Port Elizabeth - Newly elected DA federal leader Mmusi Maimane has clarified that the party is in favour of non-racialism - but will not advocate for colour-blindness, because South Africa’s history of racism has shaped millions of blacks.
“I simply don’t agree with those who say they don’t see colour. Because, if you don’t see that I’m black, then you don’t see me,” he said.
The party’s first black leader also broke the DA’s silence on veteran-journalist and outgoing leader Helen Zille’s friend, Allister Sparks’s controversial comments this weekend that apartheid’s architect, Hendrik Verwoerd, was an astute politician.
“I know Allister Sparks. He’s written profound things, he fought against apartheid. (But) I disagree with his comment,” Maimane said.
“We cannot pretend that apartheid never happened. We cannot ignore apartheid was a system that defined us by the colour of our skin,” he said during his maiden speech.
“This doesn’t mean our skin colour must define us forever. The system of racial classification devised by (former prime minister) Hendrik Verwoerd was evil and deplorable, and we cannot stay trapped in that way of thinking.”
He outlined the party’s policies aimed at redressing the legacy of the past”.
This included a commitment to:
* Providing social security to protect people from extreme poverty.
* The delivery of basic services such as water, electricity and sanitation.
* A focus on stopping inferior education.
* Pushing for economic growth and job creation.
Maimane said the party could not only show its outrage to rampant corruption, but would have to reinforce its message on the economy.
“As a party, we are quick to get angry about the sustained attack on our constitution and our institutions. But we must be equally angry at the insider-outsider economic policies that have trapped too many of our people in poverty”.
He said the DA would structure the economy so the youth could start small businesses, by using state-owned enterprises as skills incubators and offering apprenticeships. He repeated the party’s calls for greater efforts in the roll-out of the youth wage subsidy, which National Treasury implemented last year.
“We need a job-creating labour regime where trade unions protect their members but not at the expense of keeping unemployed people locked out of the economy,” he said.
The DA amended its constitution to reflect what it calls the values charter.
“Our values can be summed up in these three words: Freedom, Fairness and Opportunity,” Maimane said.
In a nod to its liberal tradition, he emphasised the centrality of individual freedom in making life choices, repeating the DA’s commitment to fighting racial, gender and homophobic discrimination.
Maimane also preached unity, saying he would be meeting MP Wilmot James, who challenged him for the position of federal leader, and former federal leader Helen Zille about the roles they could play during his tenure.
Speaking to Independent Media, James said he was proud of the precedents he set in running for the position of leader, including his calls for transparency with party funding.
The party also announced that newly-elected federal chairman Athol Trollip will be its mayoral candidate in Nelson Mandela Bay Metro.
Trollip beat promising young MP Makashule Gana for the position.
Political Bureau