ActionSA Refers Minister Dean Macpherson to Ethics Committee Over Racist Remarks
Press Statement by Alan Beesley MP
ActionSA Member of Parliament
ActionSA has today written to the Chairperson of Parliament’s Joint Committee on Ethics and Members’ Interests, Honourable Lusizo Makhubela, to formally request an investigation into deeply offensive and racially charged remarks made by Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure, Dean Macpherson.
On two separate occasions, the Minister referred to ActionSA supporters who gathered outside the Pietermaritzburg Court on 24 July 2025 as “amaphara” and “hobos.” The term “amaphara,” which refers to drug addicts, criminals or societal parasites, was used in a public address captured on widely circulated video. The term “hobos” was later used in an interview with journalist Bongani Hans, published in IOL’s article “DA and ActionSA face off in court over eThekwini Sewage Crisis.”
These terms, directed at a group of predominantly black ActionSA supporters, are not only deeply offensive but, in the context of our country’s painful history, cannot be divorced from their racially charged and dehumanising connotations.
It is unconscionable that a senior party official, Member of Parliament, and Cabinet Minister would resort to such racist and inflammatory rhetoric. This kind of conduct is fundamentally incompatible with the values enshrined in the Constitution and the responsibilities entrusted to elected public officials. Despite ActionSA’s public call on 28 July 2025 for an immediate apology, Minister Macpherson has refused to retract his remarks or offer any sign of remorse for the harm caused.
Minister Macpherson’s utterances constitute a direct violation of Parliament’s Code of Ethical Conduct, specifically:
Section 5(e): which requires Members to, “maintain public confidence and trust in the integrity of Parliament,” and
Section 5(f): which requires Members to, “be committed to the eradication of all forms of discrimination.”
We have therefore called on the Ethics Committee to take decisive action against this errant minister and at the very least ensure that he issues a written public apology to ActionSA supporters and to the people of South Africa at large. Parliament must act to preserve its own dignity, but more importantly to affirm the fight against racism in South Africa.
ActionSA Refers Minister Dean Macpherson to Ethics Committee Over Racist Remarks
ActionSA has today written to the Chairperson of Parliament’s Joint Committee on Ethics and Members’ Interests, Honourable Lusizo Makhubela, to formally request an investigation into deeply offensive and racially charged remarks made by Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure, Dean Macpherson.
On two separate occasions, the Minister referred to ActionSA supporters who gathered outside the Pietermaritzburg Court on 24 July 2025 as “amaphara” and “hobos.” The term “amaphara,” which refers to drug addicts, criminals or societal parasites, was used in a public address captured on widely circulated video. The term “hobos” was later used in an interview with journalist Bongani Hans, published in IOL’s article “DA and ActionSA face off in court over eThekwini Sewage Crisis.”
These terms, directed at a group of predominantly black ActionSA supporters, are not only deeply offensive but, in the context of our country’s painful history, cannot be divorced from their racially charged and dehumanising connotations.
It is unconscionable that a senior party official, Member of Parliament, and Cabinet Minister would resort to such racist and inflammatory rhetoric. This kind of conduct is fundamentally incompatible with the values enshrined in the Constitution and the responsibilities entrusted to elected public officials. Despite ActionSA’s public call on 28 July 2025 for an immediate apology, Minister Macpherson has refused to retract his remarks or offer any sign of remorse for the harm caused.
Minister Macpherson’s utterances constitute a direct violation of Parliament’s Code of Ethical Conduct, specifically:
We have therefore called on the Ethics Committee to take decisive action against this errant minister and at the very least ensure that he issues a written public apology to ActionSA supporters and to the people of South Africa at large. Parliament must act to preserve its own dignity, but more importantly to affirm the fight against racism in South Africa.