ANC GAUTENG PROVINCE IS APPALLED BY DA MP’S RECKLESS CONDUCT

1 October 2015

The African National Congress Gauteng Province is appalled by the Democratic Alliance Member of Parliament Dianne Kohler-Barnard’s reckless conduct on social media.

It is now public knowledge that Ms Kohler-Barnard ventured on Facebook and shared a post demonstrating her belief that life under the apartheid National Party government was better than post democracy.

We are not at all surprised by her racist tendencies of endorsing the apartheid tyrant PW Botha who presided over the murder and torture of many of our people of all races who fought for the liberation of South Africans. In its own statement, the misguided neo-liberal DA admits that P.W Botha is nothing more than a murderer, which begs the question why they keep a member and leader such as Ms Kohler-Barnard in their ranks.

Her decision to spread the vile and insulting Facebook post adulating the apartheid government and demonising our movement is not only disgusting but revealing of an apartheid nostalgia within the DA. Their continued pretense and posturing as defenders of the Constitution has been exposed through their downplaying of this irresponsible conduct.

Ms Kohler-Barnard’s lukewarm apology was in fact not and apology at all. She claimed not to have read the post before sharing it. We find this preposterous because an experienced politician like her, should have known better that her excuse holds no water.

We question why a post written over two weeks ago is only now being condemned in the high echelons of the DA when Ms Kohler-Barnard has now been publicly exposed. Their pretense at instituting disciplinary action is merely a farce.

We call on all progressive forces in our province and beyond to expose racists like Kohler-Barnard and her like-minded friends in the DA.

Statement issued by Hope Papo, ANC Gauteng Provincial Secretary, 1 October 2015