Western Cape Premier Helen Zille's analysis of the farmworker strikes is “misleading and possibly mischievous”, rights activist Braam Hanekom has said.
|||Cape Town - Premier Helen Zille’s analysis of the farmworker strikes and organisations involved was “misleading and possibly mischievous”, rights activist Braam Hanekom has said.
Hanekom, director of People Against Suffering Oppression and Poverty (Passop), was responding to Zille’s newsletter in which the DA leader criticised Hanekom, Passop and the ANC’s role during the strikes.
Farming in several towns across the province was brought to a standstill in November to January when workers took part in protests at low wages and poor living conditions.
Zille wrote that Passop’s leader was a nephew of an ANC minister - a reference to Science and Technology Minister Derek Hanekom - and said Passop sought to unionise farmworkers for Food and Allied Workers Union (Fawu), a Cosatu affiliate.
Hanekom said Zille’s reference to Passop as being his organisation, shortly after identifying him as being a relative of an ANC minister, had been “unnecessary, misleading and possibly mischievous”. He was disappointed by Zille’s statement about his family ties.
“My (family) relationship to a political leader does not define me politically or in any other way… My political views are defined by my experience and not my surname,” he said.
He said he was proud to be a member of the ANC, but Passop was politically unaligned and critical of all injustice, regardless of who was in power.
Zille wrote that some ANC politicians had “sought to spread the unrest across the province for their political advantage”.
She said the ANC wanted to present the Western Cape as exploitative, racist and ungovernable, while some of its representatives were labour brokers who earned “super profits” from placing workers.
Zille believed the strikes were a golden opportunity for the ANC to drive a wedge between two strong DA support bases - farmers and farmworkers. ANC provincial chairman Marius Fransman has denied Zille’s allegations.
Hanekom said he and Passop supported the unionisation of workers, and he would continue to help recruit workers to Fawu.
He said unions would help ease tensions when they arose between foreign and South African workers.
Cape Times