LETTER: Constitution’s BEE injunction is not mandatory

The Employment Equity Amendment Act grants the labour minister the power to set race targets in each sector of the economy. Enormous fines threaten noncompliant employers.

Three points need emphasis. First, the constitutional injunction for demographic representation in the workforce is exhortative, not mandatory. Ability must be taken into account.

Second, at least explicitly this injunction applies only to the state sector. The constitution is silent on the private and NGO sectors.

Third, the position we now find ourselves in is that while the state sector is essentially demographically representative at leadership level, this has verged on the catastrophic. Sections of the state — at national, provincial and local levels — are collapsing, or have collapsed.

This is due to the constitutional injunction having been interpreted as mandatory, whereas it should all along have been seen as exhortative.

Now the ANC — if it gets its way — is out to collapse the private sector, too. 

Willem Cronje
Cape Town

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