Mantashe defends Manyi: President Zuma needs to say where administration stands on section 42

The Democratic Alliance (DA) is disappointed that the ANC secretary-general, Gwede Mantashe, has chosen to defend the racist comments made by government spokesperson, Jimmy Manyi. Mr Manyi's offensive comments, claiming that there was an "over-supply" of coloured South Africans in the Western Cape, were reminiscent of apartheid-era social engineering. They should have been condemned by all political parties truly committed to creating a non-racial society by addressing the imbalances of the past in a constructive manner.

Instead, SABC radio reports Mr Mantashe endorsing Mr Manyi, telling an audience in Mount Ayliff in the Eastern Cape: "He [made] the point which becomes a big issue now: that [the fact that] that they (coloured South Africans) are concentrated in the Western Cape disadvantages them, because to actually reach the level of the demographics in one province in the main will take them longer." The Saturday Dispatch also reports Mr Mantashe asking rhetorically: "Why is this an issue?"

Mr Mantashe is effectively defending Mr Manyi's view that a national, rather than provincial, demographic standard should be used in determining a company's employment equity rating. This is precisely the misguided approach that led to the words "national and provincial" being removed from section 42 of the Employment Equity Act, at the direction of Mr Manyi as former Labour Department director-general.

This amendment risks creating an enormous crisis in our labour market.

When Mr Mantashe says that it will take "longer" to reach the "level of the demographics in one province", what he is refering to is the national level of demographics. It is difficult to read Mr Mantashe's comments in any other way. He is clearly endorsing Mr Manyi's contention that coloured people are indeed "over-supplied" or overly "concentrated" in the Western Cape. Such a view is necessarily premised on the idea that a national, rather than provincial, demographic benchmark is needed in employment equity legislation.

So what, exactly, is President Zuma's position? The Department of Labour indicated last week, before Parliament, that they believed that companies should be able to choose between a national or provincial demographic benchmark. Cosatu has already indicated they wish to see the new legislation, which imposes a national benchmark, redrafted. (This is also what we called for last month.)

However, the ANC now appears to be distancing itself from Trevor Manuel's condemnation of Mr Manyi. First the ANC Youth League, and now both Gwede Mantashe and Paul Ngobeni have backed Mr Manyi. President Zuma and senior administration officials have failed to state whether this administration believes a national or provincial benchmark should prevail.

This administration needs to state unequivocally whether it endorses Mr Manyi's comments, and whether it intends to proceed with the job-killing amendment to section 42 of the Employment Equity Act, which both Mr Manyi and Mr Mantashe seem to be supporting in their comments.

It is unfortunate that one of the ANC's most senior leaders fails to see how deeply problematic the cabinet's proposed amendment to the Employment Equity Act really is. The issue here is not about the need to address past imbalances. Nor is it about the merits of having policies in place that seek to address the historical prejudices of the past that disadvantaged and continue to disadvantage many South Africans.

The DA believes in measures that can create a society in which all can reach their full potential. The issue, rather, is the means of delivering that promise. Mr Manyi, and now Gwede Mantashe, believe that it is reliant on centralised planning; that a patronising and overly centralised state directive that measures transformation according to national statistics can help individuals and that coloured people, for instance, should merely recognise that the ANC knows what is good for them.

Statement issued by Dr. Wilmot James MP, DA Federal Chairperson, March 6 2011

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