MICHAEL MORRIS: Our poor continue to lose out in procurement push
BEE is an ill-fated plan to address inequality and there is an alternative for SA’s poor, if only the government would listen
Who remembers the statement: “This thing of having a bottle of water that you can get for R7 procured by the government for R27, because you want to create a middle-class person who must have a business, is not on … It must stop”? Or, more to the point, who remembers who said it?
Few could be expected to remember; seven years have passed and it’s been more of the same. Believe it or not, ANC veteran Gwede Mantashe uttered those words. His bracing candour of 2012 — captured in the blunt synopsis of a contemporary headline: “BEE now a rip-off’” — has lost its punch because, far from ditching the costly and ineffective strategy, the government has pursued it with greater enthusiasm...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.