DA’s strength lies in diverse leadership, not pigment politics

Diversity is one of the great strengths of both South Africa and the DA, and in a sea of ethno-nationalist parties, the official opposition’s commitment to nonracialism and individual rights allows it to stand out.

It is also what makes working in areas as diverse as Delft, Somerset West, Belhar and Khayelitsha such a pleasure. In places such as these, voters don’t care about the colour of their DA public representative and are just thankful they are able to get the city to clean the drains or restore the water supply.

Peter Bruce may know [Songezo] Zibi well, but he is unlikely ever to have heard of these rank-and-file DA representatives, who work on the ground every day with ordinary people.

It’s no surprise the DA’s commitment to diversity faces a lot of heat from those in the media elite such as Bruce, whose recent article (“Misguided DA is selling Zibi to the world”, April 14) criticised the DA for having a diverse leadership and warning the electorate about the dangers of voting for small parties with no proven governance track record and who sound a little too much like the ANC.

It appears many in the media can’t see South Africans as anything other than placeholders for those sharing their demographic features.

The notion that people who have the same physical traits don’t all think and act in the same way appears to have eluded them — hence the idea a leader must belong to a particular racial group to appeal to its members.

These views are almost Verwoerdian, and they also deny the real diversity in the DA, where people are elected to leadership positions irrespective of their skin colour.

This is an election campaign, and the DA is campaigning on its excellent record of service delivery, which counts far more than anything else to voters let down by ethno-nationalist parties and their media fellow-travellers who don’t accept that diversity is strength and appear to prefer to base their political decisions on pigmentation rather than principle.

Perhaps when Bruce and his colleagues descend from their shiny high-rise buildings to spend a bit of time with ordinary South Africans, they will get a chance to chat to them about whether diverse leadership is better than that based on shared pigmentation.

— Stuart Pringle, Somerset West

Zuma and his ilk subvert laws

Dangerous buffoons like Jacob Zuma, Donald Trump and others are quick to attack the judiciaries and constitutions of their respective countries in their own narrow interests. They are also adept at manipulating these institutions to evade being held accountable for crimes committed by them against their own citizens.

I and most black South Africans, as well as African people in general, agree that the legal systems we inherited from our former colonial masters are flawed and must be updated.

But this must be done to advance the interests of the African people, not those of a corrupt minority.

I may be wrong, but from his article (“‘Wenzeni uZuma’ raises profound questions of fairness in criminal justice in SA”, April 14) I got the impression [Lucky] Mathebula was defending Jacob Zuma. A master manipulator like Zuma and others will use pieces such as this to further their own subversive activities to erode their countries’ admittedly imperfect judicial systems and constitutions. They do this not in the interests of their people, but to pursue their own corrupt ends.

— Jerome Hendricks, Brackenfell

Middle East’s vicious circle

The statements from the Israeli government subsequent to the drone attacks, supposedly carried out by Iran, along the lines of “How dare they attack our sovereign territory? These attacks will require us to take severe retaliatory action”, are so naive they border on insanity.

Does Israel have collective amnesia about what it is perpetrating right this very moment, and has done so continuously for more than 190 days, in Gaza and the West Bank? With its immense superiority complex, the Israeli military has now laid itself open to a perpetual war with Hamas.

One day the Americans will turn off the taps, and the Israelis will then find themselves all alone in a very tough neighbourhood. This will be a situation all of their own making.

Peace in the Middle East can be achieved, but huge concessions will have to be made on all sides. The pain will be worth it. I believe the people in that region want peace, and the world wants it too. Peter

— Baker, Parktown North

Failing the faith test

I write this to express my utter dismay at your use of the word “mythology” in question 27 of the Brain Test in your newspaper of April 14. As a practising Hindu, the use of this word in this context is offensive and borders on religious intolerance. If I were to use the word “mythology” to describe the parting of the Red Sea or Jesus walking on water, you would find this offensive to your Christian beliefs.

— Rajhmohan Singh, Mossel Bay

Write to PO Box 1742, Saxonwold 2132; SMS 33662; e-mail: tellus@sundaytimes.co.za; Fax: 011 280 5150

All mail should be accompanied by a street address and daytime telephone number. The Editor reserves the right to cut letters