If truth be told, the 16th Commission for Employment Equity (CEE) Report does not reveal anything new. In fact, it reveals that, not much, if any changed for the Historically Disadvantaged Individuals (HDI), which are Indians, Black Africans and Coloureds. Indians are the only ones who have made relative progress with a representation of 8.6%, which is three times of their 2.7% EAP.
While Indians have registered relative progress, the same cannot be said of their coloured and black African counterparts, who are alarmingly underrepresented in proportion to their EAPs of 77.4% and 10% respectively. There are 14% black African and coloured at 4.7%.
The only positive picture for the black majority, mostly Africans, is that they are the majority in the public sector, while white people are concentrated in the public service.
There is no chance of successfully prosecuting any Employment Equity non-compliant employer by the Department of Labour, because not even the DoL is compliant. I would know. I worked there for many years. The DoL is even turning a blind eye to non-compliance by other government departments (Local, Provincial & National, don’t even get me started on the Parastatals). The Employment Equity Commission is a joke to say the least and all private sector employers as well as all public sector employers know this). My personal opinion.
The BEE commission is a toothless dog that no private company fears. We as the black middle class are not holding our breath as long the ANC is in power.