Transformation agenda back on the table

29 November 2013 - 02:04 By The Times Editorial
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The landmark ruling delivered by the Supreme Court of Appeal yesterday places the entire transformation agenda adopted by the ANC-led government in the dock.

The SCA struck down the use of racial quotas in determining job appointments, saying it was unfair to attempt to achieve employment equity through the rigid application of a numerical formula.

Just 20 years into our democracy, it is important to interrogate the SCA's ruling and its impact on the transformation agenda.

Though we respect the court's ruling, we should not forget that blacks continue to bear the scars of the job reservation and racial segregation laws of the past that gave rise to the unequal society we are living in today.

It is a pity that transformation programmes have been abused to promote factional interests.

The SCA judgment has far-reaching implications, especially for government departments that use rigid demographic quotas to determine placements and promotions.

We fully agree with Judge Mohammed Navsa - who wrote the judgment - that people on all sides of the divide must do their utmost to overcome past inequalities in a way that is fair.

Navsa said that the Employment Equity Act, though attempting to create a non-racial and balanced society, "feels like a throwback to the grand apartheid design".

"If we are to achieve success as a nation, each of us has to bear in mind that wherever we are located, it will take a continuous and earnest commitment to forge a future that is colour-blind. This necessarily includes serious and sustained efforts . in order to build a cohesive and potentially glorious rainbow nation," he said.

"For now, ironically in order to redress past imbalances with affirmative action measures, race has to be taken into account."

The question that should guide us is: What kind of a country do we hope for post transformation ?

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