Plan to end BEE in South Africa

Efficient Group chief economist Dawie Roodt said the government’s R100 billion transformation fund could mark the beginning of the end of BEE in South Africa.

He shared this information during a question-and-answer session at the 2026 Biznews Conference, which was held in August 2026.

Minister of Trade, Industry, and Competition, Parks Tau, unveiled the new R100 billion transformation fund during a presentation to the Portfolio Committee last year.

On 19 March 2025, Tau published the Draft Transformation Fund concept document for public comment.

The fund wants to aggregate enterprise and supplier development (ESD) funds to support the participation of black-owned enterprises in the economy.

It will provide access to financial and non-financial support for black-owned and managed enterprises, including small, medium, and micro enterprises.

President Cyril Ramaphosa promoted the controversial R100 billion Transformation Fund during his State of the Nation Address.

“We will set up a transformation fund worth R20 billion a year over the next five years to fund black-owned and small enterprises,” he said.

Many critics criticised the idea, saying that the R100 billion fund will be looted by government officials, as seen in the past.

One of these critics, Toby Chance, DA spokesperson on trade, industry, and competition, sounded the alarm about the new fund in 2024.

“A R100 billion fund, built on this flawed framework, will likely lead to further financial waste and political cronyism rather than true economic empowerment,” he said.

“It aims to entrench the grip the BEE and associated regulations have on the economy. These have failed to deliver sustainable economic transformation.”

“Instead, they have entrenched corruption, patronage, inefficiency and waste and have left millions of mainly black people without work or opportunities.”

He added that real transformation can only be achieved by focusing on economic growth and by reducing the regulatory burden on companies.

Dawie Roodt said that he supports the R100 billion transformation fund

Dawie Roodt told the Biznews delegates that he supports the new R100 billion transformation fund. However, this is not because it is a good idea.

Instead, it is because he believes that the fund would mark the end of Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) as it currently operates.

“This is an opportunity to end BEE. We should all support the Transformation Fund on the condition that all other BEE requirements are eventually scrapped,” he said.

“If you want black economic empowerment points, you have to pay for them by putting money into the fund.”

“Once we transition to that model, the entire system will be exposed for what it really is, which is a mechanism to enrich a few well-connected individuals.”

Roodt argued that once this reality is exposed, the transformation fund will be shut down, ending the current BEE regime.

“This is a decisive step toward the end of Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment as South Africans know it,” he said.

“We ought to encourage this transition, as it will ultimately bring BEE to an end and free South African businesses from these onerous regulations.”

He added that he is not concerned that the politicians know about this strategy, as they have no ability to say no to easy money.

“It is very unlikely that the politically connected cadres will be able to walk past a big pot of gold. That means that they would also support the plan,” he said.