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The Black Business Council was chaired by the Minister of Tourism, Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane, and argued that she was right to prioritize the Broad-based Black Economic Empowerment policy by dispensing aid to businesses in the tourism sector shaken by the new Covid-19 coronavirus.
The pandemic, which struck in March, prompted President Cyril Ramaphosa to declare a national shutdown. This stopped several businesses, but because the blockade meant that movement within and between borders was restricted, tourism also stopped.
Union Solidarity and AfriForum have filed a court battle against a Tourism Department determination that black-owned tourism companies must be at the top of the orderly hierarchy when it comes to government financial assistance to soften the blow to the sector.
Last week, the North Gauteng Superior Court in Pretoria dismissed Solidarity and AfriForum’s request, and that policy of Broad-based Black Economic Empowerment could not be revoked or ignored during the health crisis. Solidaridad and AfriForum have indicated their intentions to bring the legal fight before the Constitutional Court.
The joint statement by the Department of Tourism and the Black Business Council said the pandemic joined “an increasingly toxic and biased narrative” that it said sought to undermine the legitimacy of broad-based Black Economic Empowerment laws in South Africa. .
“In recent days, we have seen attempts by some in our country, trying to use the current crisis, to delegitimize the government and policies such as the B-BBEE rating as part of the criteria for financing aid for distressed SMEs “The statement said. .
The statement said that the South African Constitution and other laws would not be suspended during the shutdown and that B-BBEE remained law, it would not be undermined.
Broad-spectrum Black Economic Empowerment Commissioner Zodwa Ntuli said the policy was not designed to exclude established companies or South Africans, but to level the playing field for an economy that was once unequal.
“If BEE is based on the Constitution, it cannot be anti-white. The whole purpose of introducing equality-based politics is because blacks were excluded,” said Ntuli.
In the statement, Kubayi-Ngubane said the government adopted B-BBEE policy in an effort to address divisions in the past and work to create a just and just society for the majority of South Africans.
BBC President Sandile Zungu said South Africa needed to “push the reset button after Covid-19” and ensure that a new and transformed economy is born. He urged the government to shamelessly assist the formerly disadvantaged who require assistance to become entrepreneurs.
AfriForum Executive Director Kallie Kriel, the group decided to approach the Constitutional Court as small tourism companies owned by members of minority groups need urgent assistance.
He compared B-BBEE’s continuing policy in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic to “economic murder of minorities.”
