The Mpumalanga EFF has called for the immediate removal of Pr TJ Maré as the chairperson of the Kruger Lowveld Chamber of Business and Tourism (KLCBT).
Maré posted the country’s old flag on his personal Facebook page, which has angered the EFF and some of his followers on social media.
The provincial leader of the EFF, Collen Sedibe, said they have written to the KLCBT to remove Maré, who deliberately displayed and posted the old apartheid flag on his social media platforms.

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“I am sure you are aware of the national outrage the old apartheid flag has had in the past few years, which fuelled anger and division, and caused unnecessary conflict. It is in this regard that I write to the organisation and request that, firstly, the chairperson be removed from this position, because he is not fit to occupy such a position.”Secondly, we would like for you to review and consider renaming the chamber to another name that represents and speaks to our people and history, rather than the names of colonisers and apartheid architects,” said the letter.

Sedibe said that under Maré’s leadership, black entrepreneurs within the tourism sector will never grow, because it is so obvious that he is a racist whose only interest is to see white people flourish in this sector.

The KLCBT’s president, Sandra Jacobs, apologised for any discomfort and embarrassment this may have caused. Meanwhile, all these posts and references to it have been removed by the chairperson in question. He has also apologised to the KLCBT and all who were negatively affected by this.

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“The KLCBT board will further deal with the matter in accordance with our code of conduct and prescribed processes. Unfortunately, our organisation comprises mostly of volunteers who are individuals and have individual opinions, and sometimes these opinions, like in this instance, do not agree with the opinions and vision of the organisation,” she said.

Jacobs said the KLCBT’s code of conduct states that any published or publicly expressed opinion by any person associated with it, which could potentially cause a divide in the community, is strictly prohibited.
Meanwhile, Maré said the post had been removed from his social media. He said it was not posted on any public group, but on his private page, and that it was a mixture of the old and new flag.
“I apologise to all those whom I have offended with the post. We can now move forward and make sure that we keep the city clean, as that is my first priority,” he said.