A repeated theme in opinion pieces and letters in Business Day has been an almost anguished view that the African National Congress’s (ANC’s) approach to the economy is flawed and counterintuitive. This ranges from black economic empowerment to labour legislation and everything in-between.

One of the most recent pieces to declare the failure of empowerment and affirmative action was the piece by Hoosen Coovadia, director at MatCH at Wits University, in his contribution to your Transformation — To What End series (Growth alone will not cure SA’s poverty and injustice, February 17). Prof Coovadia says empowerment should be scrapped unless it can accommodate ordinary people.

Affirmative action should begin with extensive development of capabilities, which enables the attainment of skills to earn livelihoods and the support to exercise those skills.

Job creation should be linked to skills improvement, formal training and certification.

Whil e I didn’t agree with everything Prof Coovadia said, these comments reflect the crux of the matter.

Recently, a friend complained about the stringent requirements for achieving empowerment compliance and affirmative action targets. He was postulating that in the absence of a legislated body to determine race, such measures were unenforceable. He knows the constitution allows for discriminatory measures that redress past disadvantage, but he argues there is nothing in law to determine who can be identified properly, in order to receive those benefits. My friend, as a matter of principle, refuses to list his race when asked to do so.

I want to give a concrete example of the obscenity of social engineering that masquerades for advancement. My children’s names and the tone of their skin colour (one at university, one at school) will always be presumed to be "white". My children have a friend who is the child of a "black" father and "coloured" mother. Said friend looks "black" and has "African" names. He will always be presumed to be "black". This same friend has a half- brother. His "coloured" mother is married to a "white" man. The half- brother looks like his father. He will always be presumed to be "white".

The consequence of unabated empowerment and careless affirmative action is that my sons and the half- brother will have to fight for positions in society by virtue of their "colour" and the friend won’t. This is notwithstanding that they have had very similar upbringings, opportunities, advantages and problems. All past disadvantage cannot be the ongoing determinant of all future advantage.

And the real tragedy is that the implementation of empowerment and affirmative action will always be dogged by the fact that the most important thing in the life of a genuinely disadvantaged child is a good education. If no change is made per Prof Coovadia, in the future, the black kids who get a good education will succeed, as too will those who are politically well connected. The majority poor will enjoy no benefit at all.

Sara Weiss

Parktown North