The Pretoria High Court on Wednesday granted a landmark ruling that Chinese South Africans are to be included in the definition of "black people" in legislation designed to benefit previously disadvantaged groups.
Judge Cynthia Pretorius granted an order under the terms of which Chinese South Africans are included in the definition of "black people" in the Broad-Based Economic Empowerment Act and the Employment Equity Act, designed to redress economic imbalances under white-minority rule, or apartheid, which ended in 1994.
Both laws benefit the country's black, colored and Indian communities.
The ruling is the culmination of an eight-year struggle by the Chinese Association of South Africans (CASA) to obtain clarity from the government on whether Chinese South Africans -- who were classified as "colored" during the apartheid era -- qualify for the benefits in terms of the two acts.
CASA chairperson Patric Chong was overjoyed at the court's decision. He said the Chinese community would like to make use of this new-found freedom to create even more jobs for the unemployed.
"As Chinese South Africans we were officially classified as "colored" during the apartheid era and suffered under the same discriminatory laws prior to 1994.
"The logical inference was thus that Chinese South Africans would automatically qualify for the same benefits afforded to the "colored" group post 1994.
"However, this was not the case and Chinese South Africans have suffered a second round of unfair discrimination by not being sure of their status under the two Acts," he said.
CASA's lawyer, George van Niekerk, said justice has now been served for Chinese South Africans -- one of the country's most politically marginalized communities.
According to CASA, there are less than 10,000 South African citizens of Chinese descent in the African country, which has a population of 47 million.
He said although the two Acts did not specifically exclude Chinese South Africans, the fact that they were not mentioned by name led to a lot of confusion in the marketplace.
"For example, one commercial bank would, given the historical considerations, classify Chinese South Africans as 'black' for the purposes of the Employment Equity Act and the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Act whereas another commercial bank declined to do so.
"The net result was that Chinese South Africans were never sure of their status," he said.
CASA has attempted to get a definitive answer from the South African government for the past eight years, even making formal representations to the Parliament's Labor Portfolio Committee in 2004, but when repeated letters and enquiries received no response, they had no other option but to turn to the court for clarity.
Well-known human rights lawyer, Advocate George Bizos SC, represented CASA in court.
Source:Xinhua
|
Comment
Tell A Friend
Print Format
Save Article