‘Extend that apology to black South Africans,’ says ActionSA over Macpherson’s hobo comment

ActionSA in KwaZulu-Natal is demanding a public apology from Public Works Minister Dean Macpherson for calling their members hobos.

This follows Macpherson’s remarks in a media interview last week, where he referred to ActionSA members picketing outside the Pietermaritzburg High Court as “hobos”.

Both ActionSA and the DA were in court challenging the eThekwini municipality’s failure to deliver basic services and maintain sewage infrastructure.

However, a squabble arose when members of the DA allegedly refused to share a picketing area with ActionSA members.

Speaking to The Citizen on Monday, ActionSA chairperson in KwaZulu-Natal Zwakele Mncwango said both parties eventually shared a picket area.

However, he said he is not happy with what Macpherson later said about ActionSA members who were at the court case.

“We had professionals there, some of them are academic, but of course they were black, so I do not know if that qualifies them as hobos,” he said.

It is not clear if Macpherson was in court in his capacity as public works minister or as a DA leader in KwaZulu-Natal.

However, Mncwango has written a letter to Macpherson demanding an apology for calling ActionSA members ‘hobos’.

“When such language comes from a person in your position – a minister and a senior leader of a political party – it sends a disturbing message: that black people, when politically opposed or inconvenient, can be reduced to derogatory labels and dismissed as less than equal,” Mncwango said.

Was the word ‘hobo’ used intentionally?

Mncwango further said Macpherson should be mindful of South Africa’s history of oppression and inequality before using that word.

“Whether or not this term was used with racial intent, the impact of your words cannot be separated from the painful racial history of South Africa.

“Referring to a group of predominantly black South Africans using a term historically associated with poverty, disposability, and social worthlessness is not only deeply offensive, it is dehumanising,” he said.

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Apology to all black South Africans

Mncwago said the apology should be directed to all black South Africans.

“Extend that apology to black South Africans who saw in your words the reflection of old wounds and systemic bias,” he said.

Macpherson’s spokesperson, James de Villiers, told The Citizen that he will not comment on the matter since it involves party politics.

“I work for the ministry of public works, not the Democratic Alliance, which was involved in the court case,” he said.

The DA’s national officer referred the matter to their KwaZulu-Natal structure for comment.

The Citizen has reached out to DA KZN for comment, and this article will be updated when comment is received.

Meanwhile, the Pietermaritzburg High Court has reserved its judgment on the matter that the DA and ActionSA have brought against the eThekwini municipality.

The parties have described the sewage problem in eThekwini as a crisis that is becoming a health hazard and is affecting tourism and the ocean.

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