Africa-Press – South-Africa. The ANC has rejected the DA’s claims that the recently signed Employment Equity Amendment Act (EEA) by President Cyril Ramaphosa will prohibit the employment of certain races.
DA leader John Steenhuisen is preparing to escalate the matter to the Constitutional Court, describing the EEA as “absurd”, due to the way in which it will impact other races, particularly coloured and Indian South Africans.
In a statement on Monday, Steenhuisen said the “EEA is the most dangerous piece of racial engineering our country has seen since the dawn of democracy”.
However, in a statement on Wednesday, ANC spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri accused the DA of propaganda.
Bhengu-Motsiri said the party was intent on a “non-racial” society and added: “Such a policy would be inconsistent with the entire ethos of the ANC, particularly the pursuit of the National Democratic Revolution, which seeks to democratise our society and all spheres of the economy, including the labour market.
“The ANC-led liberation movement has always been consistent in its pursuit of a non-racial and just society. Building a non-racial labour market is a fundamental aspect of the National Democratic Revolution.”
The ANC called on political parties to stop using race as a “fear-mongering” tool, maintaining that the Act complied with the Constitution and Freedom Charter, and suggesting that parties “reverse cultures of racial denialism”.
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Bhengu-Motsiri said the country would only succeed if it dismantled “systematic racism”, which would “accelerate the pace of action toward a national democratic society”.
On 12 May, Employment and Labour Minister Thulas Nxesi published a gazette, calling for comments on the EEA.
Companies have been given 30 days to offer their input and comment.
In terms of the Act, the Department of Labour must prescribe sectoral employment demographic targets in each province for companies that have more than 50 employees.
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