Freedom From Poverty proposal will succeed where “fake transformation” has failed – IRR

The #FreedomFromPoverty Bill was launched as part of the #WhatSACanBe campaign in a webinar discussion between IRR Head of Policy and IRR Strategic Engagements Manager, Dr Anthea Jeffery and Makone Maja. The #FreedomFromPoverty Bill codifies the Institute’s Economic Empowerment for the Disadvantaged (EED), the thinktank’s alternative to BEE and proposal for true transformation.

Notable from the discussion is when Maja asked Dr Jeffery to make the distinction between BEE and EDD and demonstrate how the country can turn a corner from fake transformation to bring about true transformation. Dr Jeffery provided three ways in which they diverge. “The first is where BEE uses race as a proxy for disadvantage, EED targets the poor and identifies disadvantage based on a means test. This would enable poor whites to benefit too, but 99% of its benefits would in practice go to poor blacks. Its non-racial focus would reduce racial divisions, put an end to race classification and comply with the Constitution’s founding value of non-racialism.”

The second is that EED is voluntary, which means companies would no longer be required to keep the current BEE scorecard to aid them in state procurement contracts, or race-based ownership deals, management posts and procurement contracts. EED’s scorecard incentivises companies for their key contributions to the economy by rewarding them with EED points for these actions. With EED, the points cannot be redeemed to gain from preferential procurement.

The third is that EED introduces education and health voucher-based support for poor people to be used at the schools or health facilities of their choosing. This will redirect much of the revenue now being badly spent by bureaucrats on dysfunctional schools, hospitals and housing developments into tax-funded vouchers for low-income families.

Dr Jeffery said in the instance of schools, the voucher will go with the child to the school of the family’s choice. The vouchers will fund teachers’ salaries, study materials, maintaining the school grounds and more. Parents can remove their children from poor performing schools and take the vouchers with them. This will engender competition and incentivise excellence at all levels of on the supply-side of education and raise the due diligence on the demand-side. She added that health vouchers will operate the same way.

Says Maja: `’Ending fake transformation, that only enriches those at the very top, is critical to truly changing South Africa’s economy. The #FreedomFromPoverty Bill represents a genuine path toward empowerment, inclusivity, and growth.” The full webinar is available for viewing here.

Media contact: Makone Maja, IRR Strategic Engagements Manager Tel: 079 418 6676 Email: makone@irr.org.za 

Media enquiries: Michael Morris Tel: 066 302 1968 Email: michael@irr.org.za