Ebrahim Harvey | UDF's non-racialism clashes with ANC's post-1994 Africanist majoritarian chauvinism

Our Constitution strictly prohibits discrimination on the grounds of race, colour, cultural, religious and sexual identity. In fact, there is a debate to be had about the theory and practice of affirmative action, writes Ebrahim Harvey.

Some years back, in a raging conflict over posts in the education department in Gauteng, there were allegations that the South African Democratic Teachers Union (Sadtu) were dominating appointments in a racially skewed manner, meaning that 'African' applicants were given preference over 'Coloured', 'Indian' or 'White' ones - even when based on skills, qualifications and experience, the latter were often being unfairly excluded and prejudiced.

This was strongly the view of many Coloured teachers at various schools and it appeared that the alleged discrimination against Coloured and Indian applicants, in particular, for jobs was both unlawful and unconstitutional. Our Constitution strictly prohibits discrimination on the grounds of race, colour, cultural, religious and sexual identity. In fact, there is a debate to be had about the theory and practice of affirmative action.