The Ramaphosa I know would never promote racism, says Mabuza

Deputy President David Mabuza has defended President Cyril Ramaphosa against accusations of supporting one group over another in Phoenix.

Mabuza on Thursday responded to oral questions in the National Council of Provinces and was asked by Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) representative Andrew Arnolds if had had a discussion with him on racism following the Phoenix violence.

“Have you had a conversation with him about the dangers of trying to please minority groups at the expense of African people,” asked Arnolds as he accused the President of commending the Phoenix vigilante group.

“Knowing the President, and many of you know him, I don’t believe the President can stand up and support racial tensions. That is not the President I know. That is not the President who fought for this freedom that we are enjoying today. He was central in the drafting of this constitution that seeks to unite all of us. It is not this President who can stand and support racism. Let’s join hands and stop pointing fingers at each other,” said Mabuza in part.

Responding to Gauteng ANC representative Winnie Ngwenya, who asked “whether the Moral Regeneration Movement has played any role in assisting the government to quell the racial tensions that were stoked by the brutal and senseless killings of 36 persons during the recent public violence, looting and destruction of property in Phoenix, KwaZulu-Natal; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details,” and if there were any plans in place to ensure peaceful co-existence between communities around Phoenix, Mabuza said the government was doing everything possible to ensure such violence does not occur in future.

This includes an economic recovery plan that is inclusive to ensure no one feels left behind.

“As long as some feel excluded in the economy, the journey towards cohesion will be a steep one,” he said.

“At face value, we can agree they were sparked by the arrest of the former president, but we don’t want to take things at face value. We must accept we could have done better as the security cluster in trying to avoid this kind of occurrence.

“The tension will go down in history as a major setback towards efforts of nation building and social cohesion. The ugly face of racism, lawlessness and vigilantism exposed the long road ahead in fulfilling the dreams we had at the dawn of our democracy,” he said.

The Deputy President said, however, that no amount of despair should have led to the incidences in Phoenix.

“The killings left a dark stain in our democracy.”