FF Plus’ Groenewald to Zuma: What do you have against white people?

President Jacob Zuma is using white people to shield his government’s inability to grow the economy and create jobs. So says Freedom Front Plus (FF+) MP Pieter Groenewald.

Speaking during the second day of the joint sitting of Parliament on Wednesday debating the president’s State of the Nation Address (Sona), Groenewald caused a stir when he said radical economic transformation, as outlined by Zuma as a key priority of government this year, alienated white citizens.

“If I refer to your policy or your radical socioeconomic transformation, honourable president, you just said what the ANC said in their [NEC] lekgotla that you want to replace a capitalist economy with a governed, managed, developmental economy,” he said, before delivering scathing criticism of Zuma’s management of the economy.

“What does that mean? We must go and look at your track record because what you are actually saying [is] if you want that type of government, managed economy. What did you do with the public enterprises? The government is in control of those public enterprises.

“What happened to SAA, what happened to SA Express? What happened to Eskom?

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“I can tell you, honourable president, if that is going to happen, then the economy is going to be bankrupt,” Groenewald charged as points of order came from ANC beaches.

He said affirmative action policies were obstructing economic growth in the country.

“I want to say to the honourable president, if you want economic growth to create jobs, put a moratorium on black economic empowerment and affirmative action, then you will get the growth.

“Lastly, honourable president, what do you have against white people in SA?

“Every time there’s something wrong, you blame the white people of SA. You are using the white people of SA as a smokescreen to hide your own inability and incompetences. That is what you are doing; you must say where do you stand on the white people of SA.

“Are you then surprised when 11 people this month alone were killed on our farms … I say it is a shame, and you must stop misusing white people for your own inabilities.”