ActionSA is allegedly facing a backlash following the organisation’s adoption of a resolution to scrap the BEE policy.
The contentious resolution was adopted at ActionSA’s national policy conference held in Gauteng a fortnight ago.
The organisation resolved to craft an alternative economic policy to replace BEE policies should the party gain a majority vote in the next national and provincial elections next year.
However, it seemed the resolution to scrap BEE did not hit the right cord, with some delegates who attended the conference arguing that BEE, as they understood it, was meant to benefit black people, and questioned why the party, led by businessman Herman Mashaba, would want to scrap it.
What is not clear is whether the resolution to forgo the BEE policy is supported by all branches throughout the country – and what groupings may be supporting the resulting revolt.
However, the party’s head honchos, in light of the apparent rejection of the resolution by some faithful, have dispatched party senator and KZN leader Zwakele Mncwango, to douse the fires of discontent in the public domain.
He has moved to allay fears that the party was reversing the gains black people attained since the dawn of democracy.
According to Mncwango, the party acknowledges historical economic injustices in the country. He said the economic injustices continue to keep most of the population, mainly black people, on the sidelines of serious economic activity.
However, he said, ActionSA was taking a different approach to that of the governing ANC, arguing it was concerned the policy as practised by the ANC was focused on black elite empowerment.
This, he said, was the reason ActionSA, the self-proclaimed fastest-growing party in South Africa, wants the ANC government’s BEE system overhauled.
At the time of going to press, it was not clear who was instigating the move to reject the conference resolution.
Among other elements of ActionSA’s “economic justice” policy is the creation of what the party terms the “opportunity fund”. This means economic redress would no longer rely mainly on state tenders or minority stakes in white-owned businesses.
The previously disadvantaged groups, not limited to race, will get assistance through the fund, according to the resolution.
Black people, women and people with disabilities would qualify for funding. The fund would be managed and administered by an independent board, but it would not only fund business ideas from the previously disadvantaged.
It would also contribute towards infrastructure development in economically excluded communities. This will include funding the construction of schools and sports fields in rural areas.
Children from disadvantaged families would also receive bursaries from the fund. “ActionSA is not colour blind. We acknowledge that race is a factor, and we need to redress the injustices of the past.
“We acknowledge that the economic setup of apartheid South Africa was deliberately designed to exclude black people and women forever,” said Mncwango.
However, he said, the party was aggrieved that the current BEE policy was narrow and only benefited ANC elites through tenders.
“Our economic justice policy will be broadened, and benefit intended recipients through the opportunity fund,” he said.
He said this was where businesses would put in money, and in return, there would be rebates from SA Revenue Service if the contribution was significant.
“BEE has never worked because it narrowed everything down to the elite and the politically connected,” Mncwango said.
He said there was no mechanism to determine that citizens had been empowered and could stand on their own and open space for others.
Mncwango insisted that the “BEE had good intentions but bad outcomes” owing to the governing party mismanagement.
“Tenders are not the solution. Tenders are not empowerment. The opportunity fund seeks to support real entrepreneurs with innovative ideas.”
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