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SAfrica opposition challenges Black empowerment laws

Oct 21, 2025, 7:02am EDT
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South African President Cyril Ramaphosa speaking to the leader of the Democratic Alliance.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. Esa Alexander/Reuters

The second-biggest party in South Africa’s government proposed an end to Black economic empowerment laws, a move that threatens to upend the country’s shaky coalition.

The pro-business Democratic Alliance party said it would attempt to end government procurement laws that favor Black-owned businesses, claiming they had become an excuse for state-sponsored corruption and fraud.

The African National Congress, which until last year had independently ruled South Africa since the end of apartheid, is likely to strongly oppose the move, Bloomberg reported.

Pretoria has been under pressure from the US, its second-biggest trade partner, to end laws that Washington says unjustly discriminate against the country’s white population.

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