Stop the 2026 BEE Regulations

South Africa Needs Growth, Inclusion, and Competitiveness — Not Failed Policies Repackaged

The proposed 2026 amendments to the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) Codes represent a continuation — and intensification — of an economic policy framework that has failed to deliver inclusive growth, job creation, or competitiveness for South Africa.

Speak up, be heard, take a stand!

These draft regulations are rooted in outdated economic thinking, expand compliance burdens, centralise control, and further entrench race-based economic engineering at a time when South Africa urgently needs investment, innovation, and growth. Instead of broadening participation in the economy, the proposed framework narrows opportunity, deters entrepreneurship, and weakens South Africa’s ability to compete globally.

Free SA believes that true empowerment comes from economic growth, equal opportunity, skills development, and open markets, not coercive scorecards and state-managed redistribution.

This campaign calls on South Africans to reject the draft BEE regulations in principle and in substance, and to demand a modern, inclusive, growth-oriented alternative.

Make Your Voice Count — Official Public Comment

More about the regulations

Key concerns:

A. Fundamental Objection: The BEE Framework Itself Is Flawed
At its core, BEE is based on the assumption that economic outcomes should be engineered through racial classification and compliance targets. After more than two decades, the results are clear: BEE has not delivered mass economic upliftment, It has benefited a politically connected elite, not the majority and it has discouraged investment.

B. Increased Complexity and Compliance Burdens
The draft Codes significantly expand scorecard weightings, introduce new mandatory sub-minimums. This creates a system that is inaccessible to small businesses, administratively heavy, and expensive to comply with.

C. The Transformation Fund: A De Facto Tax on Businesses
The introduction of a Transformation Fund under Enterprise and Supplier Development is deeply concerning. In practice, this functions as a compulsory quasi-tax, transferring capital away from productive investment. Forcing businesses to contribute to a state-linked fund undermines confidence, property rights, and voluntary investment decisions.    

What we're advocating for

Free SA calls for a fundamental shift in economic policy, including:

  • The complete withdrawal of the 2026 Draft BEE Codes
  • A clear governmental shift away from race-based economic engineering
  • Policies truly focused on growth, jobs, skills, and entrepreneurship
  • Voluntary, incentive-based empowerment — not coercion
  • Support for SMEs through deregulation, not compliance costs

South Africa does not need more regulation, it needs more opportunity.

How you can help

You can help by:

  • Submitting a formal objection to the draft regulations by filling out the form here

  • Sharing this campaign with others

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