Protect dignity of all people
IF THE DA in the Western Cape really believes in the dignity of all people living in this province – especially the poor, the homeless and the downtrodden – it would sack Sea Point councillor Shayne Ramsay immediately.
In a city in which an estimated half-million people are on a housing waiting list, where homelessness and the social problems associated with it are growing, where poverty is rife, Ramsay has blamed South Africa’s human rights culture for Cape Town’s failure to deal with homelessness.
In a FaceBook post dripping with callousness, she split the homeless into three categories: criminals (who are in an out of overcrowded prisons), those who are mentally retarded or are social outcasts, and those who are generally “down on their luck”. And this wasn’t all. She also called on members of the “not in my backyard” brigade, of which she is obviously a member, to stop giving to “beggars, street people and car guards”. This, she said, would force them to “move elsewhere”.
We’re going to be blunt about this. Ramsay is a disgrace.
Anyone who sees the homeless in this light should not hold public office. Indeed, she should never have been considered for a position as a councillor.
Shaun August, chief whip of the DA in the City of Cape Town, and its leader in the metro, asked Ramsay to withdraw her FaceBook post and to apologise. This is not good enough. Given that the vast majority of homeless people are black, what Ramsay said is racist. And we have made our attitude towards racists clear. We believe they should have no place in a democratic South Africa for which so many people fought so hard…
This is why we will highlight their activities – and those who try to protect them – with all the energy we can muster.
The DA has shown in the way it handled Dianne Kohler Barnard’s racism, and the way that it is trying to handle Shayne Ramsay’s outburst, that it treats its racists with kid-gloves.
This is why we would like to make this call to its supporters: put the DA on notice. Tell it you will vote for a party that practises non-racialism, rather than just talk it.