LETTER: Motsoaledi’s words showcase arrogance of our government
Describing the Helen Suzman Foundation’s legal challenge as ‘sabotage’ of decisions taken by the government, is simply infantile
I write in connection with the public statement made on Tuesday by home affairs minister Aaron Motsoaledi about the Helen Suzman Foundation’s legal challenge to his and the government’s decision regarding Zimbabwean exemption permits (“Helen Suzman Foundation slams Motsoaledi’s ‘unbecoming’ statement,” June 28).
The minister’s deplorably low statement — attacking a highly respected NGO that is complying with the allowances provided by our laws and legal processes, arguing a deeply deserved humanitarian cause and requesting that the government respect and follow due process — highlights again both the arrogance and the insensitivity of our government.
For a cabinet minister in our country, supposedly someone who should set an example, his comments make one cringe. For him to describe the foundation’s challenge as “sabotage” of decisions taken by the government is nothing but infantile.
The minister should be advised that his initiative against Zimbabweans who have lived and worked in SA for many years, whose children may have been born in SA and are being schooled here, ranks in the minds of many people as cruel and ill-conceived. As President Cyril Ramaphosa was reported to have said some weeks ago, it is the criminals in our country who should rather be targeted.
Motsoaledi should be ashamed of himself. He owes the foundation an apology. Let’s hope the court rules against him.
Trevor Munday
Johannesburg
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