Abstract
The aim of this paper is to investigate the beneficiaries of Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) policy in Polokwane area of Limpopo Province, South Africa. Data was collected through the use of self-administered questionnaires in a survey. The questionnaires were distributed to a convenient sample of micro business owners (N=52) to respond on their perceptions and experiences regarding the beneficiaries of BEE in the Polokwane area of Limpopo Province, South Africa. Descriptive statistics was used for data analysis. The findings revealed that the highest beneficiaries of BEE according to race were the black people with 100%, according to gender were the women with 59% and according to income were the rich people with 96%. Furthermore, the highest beneficiaries according to age group were the youth age group of 18-35years with 49% and according to education were those with secondary/ matric qualification with 35%. The results suggest that BEE benefitted the blacks but the highest beneficiaries of the blacks were the more affluent people. It is recommended that the South African Government review the implementation of BEE to allow for a Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment that will close the gap between the rich and the poor. The government can make changes to the elements of the BEE scorecard to include education. Education is very important recipe for alleviating poverty, inequality and unemployment in South Africa and beyond. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n20p232
Highlights
Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) was created to address the systematic exclusion of the majority of South Africans from full participation in the economy (South Africa BEE commission report 2001)
Policy and ensure that the transformation indicated in the white paper is achieved, Government created the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to provide strategic direction in the development of policies and strategies that promote enterprise growth, empowerment and equity in the economy through the National Empowerment Fund (NEF), Small Enterprise Development Agency (SEDA) and National Small Business Advisory Council (Department of Trade and Industry 2011/12)
The questionnaires were distributed to a convenient sample of micro business owners (N=52) to respond on their perceptions and experiences regarding the beneficiaries of BEE in the Polokwane area of South Africa
Summary
The creation of new black owned and black controlled enterprises was seen as a key component of the strategy This led to the introduction of the National Small Business Act No.102 in 1996 to provide an enabling environment for SMMEs and to establish institutions to provide financial and other support to entrepreneurs. These institutions, Khula and Ntsika, have targeted substantial proportions of their programmes at black entrepreneurs by complying with the BEE policy (Department of Health 2003).The Department of Public Service and Administration (1998) stated that the white paper on affirmative action is a testimony of the Government’s commitment to the transformation of the Public Service into an institution whose employment practices are underpinned by equity. The three institutions were merged into the Small Enterprise Finance Agency (SEFA) in April 24, 2012
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary 
Published Version (
Free)
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call