The effects of altering B-BBEE on small enterprises within South Africa

Abstract

The South African Government has been working to right the injustices of the past through incorporating various policies into the business environment, one such policy is that of Black Economic Empowerment (BEE), which is meant to aid previously disadvantaged individuals. There are regularly conflicting messages relating to the policy as to whether or not it is being effective and accomplishing what it was designed for, or if instead it should be removed completely from the legislative system. This study looked at various aspects of the policy, including findings from previous studies, people’s options and their willingness to comply, as well if the policy has assisted or halted organisational growth, business opportunities or personal growth and the associated costs. An online survey was conducted, in order to gather information which was missing from the literature, however only respondents who indicated that they were part of a Qualifying Small Enterprise or Exempt Micro Enterprise were used in the results, all other data was excluded. Surprisingly although majority of the respondents indicated that they were non-compliant and unwilling to comply or only did the minimal required to obtain a level 4 status, also agreed that the policy overall assists with SME growth. Many were also of the opinion that the policy had not assisted their organisation whether it be regarding growth or access to business opportunities. The study also expressed a level of misunderstanding by participants regarding the policy, its actual requirements and the funds needed to fully comply. It is clear that the policy is not being effective and still continues to have resistance from many organisations, and should be reanalysed and potentially readjusted to better suit the business environment, whereby people are more willing to integrate its components into their organisations and assist with the government’s aim of bettering the lives of those previously disadvantaged individuals