Taskforce to tackle race inequality

ANEW taskforce made up of 14 black, Asian and minority ethnic experts will explore how to tackle race inequality in Cardiff.

The taskforce will look at issues like how BAME communities can be supported in getting jobs and how to increase the diversity of councillors and council staff. It will also work with the Welsh Government’s audit of statues, street and building names for links with the slave trade.

Council leader Huw Thomas proposed setting up the group in response to Black Lives Matter protests, which saw activists in Bristol tear down a statue of slave trader Edward Colston, and calls to take down a similar statue in Cardiff of colonial governor Thomas Picton.

In August, the council will consult the BAME community in Cardiff to draw up a list of the most pressing issues that need addressing.

Chairing the taskforce, Councillor Saeed Ebrahim said: “We want to tackle and find solutions for the discrimination and disadvantages faced by the BAME community in Cardiff.

“The taskforce will need insightful individuals with an interest in race and human rights. We need people with the ability, experience, opportunity and influence to make real changes in their sector, industry or organisation.

“I am eager to get started. I know this cabinet wants to see real change, and this taskforce is a way of ensuring the voice of the BAME community is heard when new policies are being drafted.”

The group will meet four times a year and recommend to cabinet how the council can address racial inequality in the city. Experts on the panel will be publicly appointed and roles advertised on the council’s website.

Cllr Thomas said: “Although Cardiff has a proud history of multiculturalism and a tradition of celebrating diversity, this cannot be an excuse for complacency or inaction.

“We must acknowledge that there are people of colour in this city today who must deal with racism as a feature of their everyday lives. It is important that we too reflect on how we can address the issues faced by black communities in the city.”