End race quotas, embrace merit for real growth - Biznews

Anlu Keeve

I was never one of those extraordinary kids who grew up deeply engaged in politics or current affairs, and if I passed Nomvula Mokonyane on the street, I would probably keep walking without a flicker of recognition. Politics crept up on me later, when I realised it does not wait for an invitation, it shapes your life whether you’re watching or not, and I’d rather be watching. 

These days, what is impossible to miss is the drumbeat of race talk. I keep reminding myself what the Institute of Race Relations’ (IRR) polling shows – that 78% of South Africans rank jobs and the cost of living as priorities above racial redress. Race isn’t most people’s top concern, and racism is not the dominant force shaping our lives. But the fact that I need to remind myself says something. The drumbeat is real. 

This piece is for anyone who supports justice and equality but is tired of being told that the only way to get there is to classify South Africans by race. True justice and lasting equality come through inclusive economic growth, opportunity, and merit.

Reminder 1: racial quotas empower politicians 
There is a critical distinction between genuine societal racial tensions and racial classifications used for political convenience. Many government officials and beneficiaries of policies like Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) have vested interests in perpetuating the idea of widespread racial tension. By labelling critics of BEE as racists before giving them a history lesson, they justify the ongoing use of race-based classification. But ordinary South Africans, despite these narratives, largely coexist peacefully and cooperatively without the constant need to be categorised by race.

This has nothing to do with forgetting the past. It is about living up to the Constitution and ensuring that our policies truly reflect its foundational values. That’s why the IRR has launched the No More Race Laws Bill (Bill). This legislation seeks to move South Africa decisively beyond racial classification, replacing race quotas and racial preference with merit-based empowerment and genuine economic development that benefit all South Africans equally.

The bill’s primary goal is to dismantle the existing 142 laws that still sort us by race, calling them out explicitly as an “affront to human dignity” and a violation of our constitutional promise of non-racialism. It repeals or amends every law relying on racial classification – laws such as the Employment Equity Act and the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Act – ensuring that opportunities like jobs and contracts become accessible through fair competition.

The bill actively promotes a new way forward. It proposes a merit-based system that rewards genuine skills, qualifications and experience, and addresses real socio-economic disadvantages.  Under this new framework, economic growth and job creation will accelerate. 

Reminder 2: Economic growth demands merit
The effectiveness of the bill lies in its emphasis on merit as a catalyst for economic growth. It is designed to reward genuine skills and experience. In doing so, it lays the foundation for a more dynamic economic environment where economic resources – land, labour, capital, and entrepreneurship – can be optimally utilised. 

This shift away from artificial constraint is a matter of economic efficiency. The economy can only grow through the effective use of our land, labour, capital, and entrepreneurship. The bill allows these resources to move more freely to where they are most productive. This will remove the bottlenecks, wasteful expenditure, BEE premiums, and corruption created by state inefficiencies because of race-based requirements. Labour, in particular, can be matched with opportunities on the basis of competence. 

A merit-based system will foster competition, raise standards, and attract investment. It signals that excellence matters, and that public and private institutions alike are serious about results. It will offer something deeply needed in South Africa: the sense that individuals are valued for what they can contribute, not the category to which they belong.

Reminder 3: The Constitution promises non-racialism 
The argument for non-racialism is an economic argument, but at its core, it is also a constitutional one. Remember the original promise of the Constitution: an explicit commitment to non-racialism and equality before the law. Yet the forces resisting this vision – those pro-poverty politicians and insiders clinging to race-based classifications – want us to believe that dividing South Africans by race is necessary for empowerment. It is not. Racial classification sustains their political and economic interests and reinforces a system that rewards connections over competence. 

The bill forces an unavoidable choice: either to uphold the constitutional principle of non-racialism or to continue endorsing race-based classifications that echo apartheid-era practices. Under this bill, an entrepreneur’s tender would be judged purely on merit, not on racial quotas. Opportunities would be genuinely accessible, based solely on ability, innovation, and cost-effectiveness.

There is no neutral ground here – no room for compromise (or delay). Poverty is not a racial identity and under racial classification, the poor definitely do not benefit. 

Non-racialism is not radical. It is a sign of the trust society has in its people. A society that trusts its people must be brave enough to let go of race laws. The Bill is that act of bravery. 

Reminder 4: Nothing without decisive action  
The final reminder is this: South Africa scrapped the Population Registration Act in 1991. That should have been the end of sorting people by race. And yet, in 2025, we are asked to tick the same boxes. 

If these reminders resonated with you, do not let this moment pass you in silence. Join the fight. Ask the question that matters: why are we still asking for the colour of the hand submitting the tender? 

Anlu Keeve is a researcher at the Institute of Race Relations. She has a degree in Economics and International Trade, and an Honours in Economics from the University of Cape Town

https://www.biznews.com/sarenewal/2025/03/25/beyond-race-bold-push-for-true-equality-in-sa

This article was first published on the Daily Friend.