Tourism minister, iSimangaliso take guesthouse to SAHRC over racial policy
Complaints are mounting against a northern KZN guesthouse that has racial policies in place with the Tourism Minister and iSimangaliso Wetland Park having approached the SA Human Rights Commission and the Public Protector to look into the matter.
The Sodwana Bay Guest House made headlines after it emerged they refused to accommodate a black South African purely on the basis of their skin colour.
Government officials are also barred from the establishment, with the owner Andre Slate saying as a Christian, the bible allows him to practice segregation.
iSimangaliso CEO Andrew Zaloumis says even though they have no relationship with the guest house which is NOT situated in their park, they had a duty to act against discrimination.
''We have written a complaint to the Human Rights Commission. We did that yesterday since we picked it up asking for the issue to be investigated and to the public protector. Very importantly, iSimangalliso Wetland Park has zero tolerance for any racist behaviour,'' he said.
Zaloumis says this has the potential to reverse the tourism gains made in the area.
''There's been a huge amount of work over the number of years by community in that region, by government and by business to actually develop and build the Tourism industry.
''When you get this kind of negative publicity, it impacts on everybody - on communities, on livelihood and on prosperity of all the regions in KZN,'' he said.
Tourism Minister, Derek Hanekom has referred the matter to the SAHRC and has instructed officials in the department to take immediate action.
He says strong action needs to be taken against discrimination wherever and whenever it appears, regardless of the perpetrators.
Meanwhile, KwaZulu-Natal Tourism officials have been sent to speak to the owner of the Sodwana Bay Guest House.
Speaking earlier today at the Youth Parliament taking place in Inanda north of Durban, MEC Sihle Zikalala said the officials' visit today is to get both sides of the story.
''The racial elements that continue to prevail in our society cannot be tolerated at all. We have sent our officials to get a full report on this matter. We want to check whether they are registered according to our requirements,'' he said.