KZN ANC wants black Africans to benefit more
THE ANC in KwaZulu-Natal says it is important to ensure that more black Africans benefit from the provincial economy, no matter how uncomfortable this might be to some quarters.
ANC KZN spokesperson Mdumiseni Ntuli yesterday warned that if not addressed, the issue could give rise to tensions among those who are supposed to be beneficiaries of the new dispensation.
He, however, said the ANC was not discriminating against Indians, coloureds and Chinese, all of whom are classified as blacks.
Ntuli was speaking yesterday after it emerged that the ANC in the province had made a proposal to National Treasury for black Africans to be given preferential treatment when it comes to the awarding of government contracts.
According to a Sunday newspaper report, the party had proposed major restructuring of the BEE laws. But Treasury apparently rejected the proposal.
Discussions
“We did discuss it based on the principle that oppression in this country was affecting black people in general, but Africans in particular. You cannot therefore justify putting all black people in the same boat when Africans were the worst affected in terms of oppression.
“What we are saying is that if you are allocating a contract of R10 million, our argument is that a certain portion must go largely to Africans.” He said such a proposal was tailored for KZN and would not necessarily be applicable to provinces like the Northern Cape, where the majority of inhabitants are coloured.
KZN is planning to take this proposal to the ANC national conference as it plans to deal with the matter urgently.
Phumlani Mfeka of iNjeje yamaNguni, a group advocating for the rights of Nguni people, applauded the move by the KZN ANC, adding that it was long overdue.
He said in KZN black Africans were not benefiting equitably from the economy of the province and that radical steps were needed to change this. He said by rejecting the proposals, Treasury had missed the point. “Treasury should have engaged with the province to see how these could be implemented within the confines of the constitution.”
He warned that the ANC would suffer in the 2019 polls if the issue of Africans being excluded in the economy was not addressed soon.
Narend Singh, treasurer of the IFP, said BEE had failed because of the government’s own shortcomings. Singh said many Indian businessmen had contributed immensely towards empowering their African counterparts and emerging businesses owned by Africans.
Former Speaker of eThekwini municipality Logie Naidoo said it was important to deal with the allocation of tenders to black Africans to counter the existing apartheid patterns. “There is already the procurement priority population group policy that tried to address that.”
The DA said the ANC proposal would divide KZN along colour lines. “It is also proof racial divisions are the order of the day for the ANC,” said DA MPL Francois Rodgers.