Government spokesperson Jimmy Manyi should be fired for his racist statements, the SA Municipal Workers’ Union (Samwu) said on Monday.
“We condemn his statement and call upon the Zuma administration to show commitment to non-racialism and a working-class bias to dismiss him,” general secretary Mthandeki Nhlapo told reporters in Johannesburg.
He said Manyi’s comment represented the arrogance of the African middle class.
Manyi said in a show broadcast on KykNet’s Robinson Regstreeks in March 2010 that there was an “over-supply” of coloureds in the Western Cape. At the time he was director general of the Department of Labour.
The comments caused a public outcry, culminating in the publishing of an open letter to him from Minister in the Presidency Trevor Manuel, who called Manyi a “worst-order racist”.
Dire straits of the working class
Samwu said the African National Congress should intervene in the problems facing municipal workers, or risk losing their votes.
“We find it impossible to convince our members and the community to do this [vote] until the issues have been resolved,” general secretary Mthandeki Nhlapo told reporters during the union’s national executive committee meeting in Johannesburg.
He said Samwu took a decision at its 2009 congress to support the ruling party, provided it became “worker friendly”.
The union raised concerns that many issues affecting workers had not been incorporated into the ANC’s election manifesto.
“The manifesto continues to provide for the needs of capitalists. We fear that the dire straits of working class communities will continue to be ignored after the election.” – Sapa