Finance and Economic Opportunities
In respect of the incidences of racism in the province, especially in the hospitality industry in and around Cape Town:
- Whether the Consumer Protection Office and/or the Consumer Affairs Tribunal received any racism-related complaints in the past 12 months; if so, what are the relevant details;
- (a) under whose jurisdiction do complaints of racism fall and (b) how can affected consumers report these complaints, such as in the case of Mr Zwai Bala who was recently allegedly called the K-word in a restaurant in Gordon’s Bay?
I am informed of the following:
The Western Cape Office of the Consumer Protector has not received any racism-related complaints to date. Section 8 of the national Consumer Protection Act, 2008 (Act 68 of 208), deals with the issue of unfair discrimination and stipulates that a service provider is prohibited from unfairly discriminating against a consumer. Section 8(4) of the Consumer Protection Act is however drafted in such a manner that it places the authority in the hands of the civil courts, particularly the equality courts to deal with such allegations. Additionally, the provisions of the Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act furthermore provides clear authority to the equality courts to have jurisdiction in matters of unfair discrimination. It is therefore evident that the Consumer Tribunal does not have jurisdiction these matters.
As explained to the Member in briefing session on the appointment process of Tribunal members, on 23 January 2024, and recorded in this response for the sake of clarity and transparency, the department was aware of the incident and considered approaching the Tribunal. However, it was identified that the more appropriate avenue to address the matter was through the equality court since the matter did not relate to consumer discrimination. As far as the department is aware, the victim has laid a criminal charge and is pursuing this directly through the more appropriate authority.
