These Groups Oppose the Employment Equity Amendment Act

Dear Editor

After decades of fighting against policy and laws based solely on race, implemented by the ANC government, a united and far-reaching front against the matter was formed.

Political parties, including the FF Plus, businesspeople, trade unions, agricultural organisations, educational organisations and many other civil organisations adopted a resolution on behalf of millions of South Africans, which opposes the Employment Equity Amendment Act that imposes strict quotas for the workplace and is entirely subject to the ANC’s discretion.

This law is representative of all laws and regulations that direct Affirmative Action (AA) and Black Economic Empowerment (BEE), which the FF Plus has been strongly opposing since its foundation. These policies achieved the exact opposite of what they were meant to, and that is the sole reason why the country is teetering on the edge of economic ruin.

The biggest drawback of the ANC’s racial laws is that nobody was empowered and no injustices have been redressed. On the contrary, under these policies, new and more injustices were committed while only a handful of individuals with direct ties to the ANC benefited. The rest of the population is becoming severely impoverished with unemployment being sky-high and national infrastructure crumbling to the detriment of everyone in the country, both white and black.

In terms of the resolution that was adopted at a workshop presented by Solidarity in Centurion, every person or group that can align themselves with it must in their own way register their protest against the Employment Equity Amendment Act.

The resolution states, among other things, that the undersigned parties reject a system of social manipulation, which affords the Minister of Labour and Employment absolute power to manipulate the South African society based on race.

The South African government is, furthermore, called on to turn education and training around so as to create a healthy and skilled labour market.

The guidelines of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) on redress and the United Nations (UN) International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) state, among other things, that special measures must be temporary, cannot be solely focused on race, should focus on people’s socio-economic position, and emphasise training and development.

The resolution also calls on government to adhere to the guidelines of the ILO and ICERD.

In addition, the resolution calls on international forums to put pressure on government to stay within the constraints of international norms on race.

The FF Plus welcomes this development and views it as a clear sign of growing public opposition to government, which will culminate at the polls next year.

Regards

Heloïse Denner
FF Plus MP