Cape Town – President Cyril Ramaphosa has reportedly acknowledged that the ANC is responsible for creating divisions within South Africa.
Ramaphosa was speaking during the United Democratic Front’s (UDF) 40th anniversary celebrations at Johannesburg City Hall on Sunday ahead of his address to nations attending the Brics (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa grouping) Summit.
According to The Citizen, the event was aimed to promote non-racialism and active citizenship to restore the nation’s constitutional democracy.
“Many in our country, including some who are gathered here today, are disappointed that the non-racialism unity embodied by the United Democratic Front has been lost. To many, it has been supplanted by ethnic chauvinism and factionalism – even in the liberation movement [the ANC],” the report quoted Ramaphosa as saying.
He added: “Many coloured and Indian compatriots who were the backbone of the UDF, feel excluded from our nation’s political life, and point to their under-representation in decision-making structures as evidence of this.
📸President @CyrilRamaphosa arriving Old Johannesburg City Hall in Gauteng for the #UDF40 National Celebration convened under the theme “Building Active Citizenry for Accountability and Transformation”. pic.twitter.com/SrNmk3cZXB
— Presidency | South Africa 🇿🇦 (@PresidencyZA) August 20, 2023
“Many white South Africans wrongly believe there is no place for them in South Africa today, and some have drifted towards laager-style politics and a siege mentality,” Ramaphosa said.
He railed against his party, the ANC, for being part of dividing South Africa along ethnic, racial and gender lines, News24 reported.
“We should not use this opportunity [of the UDF’s relaunch] just to dissect what the problems are. We should use this opportunity to recall the activism that we were taught by the UDF,” Ramaphosa said.
“Many in our country, including some who are gathered here today, are disappointed that the non-racialism unity embodied by the United Democratic Front has been lost. Too many, it has been supplanted by ethnic chauvinism and factionalism – even in the liberation movement [the ANC].”
The UDF came into existence in August 1983, as a response to the prohibition of political groups and the apartheid regime’s proposed constitutional changes.
These changes aimed to establish separate lower houses in the parliament, comprising solely of Indian and coloured citizens, thereby perpetuating the exclusion of black Africans and deepening divisions among marginalised racial groups.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
