The Institute for Race Relations (IRR), a Johannesburg think tank, has rejected Deputy President Paul Mashatile’s recent description of Black Economic Empowerment as a “great success,” saying available evidence and public sentiment point the other way. In a statement, the IRR argues BEE has entrenched unemployment, widened inequality, deterred investment, and impoverished South Africa, and it notes that even many ANC voters favour merit in hiring and value-for-money procurement over race-based rules.

In support of its criticism, the IRR highlights recent polling snapshots showing large majorities for merit-based appointments, value-driven procurement, and voucher-style empowerment over BEE, and links public dissatisfaction with failed policies to the ANC’s slide from nearly 70% support in 2004 to 40% in 2024.

The IRR has formally written to Mashatile requesting verifiable, data-backed proof of BEE’s “great success” in areas such as growth, jobs, GDP per capita, inequality, and investor confidence. Absent such evidence, the organisation says the claim “collapses” and it urges a pivot to non-racial, opportunity-expanding reforms.