‘Fascist’ remark nearly causes blows

ANC MP Yunus Carrim nearly came to blows with Andile Mngxitama, the leader of Black First Land First pro-Zuma lobby, in public hearings on the transformation of South Africa’s financial sector.

Carrim, chairperson of the standing committee on finance, shouted at Mngxitama to leave after calling Joan Fubbs, chairperson of the trade and industry portfolio committee, a “fascist”.

“I have the utmost contempt for what Andile has said about Joan,” Carrim said, before getting out of his seat, walking to where Mngxitama was sitting and ordering: “Go, just go.”

Black First Land First members stood up and put themselves between Carrim and Mngxitama who had earlier complained that it was “fascist” of Fubbs to allow MPs to interrupt him and then to warn that he had limited speaking time.

Outside the meeting, Mngxitama reiterated his protest to Carrim that he had called Fubbs’s intervention fascist and not her personally. “Obviously, I was taken out of context. I had told her it was fascist of her, not that she was a fascist, and she was cool with that and we moved on.

“But now he’s being fascist to behave like that.”

Earlier, Carrim and Mngxitama had sparred verbally over Black First Land First’s contention that the economy was controlled by white monopoly capital because it still controlled the means of production two decades after the fall of apartheid.

Mngxitama insisted that 90% of the companies listed on the JSE should be in black hands, touching on a highly politicised subject that sees figures consistently disputed in public debate.

I HAD TOLD HER IT WAS FASCIST OF HER, NOT THAT SHE WAS A FASCIST