When President Jacob Zuma asserted than that the real picture of black ownership of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) was at a modest 3% and not 23%, as generally presented, in response to questions about the State of Nation Address (SONA), he stirred a hornet’s nest.
Some social commentators criticised Zuma for making statements that lacked integrity. However, the Presidency’s Mac Maharaj said the President was right. He explained that the argument was based on a measure used by the National Empowerment Fund (NEF) to assess direct black ownership and control in the South African economy, using the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) as a proxy.
Furthermore, Maharaj highlighted that the figures Mr Zuma cited were based on establishing “direct ownership” and “direct shareholding”.
“It is essential that the ownership landscape of entities operating in South Africa reflects that the majority of people living in the country are black people.
“This is key in order to confront our past as a country and redress the imbalances caused by the legacy of apartheid,” he said.
