The public has little appetite for rigid empowerment laws that throttle growth. This is according to a poll conducted by the Social Research Foundation (SRF).

The poll, conducted in July 2022, found that 70.9% of respondents strongly agreed that: “a business should be allowed to operate even if it is not BEE compliant, so long as it pays tax and employs people and creates jobs.”

Only 15.1% supported the opposite view that non-compliant firms should be shut down.

This pro-enterprise sentiment cut across demographics. Among black voters, 70.2% backed the pro-business position, joined by 82.4% of whites. Party support showed the same pattern: 71.3% of ANC voters, 68.7% of DA supporters, and 71.1% of EFF voters said job creation mattered more than compliance certificates.