More than two decades ago the South African government put in place a policy designed to redress racial imbalances in the country’s economy. But, as I suggest in a recent paper, the policy – known as broad-based black economic empowerment) – has been hijacked and repurposed by individuals and factions within the ruling African National Congress (ANC) for the purpose of corruption and self-enrichment.
This was particularly noticeable during the COVID pandemic. The government’s Special Investigating Unit found that corruption or fraud accounted for 66% of all national funding set aside for the procurement of personal protective equipment.
