MEC’S CONTROVERSIAL STATEMENT A CONTRADICTION OF SA’S CONSTITUTION

IT WAS recently prominently reported in the media that KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Economic Development Sihle Zikalala favoured the exclusion of Indians and coloureds from being recipients of KZN state contracts worth more than R50 million. He is apparently spearheading a political and economic move to radically reshape BEE policies to ensure only Africans benefit from tenders.

This controversial statement is in clear violation of section 1 of the constitution, which sets out founding provisions and seminal values. It is correct that section 9(2) of the constitution permits affirmative action for those persons who are disadvantaged. However, affirmative action does not justify a complete exclusion on the basis of race of persons other than Africans. This move is being propagated under the policy “of Radical Economic Transformation”.

It was reported in the Sunday Times on October 15 that Zikalala had already sent his proposal for changes to BEE to the National Treasury to be considered as a template for a sweeping change for such transformation. Furthermore, according to a report in the Daily News on October 16, ANC spokesperson Mdumiseni Ntuli said this view would be advanced at the December ANC electoral conference.

It is unfortunate there are persons in leadership positions who are advocating an exclusive African nationalism in conflict with the letter and spirit of the constitution. These persons and their views need to be challenged. South Africa is a non-racial constitutional democracy requiring that all its citizens are treated with equality and dignity. Any policy aimed at undermining non-racialism must be exposed for what it is – unequivocal violation of the foundational principles of our constitution.

The le gendary Freedom Charter declared that “The rights of the people shall be the same regardless of race, colour or sex”. This was taken so seriously by the ANC that it provoked a split in the organisation. In 1959, a small group of nationalist-minded persons opposed the non-racial policy of the Congress Alliance, especially the clause in the charter which declared that “The country belongs to all who live in it, both black and white”. This group broke away and formed the PAC, basing their philosophy on “Africa for the Africans”. Furthermore, as indicated, section 1 of the constitution declares that it is based on the values of, inter alia, “non-racialism and non-sexism”. Also, section 9 states that the state may not unfairly discriminate indirectly or indirectly on, inter alia, “race, culture, language and birth”.

The responsibility for promoting non-racialism lies not only with the government and political leaders, but also with ordinary South Africans, civil society and religious organisations.

Political and social integrity and non-racialism must triumph over political expediency and naked political ambition.

• George Devenish is a retired professor of Public Law and one of the scholars that assisted in drafting the Interim Constitution of 1994.