The ANC’s race-based policies, including BEE and the Expropriation Act, hurt South Africa

The DA said that the ANC’s race-based policies have not served the South African public or achieved their desired outcome.

Ryan Smith, the party’s spokesperson on International Relations and Cooperation, shared this view following action by the United States.

The United States announced new visa restrictions on South Africans responsible for race-based policies.

These policies include land expropriation without compensation, race-based discrimination, or the incitement of violence against minority or racial groups.

Smith said that many of the ANC’s policies, to which the USA refers, have neither served the South African public nor achieved their intended outcomes.

He referenced South Africa’s poor economic growth, which he argued the ANC refuses to acknowledge.

This, he said, is why DA leader Geordin Hill-Lewis has made several requests to the president, demanding an urgent policy overhaul for economic reform.

In August 2026, the DA approached the Constitutional Court to have the Expropriation Act overturned.

It argued that it was procedurally flawed and one which remains incompatible with the right to private property as outlined in section 25 of the Constitution.

In May 2026, the DA introduced the Economic Inclusion for All Bill to parliament as an alternative to the ANC’s Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) Act.

“We believe that economic justice can and must be achieved by legislation that removes the race-based criteria for access to opportunity in South Africa,” he said.

He added that the ANC has abused race-based criteria, like black economic empowerment, for decades to enrich itself.

“The DA has advocated for a reform to the South African Police Service (SAPS), including the devolution of policing powers for stronger competence,” he said.

Smith said that the murders in Ekurhuleni are proof that these reforms are long overdue, despite President Ramaphosa’s pledges to act against the problem with no effect.

“South Africans of all races know that South Africa’s current policy suite under the ANC does not and has not served the majority of our country for decades,” he said.

“South Africans want a non-racial country and government that puts the needs of all citizens first, regardless of race.”

“A shrinking economy, growing unemployment, and endemic crime are reasons enough for any country to address its own domestic policy failures.”

He added that the ANC cannot continue to expect South Africans to believe that any of its laws have made the country more equal and more prosperous.