Free SA will tomorrow formally submit a public participation dossier calling for urgent reform of Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (BEE), backed by more than 1,000 South Africans who have signed onto the organisation’s two national campaigns.
The submission follows growing public concern that BEE, in its current form, has failed to deliver meaningful, broad-based economic inclusion and instead entrenches barriers to growth, investment, and job creation.
Drawing on input from citizens across the country, Free SA’s submission calls for a clear, time-bound framework to phase out race-based policies and replace them with empowerment measures that are inclusive, effective, and focused on real economic upliftment.
Free SA argues that while the intention behind BEE was to address historical inequality, its implementation has increasingly benefited a narrow elite while leaving millions of disadvantaged South Africans behind.
The organisation’s submission highlights the following key concerns:
- BEE policies have discouraged investment and economic expansion
- Compliance requirements disproportionately burden small and medium enterprises
- Job creation is hindered by rigid regulatory frameworks
- Economic exclusion persists despite decades of policy enforcement
Central to the submission is the call for government to set a clear end date for BEE in its current form, replacing it with policies that prioritise:
- Economic growth and job creation
- Skills development and education
- Support for entrepreneurship and small businesses
- Poverty alleviation based on need, not race
Commenting on the submission, Free SA spokesperson Gideon Joubert said:
“More than 1,000 South Africans have made their voices heard through this submission. They are not rejecting empowerment, they are demanding that it actually works. After decades of BEE, we must ask whether it has delivered real, broad-based opportunity, or whether it has instead created new forms of exclusion.”
“South Africa cannot afford policies that limit growth and opportunity. We need an empowerment framework that expands the economy, rewards hard work, and uplifts all who are left behind, regardless of race.”
Free SA emphasises that this submission reflects a growing demand for transparency, accountability, and genuine public participation in policymaking. The organisation maintains that economic reform must be guided by evidence, inclusivity, and the lived realities of ordinary South Africans.
As South Africa faces persistently high unemployment and slow economic growth, Free SA warns that maintaining ineffective policies will only deepen the crisis.
“This submission is not the end of the conversation, it is the beginning of a necessary national reckoning,” Joubert added. “If we are serious about empowerment, we must be willing to rethink what has not worked and build a future based on opportunity for all.”