Mpumalanga premier calls MEC to order after racial spat
The Mpumalanga MEC for development and tourism’s recent public actions made the newspapers, and the premier weighed in on the matter.
The Mpumalanga premier, Mandla Ndlovu, will not involve president Cyril Ramaphosa in a racist spat involving a member of his provincial executive.
Last week, Makhosazane Masilela, the Mpumalanga MEC for economic development and tourism, hit the headlines when she accused Dion George, the national minister of forestry, fisheries and the environment, of racism. Her tirade, in which she penned down a public statement, follows a visit by George to the Barberton Makhonjwa Mountains World Heritage Site on Sunday, November 10, to familiarise himself with the ongoing alleged mismanagement of the site by the Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency.
“I visited the site on Sunday and was deeply saddened at its state and clear mismanagement. I am committed to finding a solution for the community,” George said afterwards.
ALSO READ: ‘Total mayhem’ at Geotrail meeting
During his visit, he held a number of meetings with, among others, the owners of the property on which the Barberton Makhonjwa Geotrail is situated.
One such meeting on Monday, November 11, infuriated Masilela.
In a written press release she claimed George’s meeting ‘indicated that the action bordered on racial lines’.
“Why should he meet people with a different skin colour privately, and even at a guest house belonging to one of them, when the arrangement was that all stakeholders will be met at the Barberton Museum? Is he not perpetuating racial segregation in this way?” she said.
She also said she would call on Ndlovu to report George to Ramaphosa.
However, her tirade came back to bite her when she was called to order by Ndlovu. In a written response, Ndlovu said he has taken note of the media statement wherein Masilela ‘expressed concerns’ regarding George’s ‘stakeholder engagement’.
“We have a unitary state in South Africa with decentralised powers and mandate, yet serving the same citizens who look up to the government to serve them. Any divergent views must be dealt with in terms of intergovernmental relations and established protocols,” said Ndlovu.
He emphasised his commitment to bringing both parties together soon to resolve any ‘misunderstandings’.
