DA moves to scrap BEE, calling it 'State-sponsored corruption'

Unveiling the Economic Inclusion for All Bill at a media briefing in Bruma, Johannesburg, DA leaders said the legislation would end alleged “race-based enrichment for the politically connected” and usher in a new era of inclusive, transparent, and fair economic empowerment.

DA's Ivan Meyer described BEE as “state-sponsored corruption, militarily executed by the ANC to enrich a small elite.” 

He said the party’s new policy proposal represents one of the most significant economic reform efforts since 1994.

"This is not an ordinary press conference — this is history in the making, for three decades, BEE has deepened poverty and widened inequality. Our Economic Inclusion Bill ends this ideological madness and replaces it with a globally recognised system of genuine empowerment."

Meyer said that the DA’s plan draws on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and would align public procurement with Section 217 of the Constitution, which calls for fairness, equity, and cost-effectiveness in government contracting.

He also confirmed that the Western Cape Government, led by the DA, has already filed papers at the Constitutional Court challenging the Public Procurement Act of 2024, arguing that it is unconstitutional for entrenching race-based preferences.

"We are challenging BEE not only in policy but in law, we have an apex priority in the Democratic Alliance — to grow the economy and create jobs for all South Africans, not just the well-connected few."

The DA’s new Bill aims to replace BEE with an outcomes-based model that rewards companies for job creation, skills development, social impact, and environmental sustainability — not for ownership by politically connected elites.

According to the party, the Bill will repeal race-based preferential procurement clauses from the Public Procurement Amendment Act of 2024, wind down the BEE Commission within 12 months of implementation, introduce a simplified preference point system based on companies’ contributions to inclusive development and disqualify bidders involved in fraud, corruption, or fronting.

Speaking at the same media briefing, DA's Mat Cuthbert said the Bill would “replace ideology with evidence” and “restore the integrity of empowerment.”

"For 30 years, BEE has been used as a feeding trough for the ANC’s cronies, our new Bill is not about race — it’s about need. It targets poverty, not skin colour, and ensures that empowerment benefits those who need it most."

Cuthbert cited damning statistics, saying that the unemployment rate for black South Africans stands at 36%, compared to 7% among whites, and that nearly 30 million black South Africans are living below the poverty line.

"Since BEE was introduced in 2003, inequality has worsened, jobs have declined, and corruption has skyrocketed, we are the most unequal country on earth — and BEE has played a major role in keeping it that way."

Cuthbert referenced high-profile scandals such as the Transnet locomotive deal, where R6 billion was siphoned through inflated contracts, and the Tembisa Hospital fraud case, as evidence that BEE has become a “vehicle for looting."

DA Spokesperson on Social Development in Parliament, Alexandra Abrahams, linked the party’s economic proposals to South Africa’s worsening social crisis, calling unemployment and poverty a "dignity crisis."

"Millions wake up each day without work, without hope, and without dignity. Over 28 million South Africans depend on social grants to survive. BEE was supposed to empower them — instead, it has abandoned them."

Abrahams described visiting poverty-stricken communities in KwaZulu-Natal, where unemployed graduates and retrenched workers expressed anger and despair.

"Millions wake up each day without work, without hope, and without dignity, over 28 million South Africans depend on social grants to survive. BEE was supposed to empower them — instead, it has abandoned them."

Abrahams described visiting poverty-stricken communities in KwaZulu-Natal, where unemployed graduates and retrenched workers expressed anger and despair.

While the DA is a key partner in the Government of National Unity (GNU), Meyer said the party will not compromise on its principles or back down from challenging the ANC’s policies.

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