Black Economic Empowerment facts for kids

An advert for a company specialising in making South African companies compliant with Black Economic Empowerment (BBE) regulations and government procurement policies.

Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) is a racially selective programme launched by the South African government to redress the inequalities of Apartheid by giving black (African, Coloureds, Indians and Chinese) South African citizens economic privileges that are not available to White South Africans, in essence wealth redistribution. It is a form of Affirmative action. Although race is the overriding factor, it includes measures such as Employment Preference, skills development, ownership, management, socioeconomic development, and preferential procurement. By 2015 around R350 billion (equivalent to US$24 billion) worth BEE deals had been done by the top 100 companies on the JSE with an additional R50 billion by private South African companies indicating that 10 percent of South Africa's GDP had been transferred to 20 percent of the population in the 15 years since 2000.

Images for kids

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  Patrice Motsepe is well-known as a beneficiary of various multimillion-rand BEE transactions in the 1990s.

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  Cyril Ramaphosa chaired the BEE Commission.

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  President Thabo Mbeki advocated for the development of a South African black bourgeoisie.

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  Pieter Groenewald of the FF+ is an outspoken opponent of BEE.