DA pressure keeps race quotas at bay

7 September 2023

The DA notes that, despite claims to the contrary, there is not yet a set date for the implementation of the Employment Equity Amendment Act. This was confirmed in yesterday’s Employment and Labour Portfolio Committee meeting by the Department’s Director General, Mr Thobile Lamati, after being pressed. For that reason, the sectoral targets, or racial quotas, which were gazetted a few months ago for public comment are not yet in force.

The Department of Employment and Labour has been going around the country on a roadshow trying to convince minority communities that the amendments to the Act are harmless and that they will bring about the "transformation" of the economy.

That is a lie. The law will essentially provide the Minister of Employment and Labour, Thulas Nxesi, the power to enforce race quotas on the labour force across national economic sectors and industries.

This amounts to dangerous social engineering. It will scare off investors, strangle growth, destroy any hope of creating jobs, while treating minorities like second class citizens.

At a time when the economy is failing, the implementation of the employment equity amendment act will spell disaster. That is why the DA has approached the court to have it overturned.

We envision a future where such race laws are consigned to the dustbin of history, and the private sector is freed from the dead hand of overregulation. That is the only way we are going to make a significant dent in the unemployment rate.

Issued by Michael Cardo, DA Shadow Minister of Employment and Labour, 8 September 2023