Nina Bambeni | nina@radioislam.co.za
17 April 2023 | 12:00 CAT
2 min read

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Business Unity South Africa (BUSA) has welcomed the long-awaited clarity on the Employment Equity Amendment Bill; however, the organisation said some aspects of the law remain problematic. Cas Coovadia, the CEO of the organisation, said that the signing of the Bill by President Cyril Ramaphosa ends a long period of uncertainty on proposed changes to the transformation law.

The Amendment Bill seeks to advance the transformation of South Africa’s workforce by setting equity targets for economic sectors and geographical regions and requiring enterprises to develop transformation plans. The Bill amends the Employment Equity Act of 1998 (Act No 55 of 1998) with new measures to promote diversity and equality in the workplace.

In an interview with Radio Islam International, Institute for Race Relations, Gabriel Crouse explained that this legislation would entrench racial discrimination and hurt SA’s already struggling economy. This was brought to the president’s attention, and a request was made to have the Bill sent back to the National Assembly for revision before he signed it into law

According to Crouse, implementing the EEB is unconstitutional and will significantly impact the country as the Act will confer Minister Thulas Nxesi wide-ranging powers to set numerical race-based employment targets across varying sectors and regions.  

He added that the new method would see employees and employers at loggerheads. This new motion means that many small businesses will be excluded from doing business with the government, which is a disastrous step for the economy.

Listen to the full interview with Ml Junaid Kharsany on Sabahul Muslim here