On Tuesday, the DA argued in the high court in Tshwane that the labour and employment minister has too much power to determine who could work for which company and where.
This was opposed by the ministry, which argued that it was merely trying to ensure there was transformation in the workplace.
This case is likely to evoke differing emotions in people.
For many, it may be a reminder of how they felt entering a white-dominated workplace for the first time. It could take them back to days and hours and months of loneliness, or of feeling disempowered, or of being ignored by people with fewer qualifications than they had.
This could well be quite painful. Particularly, because as so many have pointed out, the composition of leadership of so many companies suggests top positions are still a privilege reserved for white men.
But for other people, this case is about opportunities for them and their children. They might believe that they are being denied opportunities, and in some cases jobs, simply because of their identity. They see this as a chance to create what they believe will be an equal playing field.
Read more: Employment Equity Act targets not rigid, says state in rebuttal of DA’s challenge
To oversimplify the legal arguments: the DA, and others, argue that the current law is too rigid, gives the minister too much power to intervene in the internal affairs of companies and will prevent investment.
The labour and employment ministry, the ANC, Cosatu and others argue that the DA is trying to stop transformation, and point to numbers from the Employment Equity Commission showing the overwhelming prevalence of white people in leadership positions.
Politically explosive
On top of all of this, News 24’s Qaanitah Hunter has reminded us of two important aspects.
First, part of the “1994 deal” was that black people would get political freedom while white people retained their economic privileges (or privilege).
Second, the ANC has used BEE and Employment Equity for corrupt purposes, leading to a lack of both transformation and economic growth.
In our current context, in which the DA is technically in government with the ANC, the timing of this case is politically explosive.
The ANC caucus in Parliament appears to be on the cusp of demanding that the DA leave government, while the party has suspiciously delayed holding a meeting of its national executive committee to discuss the issue.
It is likely that the DA’s leadership has taken this into account.
It might well see this as an important moment to prove to its voters that it has not changed and will continue to fight for their interests.
Read more: Quotas vs transformation — DA’s legal attack on employment equity law splits the GNU
As race is still so important to our politics (because of our racialised inequality) and redress such an important issue, the DA might believe it can prove it will fight for minority voters.
With US President Donald Trump attacking race-based redress in all its forms, the leadership might believe the issue will become internationalised, which could work in the party’s interests.
While this is highly controversial in the short term and might well lead to the DA having to leave the coalition, the party may be concentrating on the longer term.
As has been clear from the outcome of last year’s elections, the DA appears to believe that the ANC and other parties that have come from it will continue to splinter. Thus, if it can ensure its voters stay loyal, it could soon be the biggest party in Parliament.
The DA might well claim that the employment legislation could harm the interests of many minority communities, including coloured people. If it can make this argument stick, it might win the party more votes in these constituencies.
As the ANC has done very little to encourage voters to return to its fold, this long-term DA strategy might well make sense.
Daring the ANC
At the same time, the DA might actually be doing something slightly more important. It might, in fact, be daring the ANC to remove it from the coalition.
Knowing that the question of the DA’s inclusion in the coalition is inextricably intertwined with the question of who the leader of the ANC is, the DA might well want to promote the divisions that will follow.
In other words, it might well be in the longer-term interests of the DA for Deputy President Paul Mashatile to be strengthened within the ANC. As Mashatile appears to be growing stronger and the ANC is about to enter a leadership election phase, the timing could be perfect.
Read more: Deputy President Paul Mashatile’s political shots in the dark
If the ANC is forced to cobble together support from other smaller parties, the DA might believe the national government will begin to resemble the kind of politics we have seen in Joburg, Tshwane and Nelson Mandela Bay.
The DA would be able to sit in the opposition benches (with John Steenhuisen presumably replacing John Hlophe as “Leader of the Opposition”) and watch governance fall apart.
The DA might also be able to blame the ANC for the current situation. It might argue that the tone of the coalition was set by President Cyril Ramaphosa and his actions in signing into law legislation that the DA had opposed in Parliament.
Of course, the ANC and Ramaphosa would have strong arguments against this, insisting that the work of the previous Parliament could not just be abandoned.
All of this might well pose some difficulties for the ANC. As the party that has the power to determine who joins it in the national government, it now has to make certain important decisions.
Could it stomach the public dissension from the DA and just allow the present situation to continue? Or does it kick the party out, knowing one of the likely outcomes would be chaos (the outcomes of working with smaller parties, or the EFF, or MK, might well be fairly similar; it would inevitably be chaotic).
Read more: DA wants to remain in GNU after ‘constructive’ ANC meeting
Whatever the ANC decides, it is likely to take a long time to do it.
The party rarely moves decisively, and such are its divisions that any argument or NEC meeting might well be very destructive.
This suggests that the DA might believe it can push the ANC very far indeed. It also means that it will not withdraw from the coalition (at least for the moment).
Instead, it is likely to encourage its ministers to push the envelope as far as they can. In the medium term, we are likely to see this kind of inertia in the national government, with very little changing.
This might suit the politicians. But governance will suffer as important decisions are delayed for long periods. DM