. For political parties with similar names in other countries, see Northern Rhodesian African National Congress and Zambian African National Congress. ...

Critics also argue that BEE's aim was to attempt to create equality of the workforce of South Africa as a whole by enforcing the advantaging of the previously disadvantaged (Black, Coloured and Indian) and the disadvantaging the previously advantaged (White). This results in businesses having to consider the social background of any potential applicant instead of making decisions purely based on qualifications and experience.

Instead of using this type of policy, it has been suggested by critics that a policy of qualification equality should be used. This would allow businesses to focus on employing the person with the highest qualifications, the most experience and the best recommendations. To allow previously disadvantaged individuals to achieve these qualifications and experience, critics of BEE say that the government should place more emphasis on secondary and tertiary education, as well as subsidise companies wishing to employ entry level applicants.

In response to criticism, the South African Government launched Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment which is the current gazetted framework for addressing Black Empowerment beyond enriching a few. Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) is a form of Black Economic Empowerment initiated by the South African government in response to criticism against Narrow Based Empowerment instituted in the country during 2003/2004. ...

Inkatha Freedom Party leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi is a strong critic against BEE and has made statements such as "[the] government's reckless implementation of the affirmative-action policy is forcing many white people to leave the country, creating a skills shortage crisis". The Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) is a political party in South Africa. ... Chief Mangosuthu (Gatsha)Ashpenaz Nathan Buthelezi (born August 27, 1928) is a South African Zulu leader, and leader of the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) which he formed in 1975. ...

External links

• Buthelezi slams affirmative action
• Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Act, 2003
• Department of Trade and Industry BEE Strategy
• mPowerRatings Black Economic Empowerment news articles, charters, codes of good practice, etc
• EconoBEE - Broad Based BEE Scorecard Information Black Economic Empowerment information, BEE Scorecard Self Rating, BBBEE Codes, Download latest BBBEE Codes of good practice, FAQ's and Forums