30 years
of transformation An overview of growth and change
T
he year 2024 marks 3 decades since our first democratic elections. In some ways the 30 years have gone quickly, in other ways it seems like a very long time since we first cast our votes, so proudly, and optimistically, in those ballot boxes. In 2003, the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) strategy was published as a precursor to the B-BBEE Act, No. 53 of 2003.This groundbreaking piece of legislation was followed by the 2013 B-BBEE Amendment Act Act No. 46 of 2013. The fundamental objective of the Act was to advance economic transformation and enhance economic participation of previously disadvantaged people in the South African economy. In this article we take the temperature of transformation in two key sectors in the country, mining and financial services.
THE ECONOMY – GDP GROWTH SINCE 1994 South Africa is the most developed country in Africa and was the largest until 2014, when it was overtaken by Nigeria. Services account for around 73 percent of GDP. Within services, the most important are finance, real estate and business services (21.6 percent); government services (17 percent); wholesale, retail and motor trade, catering and accommodation (15 percent); and transport, storage and communication (9.3 percent). Manufacturing accounts for 13.9 percent; mining and quarrying for around 8.3 percent and agriculture for 2.6 percent. - Trading Economics In 1994, SA’s GDP was $US 153-billion (World Bank) and the economy has registered an average annual rate of economic growth of 3.3 percent since then, estimated to be