For decades, South Africa’s minerals pulsed through the veins of the global economy while the workers who extracted them remained spectators to the wealth they created. Mineworkers built cities, sustained industries, and fuelled national growth—yet they were denied ownership, dignity and the economic mobility that should naturally accompany such sacrifice.
It is for this reason that Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) was never conceived as charity, nor as a political trophy to be waved around. It emerged out of a painful history and a moral imperative: to correct a structural injustice that kept the majority outside the gates of economic participation.
As someone who had the honour of serving as Head of Transformation in the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) for more than 5 years, I saw firsthand the transformational power of the Mining Charter when implemented with discipline, integrity and a commitment to collective upliftment. Between 2010 and 2018, NUM concluded several Employee Share Ownership Schemes (ESOPs) rooted in the belief that workers deserve a stake in the wealth they create. This driven by a clear 26% ownership by historically disadvantaged South Africans across all mining operations, with the workers and communities owning a minimum of 5% respectively.
The Rise of Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Vehicles
Some of South Africa’s most impactful investment arms were born directly from worker empowerment initiatives. The Mineworkers Investment Company (MIC)—a pioneering investment arm of the mineworkers themselves—stands as a powerful testament to what happens when ordinary workers are given the opportunity to own capital. Today, MIC has diversified investments across multiple sectors, generating returns that uplift not only workers but entire communities through its social impact initiatives distributed through the Mineworkers Investment Trust (MIT). Ironically both the MIT and MIC celebrated their 30th Anniversary this month, which a statement to social upliftment for mineworkers trained at Elijah Barayi Memorial Training College, dependents of mineworkers that received bursaries and graduated through JB Marks Education Trust, groundbreaking research achieved through Sam Tambane Research Institute and Socio Economic development initiatives for former mineworkers and communities in mine host and Labour sending areas by the Mineworkers Development Agency.
Similarly, organisations like the Kagiso Trust grew into national development champions because empowerment policies enabled capital to flow into previously excluded hands. Their work in education, community development and enterprise support continues to change lives, often in places long abandoned by formal economic structures. Successes of their initiatives in Free State and Limpopo working with provincial basic education departments with a specific focus on improving mathematics and physical science goes a long way. The trust recently partnered with the MDA in producing a Learner Management System in order to digitalise the support for learners, teachers and mentors in schools around Sekhukhune District.
These institutions are living proof that ownership matters. They show how the strategic inclusion of black people in the economy creates multiplier effects—building schools, empowering small businesses, funding scholarships and stimulating local economies.
The Misunderstandings Around BBBEE
Critics often point to isolated cases of mismanagement or benefit of the elite or badly structured transactions. But to use exceptions to discredit the entire project is to ignore the millions of lives improved, the businesses built, and the communities uplifted. It is to ignore the hard truth that before BBBEE, with majority of South Africans owned less than 5% of the economy, in a country where they constituted the overwhelming majority. Hence we introduced Broad Based elements, with a clear focus on multiple tools that can impact on the greater society (than a limited few). These included Skills Development, Socio-economic development, Housing and Living Conditions amongst others
BEE is not perfect, but it is necessary. It is not the destination, but one of the vehicles by which we travel toward a more just society. Redressing the 400 years of colonial-apartheid rule that dispossessed the majority South Africans, this is a critical component of our reconciliation and nation building mechanisms. In fact we believe this a business imperative for growth, sustainability and expansion for various enterprises in South Africa.
A Legacy Worth Protecting
The real successes of BBBEE—particularly the broad-based schemes—are often understated. Yet they remain some of the most powerful redistributive mechanisms in our democracy. They embody a simple but profound principle:
Those who contribute to the creation of wealth should share in its rewards.
As South Africa continues to debate the future of transformation, we must not lose sight of this principle. We must strengthen broad-based empowerment, enforce transparency, fight corruption, and ensure that ownership opportunities reach workers, communities, women and youth. Because BBEE is not about enriching a few—it is about correcting a historical wrong and building a more inclusive economy.
In the Mining sector we are proud to have produced so many new entrants, whom have grown to be become big players. This is a success of both will from industry and regulatory enforcement. Not sure about other sectors, at the end of the day. South Africans deserve more inclusivity and active participation, with management and control.
Empowerment works—when it centres the people who built this country with their hands and their lives.
