'DA slipped on EE bill'

"I, as the captain of this plane, must take responsibility... I believe it is best to acknowledge mistakes and seek to rectify them."

The DA made a mistake voting for the Employment Equity Act Amendment Bill, party leader Helen Zille said on Friday.

"I, as the captain of this plane, must take responsibility... I believe it is best to acknowledge mistakes and seek to rectify them."

She said the Democratic Alliance would propose amendments to the bill and vote against them if they failed to bring about those changes.

"We will then also vote against the bill when it returns to the National Assembly. We should have done this from the get-go because this bill will harm rather than promote redress."

The bill was not only based on racial coercion but would also undermine growth, reduce jobs, drive away investment, and work against black economic empowerment.

"It will be subject to political manipulation and undermine our chances of building the capable state which the national development plan identifies as a top priority."

Zille said the DA representatives on the portfolio committee that dealt with the bill were inadequately prepared when they voted for the bill.

"The many and varied submissions on the bill were rushed through the portfolio committee in four meetings.

"The long parliamentary recess intervened before the bill went to the National Assembly and so we were unable to debate the implications of the bill adequately in caucus," she said.

"We can and will rectify it during the remaining passage of this bill. We cannot support an approach that will create more unemployment and poverty and less empowerment for those who genuinely need it."