The African National Congress’s (ANC) defence of government spokesperson Jimmy Manyi is proof the ruling party has abandoned non-racialism, Democratic Alliance (DA) Member of Parliament Wilmot James said on Tuesday.
James said ANC secretary general Gwede Mantashe’s defence of Manyi, who has been called a racist for remarks he has made about coloureds and Indians, was a significant moment for the ANC “post-Polokwane”.
“Gwede Mantashe today and for the second time came out in defence of Jimmy Manyi, saying in his view those who called for Manyi’s head demonstrated a ‘hatred for change’,” James said in a statement.
“His continued support for Manyi, as well as the support of the ruling party, constitutes further proof that the ANC has abandoned non-racialism and, in its place, endorsed the racial nationalism that defined the party under president Thabo Mbeki.
“It signifies that Mbeki has won and that his programme to re-racialise South Africa has triumphed.”
‘Over-supply’
In a television interview last year, which was posted on YouTube by trade union Solidarity, Manyi said there was an “over-supply” of coloured people in the Western Cape.
Last week National Planning Minister Trevor Manuel wrote an open letter to Manyi calling him a “worst-order racist”.
At Tuesday’s press conference Mantashe blamed the latest controversies surrounding the ANC on “racial prejudice” and “hatred for change”.
He also gave tongue-lashings to Manuel, as well as the South African Municipal Workers Union which has called for Manyi’s head.
James said instead of acting as a unifying force, the ANC under Jacob Zuma had chosen to revive Mbeki’s agenda. In so doing it elevated “race above circumstance” and “identity above freedom, opportunity and choice”.
‘Backwards, divisive thinking’
It demonstrated too that the ANC was split down the middle, he said.
“Mantashe’s support for Manyi is effectively a rebuke for Trevor Manuel. The ANC is splintering. Every policy decision is contested, every province is factionalised and every member identified by the camp to which they belong.
“At the heart of the ruling party there is one fundamental fracture: Non-racialism. Every ANC member will now have to decide: Where do they stand on Jimmy Manyi.”
James said demographic representivity necessitated racial profiling, quotas and “at its core” a definition of who is “black”, “coloured”, “white” or “Indian”.
“Because if national or regional demographics determine opportunity, the state needs to be able to define what determines a person as ‘black’ or ‘coloured’, ‘Indian’ or ‘white’ in order to assess what they qualify for, and which demographic they represent.
“How will the state determine this? With a pencil test? This is apartheid thinking. Previous disadvantage, not race, should guide redress or we risk reverting to the kind of backwards, divisive thinking that has defined our history and the legacy we are trying to leave behind.” — Sapa