Political tensions rise as DA contests race quotas in Employment Equity Amendment

Just as the clash between the DA and ANC over the 0.5% VAT hike begins to calm, a new political storm is brewing.

This, as the DA heads to the Pretoria High Court over the Employment Equity Act, threatening to reignite tensions within the rocky Government of National Unity (GNU).

The DA alleges that the Act will damage the economy even further, while the ANC has accused the DA of hindering the progress and transformation of the country. 

In the move that could further strain the GNU, the DA approached the court to challenge the constitutionality of the Employment Equity Amendment Act, which introduces rigid national race quotas in the workplace. 

In a tweet on X over the weekend, ANC parliamentary chief whip, Mdumiseni Ntuli, said the DA’s action was a validation of a continued exclusion of black people in the economy, while ANC secretary-general, Fikile Mbalula, said the DA hated any policy on transformation.

"We denounce the DA’s court challenge against the Employment Equity Act. It is not only a legal manoeuvre — it is a calculated political stunt, launched on the eve of Workers’ Day, aimed at reversing three decades of democratic gains. It is an affront to workers, to the poor, and our national Constitution,” Mbalula said.

Addressing journalists on Monday, DA federal chairperson Helen Zille said South Africa needs jobs and growth - not race-based laws that block employment opportunities. 

She said this would drive unemployment up and further decline the economy.

 Addressing the media, Zille said the DA is not in the GNU to impress the ANC, adding that the party wanted South Africa to succeed. 

Zille added that race quotas are unconstitutional barriers to the country’s economic growth. 

“While Section 9.2 of the Constitution allows fair discrimination to achieve redress, such discrimination has to meet the benchmark of fairness set out in Section 9. This draconian amendment Act falls far short of this benchmark,” she said.

“The DA also has a technical challenge to the Employment Amendment Act, which is that it was incorrectly tagged under Section 75 of the Constitution. This Act will profoundly affect different provinces and therefore should have been tagged under Section 76 of the Constitution,” she said.

She was echoed by the party’s spokesperson on employment and labour, Michael Bagraim, who said the DA was fighting for opportunity based on merit, not race. 

“The DA is fighting for a non-racial, inclusive democracy where every South African has fair access to jobs. Race-based laws are divisive and stringent to economic growth,” he said.

Cape Argus