The introduction of the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE)
policy brought hope to many impoverished Black South Africans who
considered it as a tool that would effectively empower them economically,
and buoy them up to a better life. The main objective of the policy was to
bring about equitable distribution of wealth in the country that has been
ravaged by inequalities, and to ensure that the majority of disadvantaged
South Africans benefit from the wealth of the country. This article, however,
contests the effectiveness of the policy, and argues that although the concept
of empowering the disadvantaged is a noble one, there is still a challenge
in its implementation, and the people that benefit directly from the policy
are those that, one way or the other, are associated with those in power
at the expense of the majority who still live in abject poverty. This, if left
unattended, will lead to a state where the economic and social disparities will
linger for a long time and the intended objective lost in the process.