The civil rights organisation AfriForum today released a report on the most blatant examples of the South African government’s racially discriminatory legislation. The report analises and critiques affirmative action policies, as well as provides details on the connection between racially discriminatory legislation and corruption. Finally, AfriForum’s report provides answers to the question of what has the government’s legislation and policies that discriminates on the basis of race accomplished?

At the launch of the report today, Ernst van Zyl, Campaign Officer for Strategy and Content, at AfriForum sat down with the author of the report, Johan van der Merwe, to discuss its contents and answer questions. Van Zyl highlighted how the tide of public opinion has turned against the ANC’s race-obsession in recent years, while Van der Merwe emphasised the extent of the damage the South African government’s racially discriminatory legislation has done.

“South Africa has a huge systemic racism issue in the form of BEE and the ANC’s growing list of race-laws. It should not be called ‘reverse racism’ either, its just plain racism. Racially discriminatory laws were wrong in the past, and they are wrong in the present,” Van Zyl continues.

“Now that racially discriminatory laws by the government have continued into the 21^st century, as AfriForum’s report shows, it is high time for the retirement of this abhorrent practice, and to stop the grasping at straws to try to justify it in the present,” Van Zyl concludes.