23 October 2025 by
The ANC has pushed back hard against the DA’s proposal to scrap the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) policy, calling the suggestion an attack on South Africa’s transformation agenda.
ANC spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu defended the policy, saying it remains essential in addressing the deep inequalities created by apartheid. She said that while the ruling party is open to refining certain aspects of B-BBEE, its core principles will not be abandoned.
‘B-BBEE has improved the lives of many black South Africans and would not be scrapped,’ Bhengu said. ‘Like any other piece of legislation, amendments are acceptable as long as they do not deviate from the substance of that piece of legislation.’
Bhengu accused the DA of attempting to reverse transformation progress and of downplaying the realities of racial inequality. She pointed to DA federal chairperson Helen Zille’s past comments about Afrikaners ‘pulling themselves up by their bootstraps’ as proof of the party’s lack of sensitivity to South Africa’s history.
‘The idea that the DA foresees a future South Africa without transformation laws, starting with triple-BEE, is an idea that must be challenged by all democracy-loving people and patriots, many of whom are beneficiaries of the policy,’ Bhengu added.
Trade union federation Cosatu echoed the ANC’s stance, as reported by African Insider.
Spokesperson Matthew Parks said both B-BBEE and employment equity laws remain crucial in addressing the long-standing effects of racial exclusion. He noted that the policy has opened doors for workers, women and people with disabilities, adding that it should only be reconsidered once racial inequality is completely eradicated.
Meanwhile, the DA has maintained that B-BBEE has failed to serve its intended purpose. DA head of policy Mathew Cuthbert argued that the policy has largely benefited politically connected elites rather than ordinary citizens.
He cited South Africa’s black unemployment rate, which stands at 36%, and the fact that nearly 30 million black South Africans still live below the poverty line as evidence of B-BBEE’s shortcomings.
Cuthbert claimed that rather than empowering the poor, the policy has become ‘a feeding trough for ANC cadres’.
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