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Journal of Public Administration (JOPA)

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The Neoliberal Logic of Thabo Mbeki's Black Economic Empowerment in South Africa and Corporate Media Discourse

Author: Metji Makgoba1

Affiliation: University of Limpopo

Source: Journal of Public Administration, 2024-03-07 10:30:20

Accreditation: Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET)



Abstract: The Neoliberal Logic of Thabo Mbeki's Black Economic Empowerment in South Africa and Corporate Media Discourse

This article investigates how former president Thabo Mbeki conceptualised Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) as an extension of his neoliberal agenda through his political speeches when he formalised BEE as the official policy of the African National Congress (ANC) government in the early 2000s. His neoliberal capitalist discourses have shaped, guided, and structured the conception of BEE and are crucial for understanding its outcomes in various sectors of the economy and society. However, several BEE studies have ignored these political discourses and proceeded to study BEE as an alternative to the hegemony of neoliberal capitalism. Using Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), the article argues that rather than challenging this neoliberal capitalism, BEE is one of its microcosmic expressions that conform with its racialised relations of power. This is expressed by Mbeki's definition of the concept of empowerment through the scorecard