Africa-Press – South-Africa. The DA is set to begin its court case challenging the amendments to the Employment Equity Act “to ensure fair access to jobs and employment for all South Africans”, says the party’s federal chair Helen Zille.
Zille was addressing the media on Monday regarding the DA’s court application to be heard in the Pretoria high court on Tuesday.
The court action, launched more than two years ago during the sixth parliament, argues that the Employment Equity Amendment Act discriminates unfairly and unconstitutionally.
The party is targeting section 15 of the Act which outlines requirements for employers to implement affirmative action measures to ensure suitably qualified individuals from historically disadvantaged groups, such as black South Africans and people with disabilities, have equal employment opportunities and are represented.
“If this law is enacted, for example, people belonging to a specific group concentrated in a geographical area could face exclusion from employment based on national quotas set by the minister,” Zille said.
She said she believes jobs should be awarded based on merit, not race.
“The DA is committed to doing everything we can to build a country where everyone has the opportunity to shape their future on the basis of their ability and hard work, not because the government determines whether and where you can work based on the colour of your skin.
“We don’t want to have a country that continues to define everybody by their race and other biological attributes they don’t have control over and make sure everyone understands their ability, opportunity and work ethic is what is going to get them to the top, not their race and not their political connections.”
Zille emphasised that racial quotas are dehumanising and unjust, saying they reduce people to statistics while ignoring talent and effort.
“The DA will fight for a future where every South African has a fair shot at a better life.”
The party also warned that the Employment Equity Act amendments could drive away investment and increase unemployment.
“Companies and potential investors have repeatedly cited these social engineering laws as major barriers to investment and growth. It is completely senseless to knowingly intensify a discriminatory regime that has failed so spectacularly to empower economically marginalised people.”
Employment and labour minister Nomakhosazana Meth has expressed disappointment with the DA’s challenge.
“The DA’s challenge seeks to disrupt efforts aimed at achieving equitable representation and maintaining the inherently unfair status quo. By opposing the amendments, the DA is actively sabotaging the transformation goals that have been pursued since the end of the apartheid era, effectively hindering progress towards equality and fairness in the workplace. Thes stance is not only anti-transformation, but also a step backward in the fight for equality and fairness in the workplace.”
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