Cabinet condemns all acts of racism

Cabinet has strongly condemned all acts of racism in the country, including the reported incidents at the Good Hope Seminary High School and the University of Stellenbosch in the Western Cape.

This comes after the Stellenbosch University urinating incident where a white student is seen in a video degrading and humiliating a fellow black student by urinating on his study material.

The incident caused widespread anger that such acts still take place in a country with a bitter past like South Africa, a past which the country fought so hard to overcome.

“These deplorable acts go against the constitutional values on which our democratic country was founded, which include human dignity, non-racialism, non-sexism, social justice, equity and respect,” said Minister in The Presidency, Mondli Gungubele, during a post Cabinet media briefing on Thursday.

“The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa of 1996 is our guide towards eradicating the despicable divisions and injustices of the past. Parents are urged to teach children to reject racism and embrace diversity, as part of our concerted drive to promote nation-building and social cohesion.

“Let us work together to expose racism wherever it is treated as the norm and send a clear message that there is no space for it in our democratic country,” he said.

On Monday, President Cyril Ramaphosa used his weekly newsletter to the nation to speak against racism which is still part of the daily South African experience.

President Ramaphosa said it is more troubling that such incidents are happening at schools and places of higher learning, adding that a number of the people involved were born after the end of apartheid.

“While the incident at the University of Stellenbosch may seem like an aberration – an appalling act that has been roundly condemned – the truth is that racism is still a feature of everyday life in South Africa. The sooner we recognise that reality, the sooner we can change it,” the President said.

President Ramaphosa said that racism, here and around the world, is driven by feelings of superiority on the part of those who perpetuate it.

“Ending racism is not just about changing attitudes; it is also about changing the material conditions that still today separate black and white South Africans.

“We have come too far and the sacrifices made have been too great for such appalling acts of racism to turn us against each other. Rather, we must use this incident to confront the issue of race and racial inequality in our society,” President Ramaphosa said.