Racial Quotas Under Fire

Dear Editor

“The incoherence of the Act’s quotas betrays the hasty and clumsy manner in which they were formulated. This demonstrates a knee-jerk, electioneering ploy, devoid of any thoughtful consideration of the far-reaching implications.”

The proposed quotas in the Employment Equity Amendment Act – or Racial Quota Act, as the DA calls it – will cause at least 220 000 white people, 85 000 coloured people, and 50 000 Indians to lose their jobs in Gauteng alone.

Should the Racial Quota Act’s guidelines be fully adhered to, a total estimated 404 608 white individuals, 116 934 Indians, and 71 518 coloured people could lose their livelihoods within the next five years.

Today, the DA submitted Parliamentary Questions to ascertain what modelling was done by the Labour Department and on what basis these targets were compiled?

Quotas in approved legislation that will result in at least 600 000 South Africans losing their jobs surely cannot be set at random!

That is why the DA today asked Minister Thulas Nxesi the following:

1. To outline the specific statistical models and techniques that were used to compute the racial benchmarks in the Employment Equity Amendment Act? Was a regression analysis or other predictive modelling employed to ascertain the projected impact of these benchmarks on different sectors?
2. What specific demographic and labour market data were used as inputs in the formulation of the racial benchmarks in the Employment Equity Amendment Act?
3. How were these data validated and processed to ensure they accurately represent the current state of our labour market?
4. How were potential confounding factors, such as sectoral differences, rural vs urban divides, and the unique challenges faced by small businesses, accounted for in the methodological approach to developing the racial benchmarks in the Employment Equity Amendment Act? Could the Minister explain how the methodology accommodates the inherent variability and complexity of South Africa’s socio-economic landscape? And
5. Can the Minister share the specific steps taken to validate the methodology used to set the racial benchmarks under the Employment Equity Amendment Act?
6. Was there a formal peer review process involving independent experts in labour economics and statistical modelling? If so, could the Minister share the feedback received from these experts and how it was incorporated into the final methodology?

The targets proposed by government are not faceless numbers; they represent an impending social and economic catastrophe which will slam the brakes on an already slowing machine and risk grinding our economic gears to a complete halt.

The incoherence of the Act’s quotas betrays the hasty and clumsy manner in which they were formulated. This demonstrates a knee-jerk, electioneering ploy, devoid of any thoughtful consideration of the far-reaching implications.

The Department of Employment and Labour, and the Minister of Employment and Labour, Thulas Nxesi, must immediately elucidate their methodology behind these absurd quotas.

Regards

Dr Michael Cardo MP
DA Shadow Minister of Employment and Labour