Durban - KZN Businessman Vivian Reddy has launched a scathing counter-attack on his recent critics, accusing them of waging a politically driven agenda against him - allegedly at the behest of a senior politician.
Reddy was responding to the Daily News about a recent letter from three prominent figures, Professor Jerry Coovadia, Judge Thumba Pillay and Professor Yousuf Vawda, in which they criticised him for remarks he is alleged to have made at a recent Diaspora Conference in Durban on Indian-African relations.
In their letter, widely circulated on social media and sent to various media, the three men accuse Reddy of, among other things, offering the perception that Indian South Africans did not respect black South Africans.
They said he made “the astonishing assertion that ‘in some respects, this is right if we look at the way we (Indians) treat our maids and gardeners’”.
However, an angry Reddy has hit back, accusing the trio of misquoting him.
“What I did say was that there is a wrong perception that Indian people do not respect black South Africans.
“However, in some instances, this perception may be correct as we read about violence against some homeowners due to their treatment of their maids and gardeners, especially when it comes to payment issues,” Reddy said.
Reddy claimed the three men were acting on instructions from a “well-connected politician” in waging what he called, a “personal and politically driven agenda” against him. He added that the trio were also jealous of his success and felt threatened by his close relationship with senior ANC leaders, including President Jacob Zuma.
“I have evidence of their agenda and have discussed it with the leadership of the ANC. When the time is right, I will reveal my evidence,” Reddy said.
“They are aggrieved because they cannot understand why I have such a close relationship with the ANC leadership and I am seen at all prominent functions despite having no struggle credentials. Their attack on me has been unwarranted and they are driving the agenda of someone higher up who sees me as a threat because they want to emerge as a leader within the Indian community.
“I certainly do not claim to be a leader but I think I have done more than most people in uplifting our black brothers and sisters in this country and I would like to see other South African Indian business leaders follow my example,” Reddy said. Declining to name the individual he alleges is behind the criticism, the businessman also denied allegations that he supported the Tricameral system in the apartheid years, which allowed Indian representation in Parliament while excluding black South Africans.
“I was a struggling businessman during apartheid, and was non-political. It’s a blatant lie to say that I supported the Tricameral Parliament.
“These three men should not talk about me and my principles - in fact, I know a lot about their backgrounds and their lives to know they are the last ones who should talk about principles.
“I considered them my friends and Jerry Coovadia has even had business dealings with me in the past. So I am very shocked at their attacks against me, more so as not one of them bothered to even call me to verify any of the statements I made at the conference. Instead, they chose to completely misquote me.
“Why don’t they attack authors Ashwin Desai and Goolam Vahed for writing a book in which they claim Gandhi was a racist? Are those statements not divisive of the Indian community? Shouldn’t these three individuals be speaking out at this instead, which is something that is blatantly dividing the Indian community?” Reddy asked.
Coovadia vehemently denied Reddy’s claim of past business links. “I have never had any business dealings of any kind with this fellow, Vivian Reddy,” he said.
Daily News
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