The government’s decision to focus on reviewing the implementation of broad-based black economic empowerment (B-BBEE) rather than ending the policy has received another critical endorsement from Black business, development funding institutions such as the National Development Fund (NEF) and the Industrial Development Trust (IDT), traditional leaders, and civil society.
This arises from the recent Frank Dialogue on the Future of BEE organised by Professor Onkgopotse Tabane’s company FrankDialogue and Sunday World, where this stakeholders expressed their support for the continuation of B-BBEE and went further to propose some solutions to enhance the policy’s effectiveness.
The endorsement is in tandem with the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu), which has defended the B-BBEE policy, rejecting proposals from groups such as Solidarity and the Free Market Foundation to scrap it entirely. Instead, Cosatu emphasises its role in economic transformation amid ongoing debates.
Call for support
Addressing said Frank Dialogue, NEF CEO Zwelabantu Dayimane said it was important that the organisations represented at the event supported the review process because for it to be effectiveness it needed the support of business, civil society (including activists and independent research institutions) independent research serving as ambassadors for the whole transformation process.
Dayimane said it was important that the review led to the scaling of B-BBEE in not only promoting Black equity but also job creation to address the country’s high level of youth unemployment. He said that could only be achieved through collaboration among the groups represented in the dialogue and beyond.
Tangible solutions
Coming out of the dialogue was a statement of commitment from the participants to support the review process but also come up with some solutions to enhance the process of making B-BBEE more effective in driving the country’s much-needed agenda.
Part of the solutions coming out of the dialogue included suggestions for the Empowerment Commission to be given enforcement powers when it comes to compliance with B-BBEE, including the right to impose fines on non-compliant companies.
Verification
There was also a proposal to set some verification standards for B-BBEE verification agencies to deal with, for example, practices of favouritism when it comes to companies paying bribes for favourable verification reports.
In fact there was even a proposal to review the whole verification architecture to deal with such misdemeanors within the system. Most importantly, there was also a suggestion from the dialogue to enhance economic inclusivity by linking ownership metrics to conclusive transformation metrics.
With regard to Enterprise Supplier Development (ESD) there is a suggestion for inclusivity-driven interventions with specific targets – such as townships and rural communities. The agreement from the dialogue was that all these suggestions would be collated and sent to Parliament as part of the public comments on the B-BBEE review process.
Refinement over abolition
The Frank Dialogue’s input is in tandem with the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition’s overseeing of B-BBEE through advisory structures such as the B-BBEE Advisory Council, chaired by the president, which focuses on reviewing progress towards empowerment targets rather than ending the policy.
Recent draft amendments for 2026, such as updates to the ESD scorecard, signal a government preference for refinement over abolition. Recently, the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition published these, proposing a mandatory 3% of net profit after tax contribution under ESD, worth 20 scorecard points and subject to a 40% sub-minimum. This fund aims to centralise support for black-owned businesses, with stricter verification requiring needs analysis, performance metrics (like job creation and turnover growth), and annual monitoring reports.
Total points rise from 109 to 131 (or 142 with bonuses), making ESD dominant for both qualifying small enterprises and generic entities, with tighter procurement from 100% black-owned suppliers. Bonus points increase for supplier graduation and job creation, while benefit factors limit costs to beneficiary equipment and demand performance-based grants.
ESD evidence must now prove measurable outcomes, ending light-touch contributions, with multinationals gaining flexibility via equity equivalents on scaled timelines. These changes, open for 60 days of public comment, prioritise impact-driven reform over the existing balanced scorecard.
