It is a shame that the cartoon in The Mercury of November 19 attempts to promote the view that the appointment of a white person, namely, John Steenhuizen, as the new DA leader, constitutes a retrogressive step described as “back to the future.”
If Steenhuizen is the best person for the job based on merit, then that should be respected just as Andre de Ruyter’s appointment as CEO of Eskom.
Obsession with the ideology of demographic representivity at the expense of the principle of merit has plunged this country into a crisis of competence. Parachuting people into top positions based on their pigmentation rather than their experience and proficiency has proved disastrous.
There is no substitute for merit which is why Steenhuizen’s first priority is to get that principle installed in the DA’s constitution. Then he can walk the talk and scrap the DA’s support for B-BBEE and reclaim the DA’s non-ideological liberal roots.
Sent into The Mercury and published, 28 November 2019.
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