How DA attempts to weaponise the law against justice

Party is aligning itself with interests that benefit from the status quo

- MICHAEL HELU

THE DA's challenge to the Employment Equity Amendment Act is not merely a legal objection - it is a calculated political manoeuvre aimed at preserving the racial and economic hierarchies that continue to shape South African society, particularly in the Western Cape.

By targeting Section 15A of the amended Act, which authorises the Minister of Employment and Labour to set sectoral transformation targets, the DA is defending privilege, not constitutionalism.

The party claims that the amendments impose racial "quotas" and threaten economic growth. This framing is not only misleading, it is designed to inflame public fear and entrench false narratives about transformation being equivalent to unfair discrimination.

In truth, the Employment Equity Amendment Act does not impose rigid quotas. It mandates sector-specific targets that are developed in consultation with industry stakeholders and informed by socio-economic realities. These are flexible guidelines, tools to measure progress toward a more inclusive economy.

Section 9(2) of the South African Constitution explicitly permits legislative and other measures to protect or advance persons disadvantaged by unfair discrimination. It is a clause born from the understanding that formal equality - treating unequals as equals does not produce justice. Substantive equality requires proactive steps to correct historical and structural injustices. This is the legal and moral foundation on which employment equity rests.

Nowhere is the need for such measures more evident than in the Western Cape, a province governed by the DA for more than a decade. Despite being one of the most economically-developed regions in the country, the province remains starkly divided along racial and economic lines.