Parliament, Tuesday, 22 February 2022 – The Select Committee on Petitions and Executive Undertakings will on Thursday (24 February) consider a petition of the People Against Racial Classification (PARC).
The petitioner is Mr Glen Arnold Snyman, who brings the petition on behalf of PARC, a community-based non-profit organisation. The petition is calling for the removal of the use of the word “Coloured” from all official government forms, private institutions and the Employment Equity Act.
According to the petition, the word “Coloured” is confusing, derogatory, racist and conceals the true historical identity of the Khoi and San people. Furthermore, the petitioner argues that it is racist to think that adding two different races together creates a third race, namely that of Coloured, or to believe that Black or White are pure races.
The petition calls on Parliament to review the race definitions of African and Black as defined by the Employment Equity Act. The Act defines Black people to include Africans, Coloureds and Indians, a definition that creates confusion, according to the petition.
The petitioner argues that it is also commonly known amongst South African citizens that every South African citizen is an “African”, including White and Chinese South Africans. “African” is a collective name. Only in the Act does “Black people” become a collective name. The race classification law, the Population Registration Act of 1950, was repealed on 27 June 1991.
Details of the virtual meeting are as follows:
Date: 24 February 2022
Time: 9:00
Parliamentary committees are open to the media and the public. Journalists wishing to cover these meetings (including receiving links to virtual meetings) should send their cellphone numbers to Mlindi Mpindi on email mmpindi@parliament.gov.za for inclusion in the Parliamentary Communications Services WhatsApp Group, where such information is shared. Journalists must send these requests using their official email addresses (no private emails).
Members of the public may follow sittings live on Parliament TV (DSTV Channel 408), via live stream on Parliament YouTube channel and Twitter page on the links below. You may subscribe to the Parliament YouTube channel to receive instant notification of live feeds.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ParliamentofRSA
Facebook: https://facebook.com/ParliamentofRSA
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/ParliamentofRSA
ISSUED BY THE PARLIAMENTARY COMMUNICATION SERVICES ON BEHALF OF THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE SELECT COMMITTEE ON PETITIONS AND EXECUTIVE UNDERTAKINGS, HON ZOLANI MKIVA.
For media enquiries or interviews with the Chairperson, please contact the committee’s Media Officer:
Name: Mava Lukani (Mr)
Parliamentary Communication Services
Cell: 081 503 1840
E-mail: mlukani@parliament.gov.za
Arrange a tour