By Simon Nare
Deputy President Paul Mashatile has fiercely defended Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) and vowed that government will not retreat from transformation policies, warning that doing so would be tantamount to “handing the country’s wealth back into white hands.”
Answering questions in the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) on Thursday, Mashatile dismissed claims that empowerment policies deter investment and job creation.
He said such narratives were designed to block progress for the previously marginalised.
“You are basically saying we must go back to apartheid, leave the economy in the hands of whites, and that’s how this country must work. It will never be allowed. Black people must be empowered by these policies,” Mashatile said.
He argued that B-BBEE has proven effective, with more black-owned companies operating successfully in mining and other sectors.
These gains, he said, were the “fruits of progressive policies” that government must continue to pursue.
You’ve reached your free article limit
Subscribe to enjoy unlimited access to trusted journalism. Cancel anytime.
Subscribe nowNeed help? molokom@insidepolitic.co.za
