ANC Clings to Failed Elite-enrichment BEE Model

Many African National Congress (ANC) leaders insist on continuing with the current flawed black economic empowerment (BEE) model, because they see BEE as a panacea for ANC state and policy failures caused by cadre-deployee state incompetence, corruption, ideological policies and elite-enrichment. Changing the course on BEE appears too politically costly for the ANC since it will cause more rebellions in the already deeply divided party if it ended cadre deployee state incompetence by introducing merit into the state, seriously fighting state corruption by taking on corrupt ANC cadres, and ending ideological and populist policies for evidence-based, fact-based and pragmatic policies.

The ANC has a policy of cadre deployment in which its approved members can be appointed to key positions in the state, state-owned enterprises (SOEs), democratic oversight institutions, and non-state democratic public institutions. The ANC’s policy of cadre deployment also deploys approved party cadres to senior positions in critical private sector firms which do business with the state, and need state trading licences and state approval to operate. Given that many ANC-connected individuals became billionaires and multimillionaires overnight, solely based on their connectedness to the party, rather than on entrepreneurship, talent or skills, many ANC figures who have not yet benefited see a continuation of the current ANC elite-enrichment BEE as an opportunity to get in on the wealth accumulation. Some ANC supporters wrongly see it as a “right” for their leaders to use state resources to enrich themselves. In fact, some supporters of the ANC and other African liberation movements wrongly believe their leaders who led the liberation “struggle” are “entitled” to become rich using state…