Rudolph
12-20-2008, 04:54 AM
Tutu junior blasts AA (http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=13&art_id=vn20081220085608443C147422)
Kashiefa Ajam
December 20 2008
Affirmative action has always been a hotly contested issue among politicians as well as ordinary South Africans.
And if recent statements by prominent people are anything to go by, the debates and arguments around the subject are not likely to end any time soon.
Trevor Tutu, son of Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, became so incensed with comments from listeners on affirmative action that he called a radio talkshow and added his five cents worth - and not in a way that was expected.
Introducing himself only as Trevor, he said his own children could never be considered previously disadvantaged, because they come from a line of university graduates.
He said he used to be a candidate for affirmative action, but he could not agree with how some individuals from privileged backgrounds benefit from it, based on their skin colour alone.
Speaking to ******* newspaper afterwards, Tutu said: "Jan Smit of Rosettenville can't stand behind my daughter Palesa in a queue for previously disadvantaged people. She comes from generations of university graduates, and she herself just graduated from the University of Stellenbosch.
"Her great grandfather was a school principal. Her grandfather is an archbishop emeritus who lives in Bishopscourt, Cape Town. And I have a university qualification.
Tutu said South Africans should not be using skin colour as an excuse any longer and that the only solution would be to pay more attention to candidates' background to ensure that affirmative action candidates are in fact previously disadvantaged and are in need of opportunities.
"All this nonsense must end now. It is almost 15 years since South Africa became a democracy. Hello! Affirmative action would only have lasted five years if it was implemented properly," Tutu said.
Just days after Tutu's statements, Mosiuoa Lekota, the newly elected president of the Congress of the People, speaking at the party's inaugural conference, labelled affirmative action as a "threat".
He said COPE would abide by the constitution and was committed to affirmative action. However, Lekota also stated that affirmative action would not be implemented on the basis of race.
The Black Lawyers' Association (BLA), in turn, expressed concern over Lekota's statement, saying it exhibited a lack of understanding of the rationale behind employment equity and broad-based black economic empowerment policies.
BLA president Andiswa Ndoni said both these policies were meant to enable black people to participate as equals within the corporate world and the economy. "COPE seems determined to reverse the few gains made by black people on account of these policies in order to attract white votes.
This is short-sighted and out of step with the aspirations of black people and the equality provisions in the constitution." he said.
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Well said. The black middle-class is looking more promising every day.
Kashiefa Ajam
December 20 2008
Affirmative action has always been a hotly contested issue among politicians as well as ordinary South Africans.
And if recent statements by prominent people are anything to go by, the debates and arguments around the subject are not likely to end any time soon.
Trevor Tutu, son of Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, became so incensed with comments from listeners on affirmative action that he called a radio talkshow and added his five cents worth - and not in a way that was expected.
Introducing himself only as Trevor, he said his own children could never be considered previously disadvantaged, because they come from a line of university graduates.
He said he used to be a candidate for affirmative action, but he could not agree with how some individuals from privileged backgrounds benefit from it, based on their skin colour alone.
Speaking to ******* newspaper afterwards, Tutu said: "Jan Smit of Rosettenville can't stand behind my daughter Palesa in a queue for previously disadvantaged people. She comes from generations of university graduates, and she herself just graduated from the University of Stellenbosch.
"Her great grandfather was a school principal. Her grandfather is an archbishop emeritus who lives in Bishopscourt, Cape Town. And I have a university qualification.
Tutu said South Africans should not be using skin colour as an excuse any longer and that the only solution would be to pay more attention to candidates' background to ensure that affirmative action candidates are in fact previously disadvantaged and are in need of opportunities.
"All this nonsense must end now. It is almost 15 years since South Africa became a democracy. Hello! Affirmative action would only have lasted five years if it was implemented properly," Tutu said.
Just days after Tutu's statements, Mosiuoa Lekota, the newly elected president of the Congress of the People, speaking at the party's inaugural conference, labelled affirmative action as a "threat".
He said COPE would abide by the constitution and was committed to affirmative action. However, Lekota also stated that affirmative action would not be implemented on the basis of race.
The Black Lawyers' Association (BLA), in turn, expressed concern over Lekota's statement, saying it exhibited a lack of understanding of the rationale behind employment equity and broad-based black economic empowerment policies.
BLA president Andiswa Ndoni said both these policies were meant to enable black people to participate as equals within the corporate world and the economy. "COPE seems determined to reverse the few gains made by black people on account of these policies in order to attract white votes.
This is short-sighted and out of step with the aspirations of black people and the equality provisions in the constitution." he said.
---
Well said. The black middle-class is looking more promising every day.