Stephen Groots | May 28, 2025
The Bee problem is once again becoming more and more prominent due to reasons including both the inclusion of DA and FF+ in the Trump administration and our national coalition. President Cyril Ramaphosa's robust bee defense suggests there could be a significant political battle in the future, but a proposal from the Ministry of Mineral Resources suggests that some of the government will not withdraw.
On Tuesday, President Cyril Ramaphosa told Congress he would not retreat from implementing bees, attacking people who opposed it. He said the bees were not restraining the economy, but rather the intensive nature of our economy.
He also defended this using racial designation (which has roots in the 1950 apartheid and the Nationalist Party's racial taxonomy) as a way to do this (he also said he believes that there will be a day when this is no longer necessary).
On the same day, Communications Minister Solly Malatsi (DA) explained to the MPS why they don't need satellite services such as Starlink.
at the same time, The aforementionedpolitical forces against bees have become much stronger in the past few months. The DA is in government now (and has a vice minister from the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition) and President Donald Trump's attack on racial-based salvation means that the issue is more contested.
In some respects, attempts to correct past issues that have created our racialized inequality are always controversial. Given that bees contain means to prefer people of a particular race, it is almost surprising that we will not discuss it more.
It is at the heart of a South African project and is engraved in our constitution.
At this point, it appears that Ramaphosa and others could be energized by this opposition. If you benefit from practice (as is the case with Ramaphosa, etc.), you will protect it.
There is a lot of evidence that the ANC people, both the current and former leaders, are benefiting from bees.
This means that it is only because of their political connection that some people have become very wealthy.
The DA has always been aware that many of its constituencies are against the bees. Even white people who agree to racial salvation will be ignored when they are handed over for promotion, or their companies will be ignored in certain deals for their race.
It may also create situations where both black and white people feel that because of their racial identity they are not getting a deal or making the money they should be making.
White people may blame the bees when businesses do not take the deal, but black people may feel ignored because they are not part of the right network or because decision makers reward the people who look the most like them.
This allows anyone to condemn factors other than their abilities and abilities.
The ANC people in the government also seem to be ready to further expand their practices.
It will double
The recent proposed changes to the Mineral Resources Development Act from the ministry led by ANC Chair Gwede Mantashe has now moved more than ever to call for bees. Some of those suggestions don't seem to make any sense.
For example, this draft suggests that the Mineral Resources Minister must consult before there is a change in ownership of a mining company. As mining Attorney Peter Leon Speaking to Money Show on Tuesday evening, it means that companies listed on foreign exchange or foreign-owned companies require permission to sell the company, or their interests.
Critics of the proposal (and many things) suggest that this has never happened anywhere.
It would also insist that there is an empowerment partner just for the rights of prospects. In other words, black people must give interest only because of the right to see if possible mineral deposits are economically viable for me.
This increases the cost of exploration and makes it less likely that people will invest here.
Mineral Council All of those suggestions say The issue was ignored. If so, why did the ministry speak to the council?
This may indicate that the ministry, and perhaps the minister, are not concerned about the views of the industry, and intends to impose these changes.
As our mining has reduced, many people have argued that it is simply a government policy in the reasons for this (but mining is still important, it is royalty from our high platinum prices during the pandemic, which has helped us pay for SRD grants for some time).
It may be possible that some of the ANC will enjoy fighting the DA on this issue.
Like national health insurance, it is useful for both parties. It allows them to remind their constituency why they should vote for them.
This can be very important to the ANC given that our political axis may be distant from race in some respects.
New Opposition
Meanwhile, it is clear that Ramaphosa is right to remind us of the high level of concentration in our economy.
2021, Competition Commission discovered “Of the 144 economic sectors surveyed in the survey, 69.5% were highly concentrated, with 40.3% of the sectors found to be highly concentrated in the estimated dominant companies.
This is amazing and reminds us of how little our economy has been in some respects since 1994.
We also look at the papers of people who believe our country is divided into “insiders” and “outsiders” and how difficult the economy is.
We need to do a lot to grow our economy, but finding a way to change this focus may be one thing.
In the meantime, the real political risk to Bee is not from the DAs and people who have lost from practice.
The opposition will come from those who stand to benefit from it. There may be a slow change ongoing that suggests that more people are now beginning to oppose it.
Professor William Gumede recently outlined why he believes he is Bee It hurts our economyMeanwhile, Actions leaders, etc. Herman Mashaba (And former chairman of the Flea Market Foundation) has always criticized it.
In many cases, the main criticism from these and other voices is that the same politically connected individuals benefit over and over again. The perceptions fully created by the ANC may have some link between the bees and executive developments, which could cause more damage to bee recognition than anything else.
But for the millions of people in our country, the debate on bees makes little sense. They don't want to have ownership in any company, nor even control who does.
They simply want jobs and generate sustainable income for themselves and their families.
As the coalition continues to commit to creating jobs, questions about whether honeybees really harm our economy will become prominent in our economy for a while.
“Disclaimer – the views and opinions expressed in this article are the views of the author and are not necessarily those of the Bee Room.”
