Laws on racial quotas are tantamount to those that led to apartheid
05 December 2024 - 16:50
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One could easily have said “the law is the law” about apartheid too. BEE is an irrational, unethical and downright disastrous set of regulations and legislation that is holding back our country.
It is tantamount to the racial quotas and racialised laws that led up to apartheid. Treating people differently by virtue of the colour of their skin is downright offensive and unethical. It is racist. And it flies in the face of our constitution, and the founding principles of our post-apartheid society.
We should not be condemning BEE fronting. It’s not corruption in the same way that BEE and similar legislation enables tender fraud, cadre deployment, incompetent officials, corruption mafias and more. BEE fronting is a reasonable reaction to an unreasonable set of laws.
The SA economy persists in spite of BEE, not because of it. We shouldn’t be wasting breath condemning those trying to circumvent stupidity. We should be spending every last ounce of our power eliminating BEE and racialised laws, so that the final vestiges of a racialised system are finally destroyed.
That’s how we can achieve a prosperous and free SA.
Nicholas Woode-Smith Cape Town
JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Send us an email with your comments to letters@businesslive.co.za. Letters of more than 300 words will be edited for length. Anonymous correspondence will not be published. Writers should include a daytime telephone number.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
LETTER: BEE an offence to everyone
Laws on racial quotas are tantamount to those that led to apartheid
Your editorial opinion (“Throw the book at BEE fronting”, December 3) refers.
One could easily have said “the law is the law” about apartheid too. BEE is an irrational, unethical and downright disastrous set of regulations and legislation that is holding back our country.
It is tantamount to the racial quotas and racialised laws that led up to apartheid. Treating people differently by virtue of the colour of their skin is downright offensive and unethical. It is racist. And it flies in the face of our constitution, and the founding principles of our post-apartheid society.
We should not be condemning BEE fronting. It’s not corruption in the same way that BEE and similar legislation enables tender fraud, cadre deployment, incompetent officials, corruption mafias and more. BEE fronting is a reasonable reaction to an unreasonable set of laws.
The SA economy persists in spite of BEE, not because of it. We shouldn’t be wasting breath condemning those trying to circumvent stupidity. We should be spending every last ounce of our power eliminating BEE and racialised laws, so that the final vestiges of a racialised system are finally destroyed.
That’s how we can achieve a prosperous and free SA.
Nicholas Woode-Smith
Cape Town
JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Send us an email with your comments to letters@businesslive.co.za. Letters of more than 300 words will be edited for length. Anonymous correspondence will not be published. Writers should include a daytime telephone number.
EDITORIAL: Throw the book at BEE fronting
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EDITORIAL: Throw the book at BEE fronting
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