BEE has long been the centrepiece of South Africa’s political ideology. That does not mean it’s sacred (“Is the government backpedalling on transformation?”, February 18).
It was not all good, or all bad. It was, however, essential 30 years ago. Doing nothing to redress the sins of apartheid would have invited fury. The economic edifice would have burned.
BEE has generated huge monetary wealth transfers at the top level. Yet it was not as successful in the skills dimension. Unlike cash, skills cannot be transferred. Skills are innate and must be individually developed. That cannot be accomplished by merely stripping the already skilled of their posts and awarding the positions to others.
South Africa has now reached a coming of age. It is time to bring down the curtain on BEE. Black South Africans are now powerful enough to go head to head with the dwindling minority, and that would greatly multiply the South African skills base.
With the resultant surging economy we should be able to double our national income every 15 years. There would be fresh hope for all, particularly the 10-million unemployed.
Willem Cronje
Cape Town
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