The Cape Forum and Solidarity, together with community leaders on Tuesday petitioned Parliament in Cape Town about the new race law and the recently published race regulations, saying they are unconstitutional and irrational. 

In April President Cyril Ramaphosa signed the Employment Equity Amendment Act into law. The Act as now amended allows the Labour and Employment Minister a wide discretion to determine racial 'targets' – quotas in all but name – for private businesses, enforce these on any economic sector and occupational level, and differentiate these quotas regionally and professionally as they deem fit.

Among other things, the groups requested a special parliamentary debate on the matter and for Parliament to intervene and stop the law.

“The regulations that have been published have provoked major reaction countrywide. Their impact will cause major disruption in South Africa. This is plainly a race law that classifies and manipulates society on the basis of race,” said chairperson of the Cape Forum Heindrich Wyngaard.

Solidarity CEO Dr Dirk Hermann explained that the regulations showed what the government’s real intention was with the law.

“The consequences of the law passed by the Parliament are obvious. This not only justifies a parliamentary debate but it necessitates it. South Africa will want to hear how Parliament can justify such kind of social engineering. Now that the intention is clear and the unconstitutionality is obvious in the regulations, Parliament must do the right thing and stop the law and the regulations,” added Hermann.

Wyngaard noted that the regulations required that positions for coloured employees be reduced by 25% and that positions for white and Indian employees be reduced by 66%.

These regulations, he said, wanted to deprive people of their livelihood, and to do so on the basis of skin colour.

To think that any person or business will readily accept this is absurd, contended Wyngaard.

The two organisations are also of the opinion that by not giving sufficient time for input on the regulations, the government is deliberately suppressing the voices of thousands of employees and employers.

Hermann alleged that government only acted in its own interest and according to its own ideology.

He said it disregarded the rights of minorities and refused to consider the regulations’ economic impact.

“Through this petition we want to see that a debate is opened on this law, and we want to participate in that debate. It is time for the government to realise that it has a responsibility towards the entire South Africa and not just towards its cadres or potential voters,” concluded Hermann.