President Cyril Ramaphosa said while the country’s economy has challenges, it has opened the doors of opportunity for millions of black South Africans and for black business. Picture: Independent Newspapers Archive
President Cyril Ramaphosa on Tuesday said while the country’s economy has challenges, it has opened the doors of opportunity for millions of black South Africans and for black business.
Ramaphosa, speaking at the Black Business Council (BBC) gala dinner at the Radisson Blu in Kempton Park, said the BBC and its national membership rallied both with government, in what has been a turbulent period marked by a global pandemic, civil unrest, natural disasters, crises in energy and logistics, and slow economic growth.
He said the substantial challenges South Africans face and how they are going to overcome them – including high unemployment, the energy crisis, challenges in logistics, infrastructure and other sectors, crime and corruption, and the effects of poverty and underdevelopment on economic growth – are just some of the problems they are contending with.
“ I think tonight is an opportunity to reflect on just how much the economic landscape has changed over the past 30 years with respect to transformation,” Ramaphosa said.
He said the democratic state working in partnership with black business, has pushed the frontiers of economic transformation.
“This year marks 20 years since the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Act was enacted into law.
“The BBBEE Act is the singular most significant, far-reaching piece of legislation introduced under democracy to bring about the transformation of the South African economy, and its impact has been considerable.”
He said during apartheid the prospects for black business, for black entrepreneurs, and for black South Africans in general were bleak.
“With respect to the workplace, job reservation and lack of meaningful educational opportunity closed the door to black professionals in nearly every sector.
“When South Africa's first democratically-elected government took office, it inherited an economy in crisis.”
Ramaphosa said the country’s economy, despite its present challenges, has opened the doors of opportunity for millions of black South Africans and for black business.
He said the transformative economic policies of democracy have birthed stars and leading lights, constellations of interconnected and interdependent black-owned businesses, “and indeed, supernovas as well”.
“Men and women who are established and respected senior business leaders. CEOs of black-owned companies both small and large. Heads of listed companies that have grown from humble beginnings.
“Since 1994, the number of South Africans in employment has increased to 16.7 million in 2023, reflecting a doubling of opportunities and livelihoods for our people.
“While unemployment remains a challenge, the proportion of black South Africans in executive management positions has increased almost five-fold between 1996 and 2016.”
He said in 2024, there are over 1 700 black-owned and black-managed firms across all sectors of the economy that are benefiting from the programme.
“This is all progress. This is transformation. This is change. We will not be swayed to shy away from it or to diminish it. The landscape for black business has fundamentally transformed since 1994.”
THE MERCURY