The Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union wants the national anthem to consist solely of Nkosi sikelel' iAfrika, with Die Stem excised to "represent the suffering and struggle that informs our future aspirations".

The proposal will be discussed at Cosatu's 11th national congress in Midrand this week.

Popcru noted that the "combination with Die Stem is [the] direct opposite of what Nkosi sikelel' iAfrika entails or what it means to be an African".

Pieter Mulder, Freedom Front Plus leader and the Deputy Minister of Agriculture, said the suggestion diverted attention from issues such as job creation, food security and investment.

"This motion technically kicks Afrikaners in the teeth," Mulder said.

"The Afrikaans part is also part of my struggle against British colonialism. The same people are asking me as the deputy minister to provide food for the nation from the Afrikaner farmers; 95% of all food produced locally is by them."

Dave Steward, the executive director of the FW de Klerk Foundation, said the anthem was a symbol of unity.

"Changing it would simply be a step in the direction of creating the kind of society that Nelson Mandela said we should never have."