KZN ANC driving racial agenda under guise of ‘radical economic transformation’

16 October 2017

The Democratic Alliance in KwaZulu-Natal strongly condemns the blatant racial agenda currently being driven by provincial MEC Sihle Zikalala, chairman of the now disbanded ANC provincial executive.

According to a media report yesterday, Zikalala is looking to reshape BEE policies to benefit “black Africans”.  This to the exclusion of Indians, Coloureds and Chinese who were in South Africa prior to 1994 and who were historically classified as “black” and eligible to benefit from BEE initiatives.

The move – under the guise of the ANC’s mantra of “radical economic transformation” is set to see other previously disadvantaged sectors of the community of KwaZulu-Natal community marginalised. This proposal will only further divide our province along colour lines. It is also proof that racial divisions are the order of the day for the ANC.

Zikalala’s increasingly extreme views when it comes to such issues spell trouble for the province of KZN. This latest proposal is also symptomatic of a leader void of any legislative savvy. Anyone with an iota of constitutional understanding would realise that the proposal is unconstitutional and would result in a litany of legal challenges.

The DA is the first to acknowledge the inherited disparities of the past and the need for redress through effective broad based black empowerment.  What we will not tolerate is the system of "connectivity" empowerment currently driving the ANC’s state capture agenda and the Zuma campaign in the upcoming ANC elective congress.

Issued by Francois Rodgers, Leader of the DA in the KZN Legislature / DA KZN Spokesperson on Finance, 16 October 2017