The Democratic Alliance (DA) on Monday said it was going to file a complaint with the Human Rights Commission against the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) for “a racist attack on the appointment of ABSA’s new CEO, Arrie Rautenbach”.
“Last week the PIC suggested that Rautenbach is unsuitable to be the CEO of ABSA, not because he lacks expertise and qualifications, but because he is white,” recounted DA Spokesperson Cilliers Brink.
“This statement is racist, and its release an abuse of public power.
“The Human Rights Commission complaint is an attempt to call the PIC and its management to account.”
Brink said the DA rejects the categorisation of people by race, and the use of public power of such categorisation in determining rights and obligations.
“We believe that apartheid injustices can be redressed without using apartheid-era racial categorisation,” said Brink.
“If South Africa is to build a capable state and achieve high levels of economic growth, the policy of reserving positions in public and private institutions based on race and other immutable characteristics must be abandoned.”
Brink added: “While many of the laws on the statute books today are based on the ANC’s racial national agenda, the conduct of the PIC has gone beyond even these laws.
“The PIC is a creature of statute, and not a subcommittee of the ANC, and must act accordingly.”
