By 
“Kathrada would have urged all actions by individuals and political parties to be guided by a deep conviction to political principles, and not to short-term party-political gains advanced through performative politics,” the foundation said.
The foundation has requested the DA, and any other political party, to shy away from using Kathrada’s name and those of other liberation heroes and heroines “to draw false historical narratives and conclusions from their lives”.
It would benefit the DA if it took time to educate itself about what Kathrada actually believed in, the foundation said.
Steenhuisen on Wednesday said the legislation stood in direct contrast with what the DA believed in. “Because it violates one of the key foundational principles of the DA, which is nonracialism — and that is also a key constitutional value enshrined in our constitution, which says SA belongs to all who live in it, united in our diversity,” he said.
“But let me be very clear, the DA fundamentally supports advancement and opportunities for people in SA, particularly those who’ve been previously disadvantaged by the devastation of race-based policies. This is what underpins our economic justice policy and it is also a key factor in the new economic policy which we will be launching in a few weeks’ time.”
Steenhuisen said the ANC was using divisive tactics to campaign for next year’s election. “But race quotas do not address inequality because they mask the symptoms, and what we’re seeing here is the ANC desperately going into an election with the only thing that they have left at their disposal and that is their ability to divide South Africans by race.
“And let’s be very clear, these so-called targets are not targets, they are quotas and they are race quotas. There are significant financial penalties for businesses that do not comply, including up to 10% of their particular annual turnover.
“We believe that this is going to fundamentally constrain a number of things, including the ability of businesses to expand … in an environment where we have an expanded unemployment rate of around 40% and the largest youth unemployment rate in the world, it’s going to make that unemployment crisis even higher.”
TimesLIVE
Comments