A senior South African journalist tells the story of how, as a young reporter in the apartheid era, he was delegated to act as a guide to Eartha Kitt, showing her around Cape Town. The reporter (white) was sitting in the back seat of a chauffeur-driven car with the great singer, lecturing her on the evils of racism, when she interrupted him. “I do know something about racism!” she said irritably. “You know, I had quite forgotten she was black,” the journalist recalls ruefully.
Racism, it can be said, will finally be eradicated in South Africa when such over- sights are commonplace. Self-evidently the colour of one’s skin should be as irrelevant as that of one’s eyes or hair in judging another person’s experience, capability, talents, or any other attribute of character and personality. Unfortunately that day is not being hurried on by the ANC, whose party officials have an unfortunate habit of calling attention to the race not only of their opponents and critics, but also their own leaders.
The latest example comes in the form of an indignant statement this week from party headquarters denouncing recent speculation of an imminent Cabinet re-shuffle which, it was being said, would see the replacement of Trevor Manuel by Alec Erwin as minister of finance. The ANC statement announced that the rumours were an attempt to undermine the macro-economic strategy “with a specific racist focus on Minister Trevor Manuel”. The suggestion was that Erwin was being punted to take over the portfolio because he is (or, rather, used to be) “white” and supposedly “superior” to Manuel who is (or, rather, used to be) “coloured”.
Trever Manuel is not, it must be said, in quite the same class as Eartha Kitt, at least as an entertainer. But, as anyone who has enjoyed his company will attest, he is wonderful entertainment. He is also a man of huge intelligence, immense determination and great courage — as he showed in his dealings with vested business interests during his time at Trade and Industry. A measure of the man, of his bluntness and humour, is offered by his reply when asked recently if he would be interested in the foreign affairs portfolio: “Ah, no; in this job I have to kick arse, in that I would have to kiss it.”
To attach a racial label to Manuel – even if it is in his defence – does him no service. It also does no service to the ANC, because it creates the impression that its own perspectives are racially coloured. Like Eartha Kitt, he is familiar with racism. But it is time his “race” was forgotten.