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AfriForum accuses ANC of implementing racist Covid-19 emergency policies

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AfriForum’s CEO Kallie Kriel
AfriForum’s CEO Kallie Kriel

AfriForum is up in arms over government’s emergency policies to provide financial relief to small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs).

The organisation on Tuesday condemned government’s policy amendments aimed at providing relief to SMMEs as announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday evening, labelling them as “racist” and an attack on white businesses.

Read: Covid-19: Ramaphosa announces 21-day lockdown for SA

AfriForum also accused the ANC of “taking advantage of the current Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic to push a racist agenda” that only supports SMMEs.

The organisation questioned “why the governing party is only focusing on black-owned businesses” as providing them with financial relief” when all businesses were “equally affected by the Covid-19 pandemic”.

In a letter of demand sent to the department of small business development last night, seen by City Press, AfriForum demanded that a criteria detailing what informed the emergency funding package for SMMEs.

“Furthermore, AfriForum is considering approaching the court for an urgent order to have this criterium declared unconstitutional, should the department refuse to adhere to the organisation’s letter of demand,” reads the letter by AfriForum.

AfriForum’s CEO, Kallie Kriel, also sent out a media statement saying the financial relief as proposed by Ramaphosa on Monday was an attempt “to abuse the pandemic to reward discrimination against minorities”.

“This is racist and immoral,” said Kriel, who added: “Government’s continued attack on white people and businesses in the country in these uncertain times is unacceptable.”

Kriel questioned the sincerity of Ramaphosa’s utterances when he “continuously states that everyone in the country should stand together to fight against the virus” and “yet turns around and his ANC government wants to abuse the virus to fight against white people”.

Minister of Small Business Development Khumbudzo Ntshavheni has slammed AfriForum’s claim that government will only give funding to companies who are at least 51% black owned.

Said Kriel: “AfriForum will oppose this racist policy with all our might.”He added that they were taking the matter to court to test its legality.

The organisation also stated that it had seen “a document sent by the department of small business development which lists certain requirements to which businesses must comply before being eligible for financial aid from the government’s Covid-19 emergency fund.

“One of these requirements being that a business must be 51% black-owned to qualify. Every business in this country could suffer due to the potential economic consequences of this virus – it is not dependent on one’s race,” Kriel said.

“By setting this criteria, the ANC is denying the contribution of white-owned businesses to the economy as well as the jobs that they create in a country where the unemployment rate is sky high and will probably continue to rise due to the effects of the virus.

“This is not the time for the ANC to push its racist ideologies by increased discrimination against white-owned businesses.”

AfriForum went as far as encouraging all SMMEs, even those that do not comply to this criteria, “to contact the organisation to fight this on their behalf” as well as for these businesses to register for the government relief.

Small Business Development Minister Khumbudzo Ntsh
Small Business Development Minister Khumbudzo Ntshavheni. Picture: Supplied/GCIS

Minister of Small Business Development Khumbudzo Ntshavheni has slammed AfriForum’s claim that government will only give funding to companies who are at least 51% black owned.

She said the document was “fake news”.

“While companies must be 100% South African owned and must have 70% South African workers, there will be no requirement for black ownership. The department will make sure that it will have a “demographic spread in its assistance of companies, and priority will be given to companies that benefit women, young people, and people with disabilities,” she said.


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