African staff in the department of Western Cape Premier Ebrahim Rasool are angered by what they say is a ”dismissive” attitude to their concerns about ”systemic racism” in the department.
Fifteen African managers in the department wrote a memo in February to Rasool, his Director General Virginia Petersen and other top officials titled: Systemic Racism is a persistent culture in the department of the premier that cannot be tolerated.
The memo, drafted in support of a formal grievance filed by S Ntlantsana, concerns alleged repeated remarks by managers in the unit describing African officials and suppliers as incompetent and undeserving beneficiaries of affirmative action.
After the memo became public last week, Petersen reportedly said an investigation had found that the issue was not racism, but ”immature management”.
Independent Newspapers quoted her adding: ”People come to the Western Cape and they find that it’s so different from where they came from.”
Both comments were seen by African officials interviewed by the Mail & Guardian as deepening their concerns by refusing to confront the issue by ”blaming the victim”.
Petersen’s explanation for the perceived high attrition of African managers added fuel to the fire.
”African people arrive and, within a short space of time, leave. This was because they would get better offers elsewhere,” she is quoted saying.
”She basically said it was all because Africans can’t cope in the Western Cape,” said one official, who asked not to be named.
”We felt it was dismissed by senior management,” said another. ”We wanted a proactive response, not another workshop.”
This was the latest in a series of confrontations over the racial composition of Rasool’s staff, which began with his efforts in 2006 to recruit more Africans and address perceptions that coloured applicants were favoured. Petersen’s appointment sparked controversy after the anti-Rasool faction of the provincial ANC complained it had not been consulted.
”Change management has been handled very badly,” said one person in the know.
Some department officials suggest that incompetent management, compounded by an inability to confront perceived racism openly, allowed the problem to fester.
As a result genuine transformation concerns were fused with other workplace issues, including performance management and personal relationships. ”There is no leadership,” said one official.
At least two officials are now refusing to come to work, saying they find the atmosphere intolerable, according to insiders. The memo complained that African officials were openly described as incompetent, lazy and inexperienced and, if they came from outside the Western Cape, as ”invaders”.
It also highlighted African resignations — of 48 senior management positions in 2007/08, they now held nine. Yet officials were openly denounced as motivated by higher earnings without being able to ”cut it”.
The memo said race-based networks were used to undermine African managers, who were expected to work at 200% to ”prove themselves”.
It also complained of inconsistent recruitment and retention processes that disadvantage Africans and of discriminatory recruitment, promotion and retention processes.
Rasool’s spokesperson, Jeremy Michaels, said: ”The department of the premier has taken very seriously the complaints in the memorandum and commissioned an independent human resources and diversity management consultancy to produce a race and prejudice survey, which has been completed. A report has been given to the director general.
”In the next week or two she will engage with all of the staff concerned,” said Michaels.