Not enough white and coloured representation in Mpumalanga’s government departments
8 November 2022
White and coloured people are under-represented in Mpumalanga's government departments.
This is despite claims by Mr Speedy Mashilo, leader of Government Affairs in the Mpumalanga Legislature, that the ANC does not look at skin colour when appointing personnel.
The figures also tell a different story of discrimination against white and coloured people when it comes to job opportunities.
The FF Plus queried the state of affairs, to which Mr Mashilo responded by saying that the ANC appoints individuals of all races who possess the relevant qualifications.
He also encouraged people from minority groups to apply for public positions.
Statistics in the Legislature's 2021/22 financial annual reports make it abundantly clear that white and coloured people are increasingly discriminated against.
Where minority groups comprise on average 9,35% of the province's population, their representation in the provincial government departments is between 0,8% and 5% of the total labour force.
The Provincial Treasury has the highest percentage of employing minority groups with 5,1%, followed by the Department of Economic Development and Tourism with 4,9%.
The departments with the lowest numbers are Community Safety with 3%, Agriculture, Rural Development and Environmental Affairs with 2,6%, and Social Development with a mere 0,8% of its 1 981 employees being from minority groups.
If the ANC government in Mpumalanga is serious about improving service delivery, it must do away with Affirmative Action (AA).
The ANC government needs to realise that it has already reached its targets. It must stop discriminating against minorities.
If the government continues to implement AA as it has been and is currently doing, there will be no employees from minority groups left in the public service within just a few years.
The FF Plus will confront government about this, and demand that more people from minority groups must be appointed, just as Mr Mashilo undertook.
Issued by Werner Weber, FF Plus MPL and provincial leader: Mpumalanga, 9 November 2022
