The Public Service and Commercial Union (PSCU), along with Transform RSA, Resistance Against Impunity Movement and Racist Banks Must Fall, are readying for what they described as a massive campaign to end South African banks’ “racist practices”.
The campaign is billed to spill into the 2024 general elections, according to PSCU secretary-general Tahir Maepa.
He made the announcement when he addressed the Ivan Phillip Fredericks Memorial Lecture in Athlone this week, saying the need for a commission of inquiry into banking practices was long overdue.
“There can be no doubt that the primary responsibility for criminality and racial bias in the banking sector lies with the banks themselves and those who manipulate and control those banks, their boards and senior management who happen to be majority white angry hateful males.”
His remarks come as Standard Bank has indicated its intention to shut down banking accounts of all black-owned Sekunjalo-related companies, including Independent Media.
This move has been slammed as an attack on media freedom and further squeezing the already limited space for differing views in the media.
The bank has also been criticised for putting the livelihoods of more than 1 000 employees at risk.
The bank has cited reputational risk as the reason for its intended closure of these accounts. Addressing the gathering on Wednesday, Maepa described the impunity of discriminatory practices, which he said was aided by the government, and as a result disproportionately affected the black community.
“The emergence of the #RacistBanksMustFall movement exemplifies the frustration and anger experienced by many in the black community.”
He referenced Adil Nchabeleng, convener of the movement, who said the purpose of the commission of inquiry into the banks’ conduct must be given wider terms of reference, including whether these activities have taken place over many years and how much substantial loss customers suffered while banks profited.
The commission needed to determine whether any banks and financial regulatory bodies might have committed misconduct in their dealings with black people and whether they were involved in illicit financial flow.
“The nation deserves the truth about the connection between the conduct and reward of bank executives, board members and political elites and who exactly was involved in these crimes of asymmetry of abuse of power, the effect of conflicts between duty and interest, so that we can hold banks to account,” Maepa said.
Cape Times