While most South Africans agree that black economic empowerment (BEE) is necessary to uplift standard and correct the wrongs of the past, there is a strong feeling that it has benefited only a select few, a survey has found.
The survey, conducted by Research Surveys, shows that 70% of the sample felt that BEE has enriched only a select few.
This was highest for whites, at 77%, with all the other population groups coming in the mid- to high sixties. Males were more negative at 77%, compared with females at 63%.
Two-thirds of the sample (69%) felt that BEE is necessary to address the wrongs of the past; this rising to 70% among blacks and to 75% among coloureds and Indians. Sixty-four percent of whites agreed with this.
Encouragingly, 65% of people interviewed felt that BEE has uplifted the standard of living for many black people. Coloureds at 75% were the most likely to agree with this, with Africans and Indians next in the mid-sixties. Only 58% of whites agreed.
There were some noticeable differences by city: only 58% of those in Gauteng agreed that the standard of living of many black people has been improved, with Durban and Cape Town scoring in the mid-seventies. Young people were also more positive in Gauteng, with 81% of those aged 18 to 24 agreeing.
While 44% felt that BEE is stifling the country’s growth, 48% felt this is not the case. Forty-three percent felt that BEE creates an environment that fosters corruption (especially whites at 52%), while a further 48% disagreed with this sentiment.
“In essence, South Africa is divided when it comes to blaming BEE for creating an environment for corruption and stifling economic growth.
“However, on a constructive note, government should take heed of the sentiment that their BEE promises have not necessarily been seen to produce results for all, but only for a select few.
“South Africa agrees that BEE is necessary for upliftment of standards and correcting the wrongs of the past, but there is a strong feeling that it has benefited only a few so far, and that the benefits of BEE have largely flowed to a few individuals rather than being more wide-spread.
“This will come as no surprise given the large number of BEE deals that have recently been announced,” said Research Surveys, a marketing insights company.
It added that frequent business debates have centred around the need for the government to recognise initiatives that also concentrate on skills transfer, management participation and so on, rather than focusing on equity transactions that do not tend to benefit the broad base.
The survey was conducted among 500 South African adults in metropolitan areas who had access to a landline telephone at the end of October. — I-Net Bridge