Veteran politician and Freedom Front Plus member of the Western Cape provincial legislature, Peter Marais, called for the province to take action against ‘escalating’ racial tensions as a result of the ‘influx’ of people from other parts of the country.
Speaking on Thursday afternoon, Marais said: ‘We call for the empowerment of coloured and Khoi emerging farmers in this province, entrepreneurs and indigent households who are on housing waiting lists, as these minorities who are neglected and who received very little benefits in terms of the labour equity laws and housing [are] having to compete against numerically superior African blacks whose influx to the Western Cape has changed the demographics of the province.’
He added that conflicts over scarce resources would cause friction between communities, and said that any accusations of racism should rather be directed at the African National Congress in the country’s national government.
In an ensuing shouting match, Marais called the ANC members ‘foreigners’. The ANC’s Chief Whip, Pat Lekker, objected, saying: ‘I do not take it kindly, to refer to black people as foreigners is an insult of the highest order.’
The ANC caucus then left the chamber.