ANC: AA issue being distorted
2004-04-06 20:08
Cape Town - The African National Congress on Tuesday accused some opposition political parties of sowing "misunderstanding" about affirmative action and its application.
In the run-up to the April 14 election, some parties have claimed coloured and Indian South Africans are being discriminated against when it comes to affirmative action, particularly in the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal.
Briefing the media in Cape Town, Finance Minister Trevor Manuel said there was a complete misunderstanding about affirmative action.
Legislation on the issue was quite clear, defining "black" as African, coloured, and Indian, all of whom should benefit from affirmative action.
Manuel said he could not understand why some parties claimed affirmative action had run its course and should now be terminated.
There was still a long way to go towards, among other things, an equitable distribution of skills.
The issue of affirmative action was being wilfully distorted by those who wanted to maintain their privileged positions, he said.
Western Cape ANC leader Ebrahim Rasool said some political parties and unscrupulous employers were using the issue to "stir the racial pot" at election time.
This was nothing more than political mischief and "swart gevaar" tactics.
Rasool said statistics showed that only about three out of every 100 Africans in the Western Cape actually get the job they apply for, while the figures for their coloured and white compatriots were considerably higher.
Therefore, Africans were much less likely to find work, and it was "a lot of lies" to claim coloureds were being discriminated against, Rasool said.
- SAPA