Cape Forum secures jobs for more than 500 000 minorities
1 September 2023
The civil rights organisation Cape Forum welcomes the Department of Employment and Labour’s announcement that the new amendments to the Employment Equality Act and the new race regulations will no longer be implemented on 1 September. This follows after Cape Forum, together with 30 other organisations, took a stand against the government’s new neo-apartheid racial legislation on 6 June.
“For us of particular interest is the impact on the coloured community, but more specifically in the Western Cape. Although the data shows that theoretically there should be more coloured employees in the Western Cape, this is just a window-dressing,” says Heindrich Wyngaard, Chairperson of the Cape Forum.
In the past few weeks, South Africa has suffered, among other things, from taxi violence, fears of higher interest rates and an increase in food and fuel prices. However, few have been as economically terminal in nature as the government’s new draconian race regulations which were due to come into effect on 1 September. More than 500 000 minorities were expected to lose their jobs. This loss of taxpayers who would have had to rely on state aid would also have impoverished the people of South Africa by losing access to their expertise.
“We currently need job creation and not half a million people who are forced out of the economy based on their race and gender,” says Bernard Pieters of Cape Forum. “The government is currently trying to use minorities as an excuse for their shortcomings and problems in the country. Cape Forum will not allow minorities to be used as political punching bags in their country of birth,” concludes Pieters.
Although the first round against the government was won, the momentum must not be lost now. Cape Forum encourages the public to support its petition against this type of legislation and add their voice to the thousands of others who have already spoken out against this racially based legislation.
Get involved today and help make a difference. Send an email to [email protected] or join www.kaapseforum.co.za.
Issued by Heindrich Wyngaard, Chairperson, Cape Forum, 1 September 2023
