ANCYL asks Zille to apologise

Western Cape Premier Helen Zille made it clear that provincial government was in favour of administration. Picture: Leon Lestrade

Western Cape Premier Helen Zille made it clear that provincial government was in favour of administration. Picture: Leon Lestrade

Published Jul 27, 2015

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Cape Town - The ANC Youth League in the Western Cape has called on Premier Helen Zille to apologise for alleged remarks made during an event in Manenberg on Friday.

“The ANCYL in the Western Cape is disgusted at the ugly and callous words uttered by Western Cape Premier Helen Zille,” said ANCYL WC chairperson Muhammad Khalid Sayed on Monday.

Sayed was referring to alleged remarks made by Zille during an interview broadcast on Sunday night. The interview was done on Friday during the Western Cape government and City of Cape Town’s launch of a law enforcement stabilisation unit in Manenberg.

The deployment of the unit is aimed at curbing violence and substance abuse in the gang-infested area.

During the interview, the ANCYL WC said Zille stated that, “if they can’t be good parents then they shouldn’t have babies”, allegedly referring to parents in Manenberg.

“We demand that the premier apologises unconditionally to all the mothers and fathers in our gang-infested communities whose children have fallen prey to the scourge of gangsterism and drugs despite the immense efforts on the part of parents,” said Sayed.

“This is a neo-conservative value-judgement with clear racist and classist undertones similar to the premier’s refugee remarks,” he said, referring to controversial comments made by Zille in 2012.

Sayed said Zille and her approach to dealing with related issues displayed a lack of understanding of Manenberg and similar communities’ context and that it was comparable to that of former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher.

“Such irresponsible statements by leading politicians entrusted to serve our communities are not only dangerously insulting to our communities, but attempts to absolve government from its responsibility of tackling the apartheid legacy of inequality,” said Sayed.

He called on Zille to apologise and to take time to familiarise herself with the parents to whom she had allegedly referred.

Zille’s spokesperson Michael Mpofu responded to criticism aimed at the premier, saying her comments were aimed at all parents, regardless of race or class.

“The premier was speaking at the launch of the Law Enforcement Stabilisation Unit where she was referring to the responsibility of all parents to be involved in their children’s lives appropriately,” he said.

Mpofu said Zille repeated a phrase she often used, “If you are not prepared to be a good parent, don’t make a baby.”

“Of course, we understand that children of good, committed parents can also go off the rails,” he added.

“But parents have a critical role to partner with government in addressing the crisis of gangs and drugs and take their responsibility as parents.”

ANA

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