JOHANNESBURG—Just weeks after U.S. President Donald Trump axed $440 million in annual aid to South Africa because of “racially discriminatory” policies, the country’s government is moving to strengthen and expand race-based affirmative action and black economic empowerment (BEE) regulations.
Officials in Pretoria told The Epoch Times the government is considering issuing “heavy fines” to companies that fail to employ “enough” black people, and will close “loopholes” that allow firms to bypass regulations to give most senior posts to whites.
Trump’s order was preceded by an announcement on social media platform X from U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio that he would not attend the G20 foreign ministers’ summit in Johannesburg held Feb. 19 to 21 based on South Africa’s chosen theme for its presidency of the group, “Solidarity, Equality, Sustainability.”
“My job is to advance America’s national interests, not waste taxpayer money or coddle anti-Americanism.”
This week, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent didn’t show up at the G20 summit of finance ministers and central bankers; his absence from such a significant global economic meeting was described as highly unusual by analysts.
‘Reverse Racism’
Critics describe Ramaphosa’s regulations as reverse racism.“Our plans to broaden these laws have nothing to do with what Mr. Trump has done or will do in the future; we don’t pay much attention to his statements about affirmative action and equality as they don’t apply to South Africa,” presidential spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said.
“South Africa is a sovereign country and we do what’s best for our people. President Ramaphosa has made it clear that we won’t be bullied ... Our plans with regard to affirmative action and BEE have been in the pipeline for long.”
Trump criticized South Africa’s “equality” legislation during his first term of office and took his condemnation to a new level in early February with comments to reporters and a post on X that said Pretoria was “treating certain classes of people VERY BADLY.”
“As South Africans, we stand for peace and justice, for equality and solidarity. We stand for non-racialism and democracy, for tolerance and compassion. We stand for equal rights for women, for persons with disability and for members of the LGBTQI+ community. We stand for our shared humanity, not for the survival of the fittest.”
He pledged to forge a “color blind and merit based” society in which people are hired for their skills, not for their race.
While campaigning, Trump criticized diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies in the federal government and corporate sphere, saying they discriminated against white people, especially men.
Magwenya said black people continue to be discriminated against and “passed over” for top jobs, and that employers use loopholes that allow them to employ whites ahead of blacks.
Of a different view, Toby Chance, spokesperson on trade and industry for the Democratic Alliance, the ANC’s coalition partner, said the roots of South Africa’s employment crisis lie in the collapse of public education under previous ANC governments.
“Most black citizens send their kids to public schools and most are chaotic to say the least,” he told The Epoch Times. “Standards are very low and kids can’t even read when they’re 16. The highly skilled black people are being produced by the expensive private school system and they are definitely employed on merit. But there are not enough of them. Now, the ANC wants to force people into positions without them having the required skills. It’s counterproductive.”
Tshediso Matona, chairman of the state-run Broad-based Black Economic Empowerment Commission, told The Epoch Times that his organization would introduce “additional incentives and potential fines” to boost “corporate cooperation” in programs designed to employ more blacks.
“South Africa’s public schools and universities are producing plenty of highly skilled black people; it’s just that the system that is meant to address gross inequality is being exploited,” he said. “Unemployment is more than five times higher for black people than for white people. Our research shows white people are paid salaries that are far higher than those paid to black people.”
Under one of the commission’s programs, companies earn points in categories including black ownership, black management, and black skills development.
“What we see with this program is that some companies are practicing what we call ‘fronting,’” Matona explained. “This means they falsely list black people as owners, for example, when in fact it is white people who remain the owners and the managers. In some cases, the black employees concerned are paid nice salaries, bribes in effect, to keep quiet and go along with the charade.”
He said he aimed to “name and shame” firms guilty of fronting.
“I’m also in discussions with the president and the minister of labor about the possibility of fining guilty parties a lot of money for their failure to employ black people in senior positions,” he said.
Magwenya said Ramaphosa is “unequivocal” on the need for affirmative action and BEE.
“Racial inequality is the greatest existential challenge facing our country,“ he said. ”If we don’t raise millions of black people out of poverty, the consequences are too dire to contemplate. We haven’t got time to play around with fancy long-term strategies. We must act now to get black people into jobs.”
The Democratic Alliance, which is regarded as centrist, business-friendly, and pro-West, said it would oppose any attempts by the ANC to impose stricter affirmative action and BEE policies.
“These policies have failed,” Democratic Alliance (DA) labor spokesperson Michael Bagraim said. “They’ve failed largely because jobs have been doled out to ANC cronies. The ANC, as usual, now wants to blame ‘big, bad, white business’ for its own failures. Its education system is failing because of mismanagement and corruption; likewise, its job creation projects. Now, it’s looking for a scapegoat ... The DA’s view is that there are more than enough skilled black people to get top jobs based on merit. But what counts against them is ANC-driven nepotism and favoritism, not white-owned big business, which has done its best to make South Africa a more equal place.”
Moeletsi Mbeki, one of South Africa’s top economists and political analysts and the brother of former President Thabo Mbeki, one of the architects of affirmative action and BEE, told The Epoch Times: “These race-based laws must be repealed. They increase red tape, they make business much more expensive, and they scare away foreign investors.
“BEE and affirmative action must be replaced with projects that help entrepreneurs of all racial groups to develop and establish new enterprises. And the projects must be run by independent experts, not people from government. There’s still too much corruption in government.”
The ANC, however, will not be swayed, according to Magwenya.
“Maybe in America, what the Trump government calls DEI is dead. Here in South Africa, it’s a new-born baby and it deserves a long and healthy life,” he said.
