Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment Act implementation in the South African public sector

Abstract

After 25 years of freedom, racial inequality is still a major challenge facing South Africa. Post-apartheid, in 1994, the government introduced policies to provide opportunities to the previously disadvantaged groups to participate in the economy of the country. This research assesses the contribution of Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) Act through preferential procurement to reducing past racial imbalances caused by the Apartheid regime. The BBBEE preferential procurement element is used as a vehicle to drive the BBBEE Act’s objectives through prioritising the selection of small and medium black-owned enterprises to enter public procurement. This research was done using a literature review .The interviews were conducted with relevant stakeholders who are involved in the implementation of preferential procurement in the public sector. The findings revealed that government has done its best to put policies in place to reduce racial inequalities, however not much progress has been made in the implementation of the BBBEE Act to achieve this objective. The contribution of preferential procurement towards the BBBEE Act’s objectives has been minimal due to different challenges experienced by all stakeholders during implementation. Practical recommendations were made to the government, represented by the Department of Trade and Industry, and to stakeholders in the public sector to alleviate some of the challenges experienced in the implementation of the preferential procurement.