DA Leader John Steenhuisen Launches Defiance Campaign Against ANC Race Quotas in Chatsworth
Key Highlights :
The battle for three KwaZulu-Natal wards heated up a mere week after President Cyril Ramaphosa led an ANC campaign in Chatsworth, a township in Durban predominantly populated by the country’s Indian community. On Saturday, DA leader John Steenhuisen visited the area, leading what he described as his party’s defiance campaign against ANC race quotas.
Chatsworth was a township established in 1959 to segregate the Indian population and create a buffer between the white suburbs of Durban to the north and the black townships to the south. During his campaign in Chatsworth, Steenhuisen criticised the ANC's draft targets in terms of the Employment Equity Amendment Act, which has been published for comment.
He shared the story of Ahmed Kathrada, a man born in the small town of Schweizer-Reneke in today’s North West Province, who played a seminal role in the fight against racial segregation. "Uncle Kathy, as many would later call him, went on to play a seminal role in the fight against racial segregation. In fact, even as a teenager, Mr Kathrada fought against the so-called 'Indian Ghetto Act', which sought to restrict where Indian South Africans could live, trade, and own land. He was jailed for his defiance campaign before he was even 20 years old. Many years later, he was imprisoned for life as part of the Rivonia Trial. He spent 18 years on Robben Island," Steenhuisen said.
The DA leader said that the law, which Ramaphosa signed a few weeks ago, applied to any workplace with more than 50 employees. He added that, should the Act be promulgated into law, the number of Indian people working in skilled positions would be reduced. "Right here in KZN, the ANC wants to limit the share of Indian people working in skilled positions at every company in the retail industry in this province to 3.6% for men and 3.1% for women. Now tell me: how many people in this room knows of a business in Chatsworth where more than 3.6% of the workforce is of Indian descent?" Steenhuisen asked.
The DA leader called for a defiance campaign that would see communities reject the Act. "Let us launch a new defiance campaign that sweeps away the ANC and its new Group Areas Act. On Wednesday, let’s begin a new wave that will sweep the DA into the Union Buildings in 2024," he said.
Steenhuisen's campaign in the area comes a week after Ramaphosa, along with the ANC national working committee, launched a campaign in Chatsworth ahead of the by-elections. Ramaphosa promised more service delivery, saying police visibility was important in the country's fight against crime. He also promised Chatsworth residents that the government was working on rooting out crime in the area and ensuring their safety.
The battle for three KwaZulu-Natal wards is heating up ahead of Wednesday’s by-elections in the province, and DA leader John Steenhuisen's defiance campaign against ANC race quotas is gaining traction in the predominantly Indian township of Chatsworth. With the Employment Equity Amendment Act set to be promulgated into law, Steenhuisen is calling for a new defiance campaign that will sweep away the ANC and its new Group Areas Act. He has urged the local community to reject the Act and fight for their rights.
The by-elections will be a key test for the DA and the ANC, and the outcome will be an indication of how the two parties fare in the upcoming national elections. The ANC has promised Chatsworth more service delivery and better safety, while the DA is fighting for the rights of Indian South Africans and calling for a new wave of defiance against the ANC's racial quotas.
