Pretoria - Black ownership of companies listed on the JSE has increased to 23.8%, trade union Solidarity said on Thursday.
This figure included the number of black people that owned
financial products like insurance policies, investments, pension
funds, loans and annuities, head of Solidarity's research institute Johan Kruger said.
He was speaking at the release of the union's SA Transformation
Monitor in Pretoria. Kruger said this number was expected to double in the next two years.
This "remarkable" increase of ownership of listed companies and
products by blacks showed the implementation and creation of black economic empowerment had already created significant benefits.
"Black ownership was at 23.8% in 2008, compared to five
percent in 1993... This is expected to increase to as much as 24
percent in 2012."
Referring to black economic empowerment, Kruger said the past
had already taught South Africa an important lesson about the
"unfair advancement of certain citizens".
"The unfair advancement of citizens and the unfair limitation of the rights of others, without any reasonable and acceptable
justification is a recipe for conflict."
Data used for the research was acquired from financial
institution Cazenova, the SA Reserve Bank and Who Owns Who South
Africa, among others.
Kruger said they decided to conduct the research because of
certain groups who believed the well being of blacks had not really improved.
- Sapa