South Africa’s Democratic Alliance (DA), the second-largest party in the coalition government, has proposed scrapping race-based economic policies, reopening a long-running debate on how best to address the legacies of apartheid.
The DA’s proposed Economic Inclusion for All Bill seeks to amend the Public Procurement Act of 2024 by removing references to Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) and replacing race with poverty as the main measure of disadvantage. The party argues that current empowerment policies have entrenched corruption and largely benefited a politically connected elite rather than the majority of disadvantaged South Africans.
“The system has been captured by a few,” the DA said in its proposal, maintaining that an approach focused on income and opportunity would be more effective in tackling inequality. The bill, it added, aims to promote inclusion based on need rather than race, allowing the state to prioritise procurement for small and medium enterprises regardless of the owners’ racial background.
The ruling African National Congress (ANC) has sharply rejected the proposal, insisting that race-based redress remains essential for correcting the deep inequalities created by apartheid. The party argued that while poverty affects all races, black South Africans continue to suffer the greatest economic marginalisation, and removing race from empowerment laws would erase decades of progress.
ANC officials accused the DA, led by white politician John Steenhuisen, of attempting to defend white privilege under the guise of reform. The DA has dismissed those claims, saying its proposal is grounded in fairness and aimed at building a nonracial economy that rewards merit and innovation.
Although the bill has little chance of passing in the current coalition, its introduction has reignited one of South Africa’s most polarising political debates. Economic inclusion policies have long been seen as a fault line between the DA and ANC, reflecting their contrasting ideological visions: the DA’s liberal, market-oriented approach versus the ANC’s interventionist model rooted in historical redress.
Analysts say the renewed dispute could test the stability of the coalition government, which came together after the ANC lost its parliamentary majority for the first time in 30 years. The partnership, already strained by differences on policy priorities, may face further pressure as the DA pushes for reforms that many ANC members view as politically and morally unacceptable.
The debate has also drawn international attention. In May, former U.S. President Donald Trump criticised South Africa’s empowerment laws, describing them as discriminatory. His remarks sparked both outrage and support domestically, highlighting how sensitive the issue remains even three decades after the end of apartheid.
For many observers, the controversy around the DA’s bill underscores the difficulty of balancing equity with efficiency in one of the world’s most unequal societies. While B-BBEE has helped expand black ownership in certain sectors, critics argue it has done little to reduce mass unemployment or improve access to capital for ordinary South Africans.
By contrast, the DA’s proposal reflects a growing sentiment among some voters that economic policy should shift from identity to poverty-based criteria. Whether that approach gains traction will depend not only on political negotiations within the coalition but also on public perceptions of fairness and historical justice.
