DA's race quota court case: Steenhuisen's qualifications under scrutiny.
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The Democratic Alliance's (DA) case against Labour Minister Nomakhosazana Meth and the Employment Equity Amendment Act has brought attention to the political party from politicians to civilians alike.
The highly controversial case is currently underway in the Gauteng Division of the High Court.
Taking shots at the blue party, netizens zoomed in on its leader, John Steenhuisen, scrutinising his academic qualifications.
ActionSA MP Malebo Kobe said that Steenhuisen only has matric."Just for context, their party leader, John Steenhuisen only registered with UNISA a few weeks ago. He is still just a matriculant running a whole Department of Agriculture. Go figure," she said.
The African National Congress' (ANC) Esethu Hasane listed statistics that paint a picture of the country's employment based on race.
"White individuals occupy 62.9% of top management positions, despite making up just 8% of the economically active population. African individuals — who make up 80.7% of the economically active population — hold only 16.9% of top posts," he said.
"Indian and coloured individuals account for 11.2% and 6.1%, respectively. People with disabilities hold a meagre 1.8% of top management roles — far below the 2% national target," Hasane said.
Political analyst Jamie Mighti claimed that Steenhuisen used to sell dog shampoo. "He has a matric certificate of dubious quality, and you made him leader of the democratic alliance. You don't believe in meritocracy Helen," Mighti said.
"Discrimination in the workplace is not about merit. Many black workers have been overlooked and held back while white counterparts who are old boys have been put into management positions. I have lost count of how many times I have met people who told me they had to train their supervisor, and their supervisor knows nothing."
However, the DA has been steadfast in its stance against race quotas. In 2019, Steenhuisen hit back at his critics and said that he did not need a degree to serve the people.
"A very small percentage of South Africans have tertiary qualifications, and when the former members of the Constitution set out in writing the Constitution, they were clear not to put an education threshold on that because the former members of the Constitution recognised that you don’t have to have a degree to serve your community
"The DA's challenge seeks to disrupt efforts aimed at achieving equitable representation and maintaining the inherently unfair status quo. By opposing these amendments, the DA is actively sabotaging the transformation goals that have been pursued since the end of the apartheid era, effectively hindering progress towards equality and fairness in the workplace," said Helen Zille.
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