Parliament – Human Settlements Minister Lindiwe Sisulu on Tuesday warned Democratic Alliance leader Mmusi Maimane to deal decisively with racism in his party or face failure in his efforts to convince black voters to back him at the polls.
Sisulu, the last MP to take the podium on day one of the debate on President Jacob Zuma’s State of the Nation Address, defended the African National Congress (ANC) by listing its achievements, and reserved her wrath for Maimane who had earlier proclaimed the President had no honour, did not deserve respect, and should resign.
Read: Maimane lays into ‘Planet Zuma’
“You will not make any inroads into black society, and you know that. Look very carefully at everybody around you and in fact, watch it!” she told Maimane, in apparent reference to the party retaining Dianne Kohler Barnard as an MP after she shared a facebook post praising apartheid-era president PW Botha.
“White supremacy triumphs when it transforms a promising young black man with priestly pretentions to proclaim with pride (his) hatred for the President.”
Read: Zuma has no honour: Maimane
While aiming most of her speech at Maimane, she also warned white South Africans to take racism seriously.
“Experiences of racial discrimination are not only painful and stressful, they also have a cumulative effect on individuals, their families and communities,” she said.
“For the majority of whites, however, acts of discrimination, acts of violence, are an isolated event. As a result, whites unfortunately often feel that we tend to over-exaggerate, over-react to some of these things. They forget that blacks live with this on a day to day basis.”
Read: #PlanetZuma has Mbalula seeing red
Sisulu cited various reports outlining government’s achievements since the advent of democracy in 1994, and said it was time the ANC boasted that under its leadership government had made huge inroads in the provision of millions of housing units, free electricity and various other services.
“We are sailing on, sometimes it is on rough water but our masts are aligned to the wind. We are doing exceptionally well in some areas and its time time we boldly take credit for what we have been able to achieve.”
Taking aim at Economic Freedom Fighters leader Julius Malema, who staged a walk-out after he accused Zuma of being a liar and calling for his removal, Sisulu said: “The air is cleaner without them here.”
She said while television ratings of the parliamentary channel have soared, it was for all the wrong reasons.
“What went on in this chamber on Thursday last week was nothing more than a disgraceful display of tantrums and theatrics. That is very good for television, but we are not competing with Idols here,” she said, referring to the EFF’s disruption of Zuma’s speech.
African News Agency
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