AFRICA/SOUTH AFRICA - " Be careful not to go back to new forms of racial discrimination" says Cardinal Napier to voters

Wednesday, 7 May 2014

Johannesburg (Agenzia Fides) - More than 25.3 million South Africans are called today, May 7, to the polls to elect a new Parliament. In turn, the MPs will elect the Head of State on May 21. It seems that outgoing President, Jacob Zuma, leader of the ANC (African National Party) will win again.
In the election debate one of the topics of discussion was the corruption of the ruling class, a problem also mentioned by Cardinal Wilfrid Napier, Archbishop of Durban, in a recent interview with Fides Agency (see Fides 02/05/2014). In the interview, Cardinal Napier recalled the progress made over the past 20 years in forming a more cohesive South African society, able to gradually overcome the divisions of race. In an article written for the organ of the South African Bishops, "The Southern Cross", Cardinal Napier expressed his concern regarding some new laws, such as "Affirmative Action", "Black Economic Empowerment" "Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment", which are likely to introduce again the classification of South African citizens according to race, and besides involving young people born after 1994 who did experience apartheid.
The Cardinal also criticized the abolition of the special team of police "Scorpion", that had carried out important investigations against corruption, and the approval of safety laws (under the pretext of fighting terrorism) that are reminiscent of those in force at the time of apartheid. Some of these laws limit the freedom of the press to publish embarrassing revelations about the latest government scandals. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 07/05/2014)


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