The ANC has accused the DA of using racial politics to advance its political objectives.
This after the DA made a statement expressing its intention to contest what it calls the “new race quotas” implemented by the ANC on Monday.
John Steenhuisen, the leader of the DA, expressed deep concern and unease regarding the recently released draft Employment Equity Amendment Act regulations.
He said the regulations, currently open for public feedback, suggest the introduction of racial employment quotas spanning 18 diverse economic sectors in all nine provinces in South Africa.
Steenhuisen emphasized that the DA believes these quotas will significantly impact every facet of the country’s economy.
“The regulations apply to all companies with more than 50 employees. They signal a new low for the ANC government, constituting a naked attempt to expand state control over the economy, deepen social divisions and ban certain communities from employment in particular sectors and parts of the country,” he said.
“The quotas seem especially targeted at the groups defined by the regulations as ‘coloured males’, ‘coloured females’, ‘Indian males’, and ‘Indian females’.
“People from these communities suffered discrimination under the previous regime, and now they are being revictimised by a democratic government that has learnt all the wrong lessons from the past.”
However, in a statement on Wednesday, ANC national spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri refuted the claims, asserting that no such laws exist and accused the DA of spreading propaganda.
The governing party asserted that implementing policies that exclude particular racial groups would contradict the very essence of the organisation and maintained that throughout its history, it has consistently pursued a non-racial and equitable society.
“The ANC rejects this notion with contempt. Such a policy would be inconsistent with the entire ethos of the ANC, particularly the pursuit of the national democratic revolution, which seeks to democratise our society and all spheres of the economy including the labour market.
“The ANC-led liberation movement has always been consistent in its pursuit of a non-racial and a just society. Building a non-racial labour market is a fundamental aspect of the national democratic revolution.”
She noted that it is crucial for political parties to desist from employing race politics as a fear-mongering tactic, stressing the need to move beyond divisive rhetoric.
She said: “It is high time political parties across the right-wing spectrum desist from using race politics as a means of fear mongering, instead they must reverse cultures of racial denialism.
“Our constitution and the Freedom Charter is emphatic that South Africa can only succeed if it dismantles systemic racism and accelerate the pace of action towards a national democratic society.
“We are confident that the Employment Equity Act as amended is consistent with our constitution and will help us transform the labour market and ultimately society.”
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