Opposition parties have welcomed government’s reported ”mind-shift” on race quotas in professions where South Africa is experiencing a skills shortage.
Democratic Alliance (DA) spokesperson Mark Lowe said in a statement on Monday that government’s considering rescinding quotas in certain sectors was ”effectively an admission that its inflexible policy has had a negative effect on the economy”.
”This also vindicates the DA’s stance on the matter,” he said.
The DA had always been in favour of affirmative action that sought to provide opportunities where these had been withheld in the past.
”However, we have consistently opposed the setting of concrete quotas, both because it is discriminatory and because it does not take into account the supply of and demand for skills in our economy.
”Instead of providing equal opportunities, the government has been trying to force the private sector to achieve equal outcomes. But skills cannot be redistributed from rich to poor,” he said.
What was required to achieve real equality was serious investment in education, training and skills development.
The government had to spend money on improving schools, particularly in disadvantaged areas.
Then it should provide ”opportunity vouchers” to young people that could be used to pursue higher education.
Unless government improved the input side of affirmative action, employment equity would remain a farce, Lowe said.
New National Party leader (NNP), Marthinus van Schalkwyk, said the issue of quotas had regularly been the subject of discussion between the NNP and the African National Congress.
”We have always acknowledged the necessity for affirmative action, but at the same time it has been clear that, in particular key sectors, there is also a need for both a sunset clause and a different approach,” he said in a statement.
”This new flexibility is a positive contribution to an important, healthy and necessary debate about how best to harness merit and skills to the benefit of all South Africans.
The NNP fully supported any measures to create opportunities which allowed South Africans, effectively excluded from the economy, to again add their skills to efforts in creating economic growth and wider prosperity.
”This approach offers far greater opportunities for our country than struggling with inflexible or impractical policies which may ultimately damage our country’s economy,” Van Schalkwyk said. – Sapa