Cape Town - The SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) has blamed a lack of funds to conduct research as the reason for not coming up with a stance on race classification.
The chapter nine institution came under fire last week by People Against Race Classification (Parc) who criticised the SAHRC for missing Parliament’s deadline to research and come up with a stance on race classification.
SAHRC spokesperson Wisani Baloyi said while the commission indicated to the Select Committee on Petitions and Executive Undertakings that it was willing to assist, it did not undertake to conduct the research in question.
“The reason being that research of this nature would entail additional resources to be deployed to the commission,” Baloyi said.
“From the nature of the query to be researched, the commission was of the view that it would be a sizeable project.
“It was a project that would require time and resources.
“It had enquired about the availability of additional funding for the research and the time frames of the project. This did not yield any positive response.
“The commission therefore did not do the research,” he said.
Parc petitioned Parliament in 2021 about the removal of the label “Coloured” from all official government and private institutions’ documents, saying it is offensive to so-called Coloured people. The organisation is calling for a national debate on the naming and identification of citizens.
In a report released by the committee last year, the Minister of Labour submitted that apartheid had left behind a legacy of inequalities and policies.
Parc founder Glen Snyman said the SAHRC was failing on its mandate primarily as a protector of all South Africans’ human dignity.
“Various bodies/government institutions (Home Affairs, Labour, the Ministry of Traditional Affairs and Sport, and the KhoiSan Cultural house) all responded immediately when Parliament asked about their stance on the matter.
“The Human Rights Commission should just publicly proclaim to all South Africans and the international community where they stand on race classification: for or against it, that is all that we want to know at this stage,” he said.
The chairperson of the Select Committee on Petitions and Executive Undertakings, Dimakatso Maleka, referred the Cape Times to a response on the matter by Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Thembi Nkadimeng.
In the response, discussing efforts to recognise Khoi-San communities, she said Khoi-San communities would have to apply for recognition.
“For purposes of determining whether a particular community complies with criteria, the government has established the Commission on Khoi San Matters.”
“The term of the commission commenced on September 1, 2021 and will end on August 31, 2026. The commission has developed the necessary application form to be completed by Khoi-San communities and leaders who wish to apply for recognition in terms of the Act (Traditional and Khoi-San Leadership Act).
“The application form was published in the Government Gazette of February 4, 2022. Application for recognition commenced on March 30, 2022 and will end on March 29, 2024.”
Cape Times