Celebrated golfer Gary Player celebrated his 90th birthday with a grand party and a wish for South Africa: scrap Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) laws.
The nonagenarian was born in Johannesburg and splits his time between his home country and his home in Florida, USA.
GARY PLAYER’S BIRTHDAY WISH: SCRAP BEE
On Saturday, 1 November, Gary Player celebrated his 90th birthday with a grand bash and golfing tournament at Sandton City.
Speaking to the media, the celebrated golfer, who has various businesses in South Africa, expressed his concerns about his country. One of them was transformative legislation, such as the BEE and the Expropriation Bill.
He said, “South Africa, we’ve got problems. Introducing a bill, no compensation. So, in other words, I brought back hundreds of millions of Rands to South Africa. I bought farms and property.
“They could come in and take it. That means they’re stealing it. So we are discouraging people to invest. We’ve got to get rid of that law.
Gary Player added that he was frustrated that authorities were not addressing his fears.
“They [SA government] weren’t listening, but they don’t listen. They’re not prepared to listen. And you’ve got to get rid of this BEE system.
“People are not prepared to come here and invest money. We’ve got to have systems like the rest of the world. Where you encourage people to come and invest.”
Gary Player is not the only prominent South African living in the US who has spoken out about abolishing BEE.
Like the golfer, Elon Musk has also appealed to the government to scrap the law that dictates his internet satellite service, Starlink, must abide by local shareholding investment requirements.
INSIDE 90TH BASH
Meanwhile, Gary Player celebrated his 90th birthday on the course with the Gary & Vivienne Player Invitational tournament, which is named after himself and his late wife.
The tournament was held in Sun City, where the sportsman also hosted a birthday dinner alongside his new partner, 84-year-old widow, Susan Waterfall.
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