DA petitions IMF to stop racially discriminatory use of Corona relief funds
7 May 2020
I have today sent a written petition to the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Ms Kristalina Georgieva, opposing in the strongest terms the use by the South African government of Corona disaster relief funds in a racially discriminatory way.
As the majority of these relief funds come from a loan obtained from the IMF, I implore this international body to censure the South African government and instruct it to stop using IMF monies in a way that discriminates along racial lines, and exacerbates racial tension in South Africa.
The ANC government’s choice to use this funding to only support BBEEE compliant companies, at a time of national economic crisis, is unconscionable. The virus does not discriminate on the basis of race, and it is indefensible that government should do so when deciding who is deserving of their help and who is not.
Furthermore, the race of a business owner has no bearing on the race of the employees of the business. White-owned businesses have black employees, who in turn support families. By deliberately denying these businesses critical government relief, it is not just the owner of the business, but indeed these families who will suffer should the business fail.