Issued by African National Congress KwaZulu-Natal
13 January 2000
The ANC in KwaZulu-Natal is outraged by the racism allegedly taking place in the provincial offices of the VIP unit. The reports we are getting indicate that African officers are being subjected to terror working conditions as they are often denied the right to use some of the equipment possessed by the unit.
White senior are said to be behind the whole drama in the unit. These seniors do not only discriminate against unit members but they go into the extent of refusing the usage of state property by State officials. We have learnt that senior protection services member identified as Shaun Dreyer attempted to prevent the use of armoured BMW belonging to the unit by Deputy President Jacob Zuma when he attended the funeral of the Royal House member senior Prince Mcwayizeni Zulu late last year.
The ANC then calls for the an urgent probe of Dreyer to find the reason behind his alleged misconduct. We can not afford to have people who do not share the vision of transforming this country like Dreyer and his ilk
The ANC also calls for the immediate restructuring of the unit management to reflect demographic of the province. We find it derogative when the head of the unit Superintended Els claims that the appointment is based on merit not on race as, seemingly, his understanding of merit is not judged through competency but race.
Contact ANC spokesperson for Safety and Security Bheki Cele at 082 900 3569 or 082 402 8286 or ANC Media Officer Khulekani Ntshangase at 082 570 5074