South Africa's Economy Racially Structured: Zuma

South Africa's President Jacob Zuma said Tuesday his country's economy is still racially structured.



"Your role is to help us as we carry out the important work of reversing the apartheid legacy of the racial structure of the South African economy," Zuma said at the opening of the Presidential Black Economic Empowerment Advisory Council in Cape Town.



The Council will advise the government on how to take forward an economic transformation agenda and the National Development Plan 2030 vision.



It will also advise the government on the implementation of the amended Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) Act which was signed into law by Zumba in October 2014.



The South African leader said that if they were going to drive sustainable economic transformation and deracialize the economy, "there has to be measures and programs in place for government to support business in particular black business."



He said among key interventions, members of the Advisory Council need to tackle historical issues hindering economic transformation such as the public procurement policy.



"This issue was also on the agenda of the recently held Cabinet Lekgotla (meeting), where it was agreed that government will set-aside 30% of appropriate categories of State procurement for purchasing from Small and Medium Sized Enterprises, co-operatives as well as township and rural enterprises," he said.



Twenty one years after gaining freedom, South Africa's economy remains still most under the control of the country's white minority.



The South African government has been tackling the issue by introducing policies to ensure the country's black majority – who were deprived during the apartheid regime – benefit from the country's wealth and opportunities.



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