Changing the names of schools in the Western Cape Indicative of trends against minorities in the ANC – Magashule faction 

15 September 2019

The elements of using the race card including changing names, and shifting blame and hate speech are all used when a political party or an individual is in the spotlight, either for corruption, mismanagement or structural failure. This is not new to the ANC nationally and provincially.

The ANC in the Western Cape’s call for changing the names of schools in this province because of their apartheid history is in the same mould. The sudden “concern” of the ANC in the Western Cape about this matter should not fool anyone in the 25th year since the transition to a democracy in 1994.  Nor is it surprising because the ANC in the Western Cape is strongly aligned to the secretary-general of the ANC, Mr Ace Magashule, who often used the same tactics to divert attention away from his many problems.

Mr Magashule has become a master of crude racist undertones, hate speech, inflammatory statements and blaming minorities. Some examples:

“He then turned and said there are many others who have got ‘whitish colour’ the crowd don’t know about. They are there, you see them all (the) time but you can’t say this one (is a) likwer*kw*re, this one comes from somewhere else. They are here in this country. They have never been attacked and they are so-called foreigners because their colour is white”

In April 2019 Magashule told residents of Philippi, in the Western Cape, on Sunday that they must not waste their votes by voting for "umlungu" (a white person).

On 18 March 2019, the City Press headline blazoned:  “Ace Magashule: We don’t need white votes” 

On 11 December 2017: "There is white capital, it's there. It's white, it's white... it has been there for years and dominated by white media. Why can't you accept that?" he (Magashule) asked.  

In view of the above, we accept that it is too much to ask of Mr Magashule to behave in a manner consistent with the South African constitution, as he clearly considers himself above the founding values and provisions of our Constitution in his continued support for Mr Zuma, for whom the Constitution was subservient to the ANC.

If our Constitution is a stumbling block to Mr Magashule, one must then ask how Mr Magashule, as secretary-general of the ANC, can use the xenophobic violence of the past few days to justify his views on whites, especially as these views are contrary to the stipulations of the ANC constitution. 

From the ANC Constitution

Rule 2 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

The aims and objectives of the ANC are:

2.1  To unite all the people of South Africa

2.5  To build a South African nation with a common patriotism and loyalty in which the cultural, linguistic and religious diversity of the people is recognised;

Rule 3 THE CHARACTER OF THE ANC

3.4 The ANC shall, in its composition and functioning, be democratic, non-racial and non-sexist and combat any form of racial, tribalistic or ethnic exclusivism or chauvinism.

The ANC’s in-fighting and factionalism are becoming a burden for all South Africans. Being part of the core leadership of the ANC and spewing hate and division do not befit any political leader. The ideals of 1994 have been invalidated by public statements, policy implementation, corruption, state capture, defective leadership, political opportunism and expediency. One can only ask what role Mr Magashule and his ilk played in all of this?

We also know that some individuals in the ANC are deeply concerned about dangerous policy directions, the lack of service delivery and are keen for greedy and corrupt officials and politicians to be prosecuted without fear or favour. Civil society has the reasonable expectation that these voices should be heard. Civil society yearns for our democracy and constitutional values to be our guiding light; not for politicians who are hell-bent on destroying the South Africa and South Africans we can be.

Issued by Jan Bosman, Chief Secretary of the Afrikanerbond, 15 September 2019