The ANC in the Western Cape will turn to the Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) to deal with remarks made by Peter Marais of the Freedom Front Plus on Thursday.
Marais, in the Western Cape Legislature, took massive swipes at African people, saying their influx in the Western Cape was hampering the province’s efforts to expand its resources and turned its demographics on its head.
“We call for the empowerment of the coloured and Khoi emerging farmers in this province, entrepreneurs and Indian households who are on housing waiting lists as these minorities are neglected and receive very little benefits in terms of the labour equity law and housing,” said Marais.
“(They are) having to compete against numerically superior African blacks, whose influx into the Western Cape has changed the demographics of this province. Racial tensions are increasingly building up.
“We call on the Western Cape government to take remedial action to prevent racial tensions escalating and flaring up because of a fight for scarce resources by the influx,” he said, adding that “the racists are the ANC at national level”.
ANC chief whip Pat Lekker, during the sitting, said Marais’ utterances were uncalled for.
“I rise at this moment feeling worn out and at pains with what is happening in the house, (particularly) when we are being called foreigners in our own country,” said Lekker.
“I really do not take it in kind whatever the altercation was to refer to black people as foreigners,” she said.
On Friday, the ANC’s opposition leader in the legislature, Cameron Dugmore, said they would approach the office of the SAHRC.
“What Peter Marais said in the legislature was deeply racist and insulting ... he turned to the black African members of the ANC and said ‘you are refugees’.
“In essence he was saying they have no right to live in this province ... in my eyes, this is hate speech,” he said.
Dugmore said they were also mulling instituting legal action by approaching the Equality Court.
“(I will also) lay a complaint against Peter Marais with the registrar for breaching the code of conduct for members,” he said.
“We will also lodge a complaint with the registrar against speaker Daylin Mitchell who refused to act immediately against Marais when the ANC objected and requested the speaker to rule immediately on the matter and ask Marais to withdraw,” Dugmore said, adding that “this is nothing but a call for a Western Cape volkstaat (independent state)”.
SAHRC commissioner Chris Nissen said the commission condemned any racist remarks.
“We condemn any and all bigotry such as racism,” Nissen told the Weekend Argus on Friday.
“We invite anyone to register such complaints with the HRC, from ordinary citizens to politicians ... hate speech goes beyond insults or offensive language and may infringe the dignity of certain persons or groups,” he said.
Freedom Front Plus leader Dr Pieter Groenewald previously told the Weekend Argus that he would engage Marais to ascertain the facts around what transpired during the sitting.
In recent years, hate speech utterances have seen a number of South Africans convicted.
The Penny Sparrow matter involved a controversial Facebook post likening black beach-goers to monkeys.
Sparrow was fined R5 000 and a two-year term of imprisonment, suspended for five years, and was ordered to pay a R150 000 fine to a not for profit organisation.
The Vicki Momberg matter provided clear authority that use of the k-word is regarded as hate speech.
In this matter the offender’s repeated reference to SAPS officials, who attended to her following a smash-and-grab incident, was captured on video.
The court sentenced her to three-year term of imprisonment, a year of which was suspended, and a R100 000 fine, and ordered that she make a public apology and commit to sensitivity training and community service.
A video of Adam Catzavelos on Greek beach revelling in the fact there were no black people present saw him agreeing to pay a fine of R150 000 and to issue a public apology.
In the Velaphi Khumalo matter, Khumalo posted two social media posts urging “that the country be cleansed of all white people and act as Hitler did to the Jews”.
The Equality Court deemed the inflammatory posts to be hate speech, ordered that he write a letter of apology, interdicted him from repeating similar utterances and referred the matter to the National Prosecuting Authority.
Weekend Argus