The Beneficiaries of Black Economic Empowerment in Polokwane Area of Limpopo Province, South Africa

The aim of this paper is to investigate the beneficiaries of Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) policy in Polokwane area of Limpopo Province, South Africa. Data was collected through the use of self-administered questionnaires in a survey. The questionnaires were distributed to a convenient sample of micro business owners (N=52) to respond on their perceptions and experiences regarding the beneficiaries of BEE in the Polokwane area of Limpopo Province, South Africa. Descriptive statistics was used for data analysis. The findings revealed that the highest beneficiaries of BEE according to race were the black people with 100%, according to gender were the women with 59% and according to income were the rich people with 96%. Furthermore, the highest beneficiaries according to age group were the youth age group of 18-35years with 49% and according to education were those with secondary/ matric qualification with 35%. The results suggest that BEE benefitted the blacks but the highest beneficiaries of the blacks were the more affluent people. It is recommended that the South African Government review the implementation of BEE to allow for a Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment that will close the gap between the rich and the poor. The government can make changes to the elements of the BEE scorecard to include education. Education is very important recipe for alleviating poverty, inequality and unemployment in South Africa and beyond. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n20p232