Professor Jannie Rossouw of Wits Business School has described President Cyril Ramaphosa as an "ineffective" leader who has contributed "nothing" since taking office, and is now leaning on race-based policies like B-BBEE to win back support for the ANC. Speaking to IOL News on Monday, Rossouw said Ramaphosa is using race-based empowerment policies such as the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) Act and the Employment Equity Act to try and regain support for his party.

The Government of National Unity (GNU), which includes other parties, is currently led by the African National Congress (ANC). “Mr Ramaphosa is at the end of his presidency,” Rossouw said. “His party is in trouble. It is constantly losing supporters. So he’s making these statements in the hope that it will improve support for the ANC.” His comments came after Ramaphosa’s recent weekly newsletter, in which he defended the B-BBEE and the Employment Equity Act. The "false notion" that South Africa must choose between economic growth and transformation was rejected by Ramaphosa. He said the country must remain committed to redressing historical injustices.

“Our Constitution reflects the promise we made to one another and to future generations to redress the injustices of our past and realise the full potential of our country,” Ramaphosa wrote. For this reason, we reaffirm that broad-based Black economic empowerment is not just a policy choice but a constitutional imperative.” He referenced the 70th anniversary of the Freedom Charter, which proclaimed, “the people shall share in the country’s wealth,” and argued that empowerment policies are key to ensuring inclusive growth. “We must make our empowerment policies more meaningful,” he said. "Transformation without growth is unsustainable, and economic growth without transformation entrenches exclusion."

According to Ramaphosa, South Africa has made measurable progress since 1994, including improvements in ownership, management control, and enterprise and skills development, especially among women-owned businesses. However, Rossouw sharply disagreed. He argued that the current application of race-based policies has done little for ordinary citizens. “It’s obvious by now that the ANC government’s economic policies are not working,” he said. “Over the past decade, our growth rate has averaged around 1% per year, while population growth is 1.5%. That indicates that South Africans are becoming poorer per capita. He added that a small, politically connected elite has received the majority of the benefits of B-BBEE. “I can give you five or six people who are now exceptionally wealthy, Mr. Ramaphosa himself among them...

Consider individuals working in the mining and coal sectors. Meanwhile, we have a large group of very poor South Africans,” he said. “We see it in the Gini coefficient. We see it in unemployment. These policies are clearly not delivering the results they were originally intended to deliver. There is no transfer of skills. “Transformation is necessary, but the current approach isn’t helping. It’s not creating jobs or reducing poverty. It is enriching a select few. That isn't a genuine transformation. Opposition parties have also criticized the ANC's economic policies.

Both the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party criticised a recent proposal to allow foreign companies to meet B-BBEE requirements through the Equity Equivalent Investment Programmes (EEIPs), including Elon Musk’s Star Link. The EFF called it a “backdoor for foreign multinationals” to avoid local empowerment laws, while the MK Party labeled it a “treacherous blueprint” designed to dismantle state capacity and cut deals with foreign tech oligarchs. Rossouw declined to provide specifics when asked about the backlash, particularly in light of recent global controversies. "Well, that's a hard one for me to answer because the official line is that structures will be put in place to allow people like Mr. (Elon) Musk into the country. Given his altercation with Mr.

(Donald) Trump (US President), I’d rather refrain from commenting,” Rossouw said. Ramaphosa, for his part, argued that the world is in a “polycrisis,” marked by global conflict, economic stagnation, and environmental degradation, and that South Africa must not retreat from its transformation agenda. “We must dispense with the false notion that we must choose between growth and transformation,” he wrote. "B-BBEE is an investment in the economy, not a cost to it." Rossouw, however, stated that he is not convinced. “What can we be proud of that Mr. Ramaphosa has brought to South Africa during his presidency?” he asked. He hasn't given us anything. He is a bad leader because he makes big promises but never delivers.