South Africa looks set to tighten its empowerment laws in a bid to encourage firms to employ a quota of black employees.

It has been suggested that firms bidding for government contracts should have to meet empowerment criteria in order to be successful.

Under the current arrangements, competitiveness is the main determining factor. Campaigners would like to see that situation change.

Lionel October, deputy director-general of the Department of Trade and Industry, also appears sympathetic to such a move.

"Under the present Preferential Procurement Act, companies can still win tenders on the basis of pricing alone," the Reuters news agency quoted him as saying this week.

"There has been a significant improvement in BEE in the past 10 years but BEE only makes up five per cent of total equity at the JSE (Johannesburg Stock Exchange)."

Mr October would like to see that figure rise to 25 per cent.

Platinum producers have been in consultation with the South African government over its plans to introduce new black empowerment legislation for some time.

The country's mining laws require the participation of black empowerment firms in mineral projects.