Opposition leader of the Democratic Alliance (DA) John Steenhuisen (4th R) and members of his party arrive ahead of the 2023 state-of-the-nation address (SONA) at the Cape Town City Hall in Cape Town on February 9, 2023. (Photo by Rodger Bosch / AFP)
DA seeks to scrap Black Economic Empowerment policy in South Africa
The opposition party’s Economic Justice Policy aims to create a more inclusive society by removing race-based policies from the equation.
Opposition leader of the Democratic Alliance (DA) John Steenhuisen (4th R) and members of his party arrive ahead of the 2023 state-of-the-nation address (SONA) at the Cape Town City Hall in Cape Town on February 9, 2023. (Photo by Rodger Bosch / AFP)
South Africa’s leading opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), declared that Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) had done nothing to empower the majority of the country’s citizens and said it seeks to scrap the “race-based” policy with its Economic Justice Policy.
DA argues BEE has failed to empower 90% of black South Africans
“The DA’s Economic Justice Policy seeks to create an economically inclusive SA – with more opportunities for all, free of any superficial differences,” said the party on Sunday, 26 March.
The party argues that BEE has done nothing to empower 90% of black South Africans and said it is time to “remove race from the equation” by targeting the disadvantaged directly.
Criticism over plan to scrap race-based redress policies
Speaking to SABC News, political analyst Thami Malinga said the 35-page Economic Justice Policy is at odds with the liberal picture the DA attempts to present.
“…in reality, it is this party that is leaning much to the right. When you read the document, you fail to reconcile what they are saying in the document with what they are doing in the Western Cape,” said Malinga.
Malinga described scrapping race-based redress policies as hogwash, especially since part of the document speaks about unequal South African society is.
The DA elective conference is coming up this weekend with DA leader John Steenhuisen the front-runner, to lead the party going into the 2024 general elections. He is up against former Johannesburg Mayor Mpho Phalatse.
Steenhuisen is a critic of “race-based policies” and previously said the inequality in South African society is a result of the government’s obsession with racial classification. “It is kind of like taking poison to try and cure yourself of other poisoning,” said Steenhuisen, according to SABC News.
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