DA deals with racists in the party, the ANC doesn't - Cachalia

3 May 2016

Johannesburg - If a DA member or official says something racist or "dubious", they are immediately dealt with, unlike the way the ANC deals with their racists, DA Ekurhuleni mayoral candidate Ghaleb Cachalia said on Tuesday.

"We have a country filled with enormously wonderful people, and unfortunately, in this country there are a number of people who are not quite wonderful, who are racist," Cachalia told News24.

"No one has a monopoly on racism. The ANC has a significant number of very racist people who have made very racist comments, regularly over many years."

When pushed for examples of ANC officials who made racist comments, Cachalia pointed to former ANCYL president Julius Malema as an example. Malema is now currently the leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters.

"You [also] take the comments that were made by [former government spokesperson] Jimmy Manyi, you can go on, there are plenty. They have never been censured, ever. In fact, they have been elevated to positions of significant power within that particular organisation."

Cachalia said this should be measured against what happened in the DA.

"When the likes of Penny Sparrow, an ordinary idiot, makes a ridiculous statement, what happens? She is ejected from the party [the DA]," he said.

"When others make dubious statements, there is a disciplinary process, and they are suspended or dealt with efficiently in the party. I can't say the same of the ANC.

"This is a diverse party that has a no-nonsense attitude towards transgressions, whether they have to do with corruption or to do with race.

"We are firm with those issues and we wish the ANC was as well. Unfortunately, they are not, which is why I am here [in the DA]."

Malema was expelled from the ANC in 2012 for sowing divisions within the organisation and bringing it into disrepute.

Manyi was called a racist by former minister in the presidency Trevor Manuel in 2011 after he said in  a 2010 interview with KykNet that coloureds should "spread in the rest of the country... so they must stop this over-concentration situation because they are in over-supply where they are".

'DA most diverse party in the country'

In January, KwaZulu-Natal realtor Penny Sparrow was at the centre of a race row that gripped the country after she took to Facebook and described black beachgoers as "monkeys", in an apparent reaction to litter left behind after New Year’s celebrations. The DA revoked her membership.

More recently, there has been widespread condemnation this week after Stellenbosch University graduate Matthew Theunissen said in a post on his Facebook account: "So no more sporting events for South Africa... I've never been more proud than to say our government are a bunch of KAFFIRS.. yes I said it so go fuck yourselves you black fucking cunts."

It was not immediately clear when he had written the post as his Facebook profile was no longer active.

Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula announced on April 25 that he had banned the country's cricket, rugby, netball and athletics bodies from bidding for, or hosting, major sporting events due to a lack of transformation. The decision would be reviewed next year.

Cachalia said on Tuesday that there was a myth that the DA was a "white party", and that was being addressed

"It is patently untrue to say that the DA is not a representative party. It is the most diverse party in the country. In many structures of the leadership there are competent black people who are doing an extraordinarily good job," he said.

In reference to Black Economic Empowerment, Cachalia said redress was necessary in the country.

"People have to be uplifted to a point where they can access the opportunity that can be presented to them. In this regard BEE is important," he said.

"BEE is a very useful mechanism to get people to the stage where they can then compete... on a level playing field. However, the way it is implemented is absolutely crucial.

"[Also] these things can't go on forever. There must be a sunset clause at some stage. We can't sail into the sunset forever on this BEE ship."

This article first appeared on News24, see here.