SA will continue to use race-based terms until all are equal: Ramaphosa

The president was responding to a question from Patriotic Alliance MP V Daniels in parliament, who asked why racial classification was necessary 30 years into democracy.

Despite placing emphasis on its current use in legislation, Ramaphosa conceded that given the country’s segregated past, the discussion was a difficult one to have.

“The use of race-based terminology will always be difficult for our country as we work to put behind the racial injustices of the past. However, until we have reached our goal where there is equality for all people in our country, there will be circumstances where we need to use such terminology. Our responsibility is to ensure that our use of such terms ultimately makes the differences they refer to less and less important, until they are rendered meaningless and no longer serve any purpose.”

He said finding alternative terms that would be accepted by the entire population would not be straightforward and would be bound to spark a debate.

Despite the controversy that lingers around the topic, the president reassured MPs that the country was on the correct path.

“We are on a journey of moving away from the shadow of our horrible past which defined us as separate groups and separate entities. What is important is for us to see ourselves first and foremost as Africans, as it constitutes our being as South African. We need to rid ourselves of those divisions. It will take us time but we are on a journey,” he said.