Johannesburg, 20 October 2025– The Democratic Alliance (DA) has unveiled a new economic empowerment bill aimed at removing race as a determining factor in access to opportunities, replacing the current Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) system with a needs-based approach.
The party presented the proposal at a media briefing in Johannesburg on Monday, arguing that BBBEE has disproportionately benefited a small group of politically connected individuals rather than the majority of South Africans.
Introduced in 2003, the BBBEE Act was designed to address the economic inequalities entrenched by apartheid, a system in which the white minority held most of the country’s economic power while the black majority was systematically excluded.
However, DA federal chairperson Ivan Meyer stressed that affirmative action policies do not necessarily have to be race-based. He pointed to social grants and student support programmes as examples: although not targeted by race, they primarily benefit black South Africans because of historical and socio-economic disparities.
“Affirmative action should focus on need, not race. The majority of people receiving support for students, for example, are black because of economic circumstances, not because the system targets them based on skin colour,” Meyer said. “This approach can actually empower more people than a narrow race-based BEE framework.”
The proposed economic empowerment bill represents the DA’s policy alternative to BBBEE. Party officials indicated that the legislation will be tabled in Parliament soon, marking the beginning of a national debate on the future of economic redress policies in South Africa.
Critics of BBBEE have long argued that the current system fosters political patronage rather than broad economic inclusion. By shifting the focus from race to need, the DA hopes to expand access to opportunities for a wider segment of the population while still addressing historical inequalities.
The introduction of the bill is expected to reignite discussions on the most effective ways to promote economic justice in South Africa’s diverse society.
