Democratic Alliance (DA) leader, John Steenhuisen said he will write to President Cyril Ramaphosa over the race quotas.
This comes after President Cyril Ramaphosa admitted that Indians, whites, and coloureds felt excluded in the country’s political system, saying he was disappointed.
"Coloureds and Indian compatriots who were the backbone of the UDF feel excluded from the nation’s political life and point to the under-representation and decision making structures as evidence of this.
"Many whites wrongly believe that there’s no place for them in South Africa today, and some have drifted towards a siege mentality," he said.
Ramaphosa was addressing the United Democratic Front’s (UDF) 40th anniversary celebration at Johannesburg City Hall on Sunday.
"I will today write to President Ramaphosa, calling on him to instruct his National Minister of Labour, Thulas Nxesi, to withdraw his opposition to the DA’s court case to declare the race quotas act "unconstitutional," Steenhuisen said in a statement.
He said if Ramaphosa cared about South Africa, he would put an end to racial division and begin the process of repealing all race-based legislation, which continues to skew access to opportunity.
According to Steenhuisen, the president conceded that the ANC has contributed to dividing South Africa along ethnic, racial, and gender lines, repeatedly violating the very principle of non-racialism enshrined in the South African Constitution.
He gave the president a seven-day ultimatum to respond to his letter.
"If he refuses to do so, it will confirm to South Africa that he is a liar, a hypocrite, and an integral part of the assault on non-racialism that he claims to lament," he said.
He maintained that Ramaphosa cannot purport to champion the values of the Constitution while he and the ANC continue to pass and defend racist and exclusive laws while failing on their basic mandate to deliver opportunity to millions of South Africans.
According to Steenhuisen, Ramaphosa signed the “Race Quotas Bill” (Employment Equity Bill) in April into law to demonstrate his contempt for "racial minorities."
If adhered to, the DA leader alleged that the Quotas Act will cost 600,000 people their jobs on the basis of their race; at least 220,000 white people, 85,000 coloured people, and 50,000 Indians stand to lose their jobs in Gauteng alone.
He added that it will deter investment and thereby lead to more job losses and greater poverty and inequality, fuelling further social division and instability.
kamogelo.moichela@inl.co.za
IOL Politics