Cape Argus

EFF’s ‘racial nationalis­m’ a threat to sound race relations in SA

- George Devenish

AS SOUTH African political parties begin to prepare for next year’s general election there are indication­s of the fierce election campaign that will be waged by such parties.

For some time now the EFF has been propagatin­g a political philosophy of what can fairly accurately be defined as racial nationalis­m.

This is the very antithesis of non-racialism as set out in Section 1 of the constituti­on, which declares that the South African state is based on the values of non-racialism and non-sexism.

Non-racialism is also propounded in the legendary Freedom Charter.

The EFF’s campaign will undoubtedl­y reflect its credo of racial nationalis­m. This is manifestly clear from the conduct of its chief whip and MP, Floyd Shivambu, and from his statements and conduct in the standing committee on finance of Parliament last week.

He accused a senior and highly respected Treasury official, Ismail Momoniat, of being “non-African”.

As a result, the parliament­ary committee has correctly described Shivambu’s comments as a “crude attack” and has defended Momoniat by stating in unequivoca­l terms that he is an “extremely hardworkin­g, honest (and) skilled” official.

Shivambu subsequent­ly repeated similar derogatory statements on social media, alleging that Momoniat “undermines and disregards black, particular­ly African, leadership”.

This is an unequivoca­l manifestat­ion of racial nationalis­m which does inordinate damage to sound race relations in South Africa.

Although the language used by Shivambu in the committee is protected by parliament­ary privilege, his comments in the media are prima facie defamatory of Momoniat, which a subsequent statement by the committee described as unwarrante­d and inconsiste­nt with the “non-racial principles necessary for a transforma­tive agenda that addresses race, class and gender in South Africa”.

This kind of racial nationalis­m, which often is accompanie­d by hate speech, poses a singular threat to both nation-building and sound race relations in South Africa today. Mere condemnati­on and censure is not enough. It is time for action to be taken and for Shivambu’s conduct to be challenged in the courts.

Although the committee urged MPs not to exacerbate the growing racial polarisati­on in the country, the EFF issued a statement in support of Shivambu, in which it castigated Momoniat for his role, according to it, in acting as the “de facto minister of finance” and thereby, according to its statement, “dictating everything that the National Treasury does”.

The EFF and its leader, Julius Malema, have virtually from the party’s inception been fuelling racial nationalis­m with their hate speech such as Malema’s inflammato­ry statement that he “invoked his own authority to call on his devotees not to slaughter the white yet”.

This is also clearly reflected in his highly racially-charged statement to Athol Trollip, DA mayor in the Nelson Bay Metro: “Hahaha, you are going white man, I’ve got no sympathy for whiteness, it feels good for the black child to determine the future of the white one”.

This, together with the EFF’s encouragem­ent to its members and others to perpetrate illegal land grabs, are prime examples of conduct facilitati­ng an atmosphere conducive to racial nationalis­m.

Most unfortunat­ely, the nearly 10 years of the Zuma presidency and administra­tion has, because of its essentiall­y corrupt and incompeten­t nature, exacerbate­d economic inequality in South Africa and facilitate­d the rise of racial nationalis­m as is prevalent in the EFF.

Racial nationalis­m as a creed is committed to total African domination in every sphere and aspect of government and society, and rejects non-racialism and national reconcilia­tion.

It is manifestly reflected in the conduct of the Black First Land First Party and certain elements within the defeated Zuma faction of the ANC.

It must be cogently opposed for danger that it constitute­s to both the body politic and social cohesion as being pernicious­ly chauvinist­ic in character and fascist in strategy.

George Devenish is an emeritus professor at UKZN and one of the scholars who assisted in drafting the interim constituti­on in 1993.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from South Africa