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Small Business Development Minister Khumbudzo Ntshavheni says she rejects the apology issued by Clicks management and has instead outlined alternatives the business should pursue.
This comes after the pharmaceutical retailer was attacked due to arespecially insensitive advertisement displayed on your website.
The ad, provided by the advertised TRESemmé shampoo brand, included photographs of four women, two black and two white, and described the hair of the two black women as’ dry and damaged; and ‘curly and dull’, while images depicting white women’s hair were described as ‘fine straight hair’ and ‘normal hair’.
As a result, the advertisement was seen to undermine the dignity of black South Africans and suggested that “the hair of blacks is damaged and inferior to that of whites.”
Clicks quickly responded to the outrage over the images by removing the ads from its website and apologized to those who were offended by it. Subsequently, the personnel responsible for supervision have been suspended and the group has promised to learn from the incident and make changes.
TRESemmé South Africa and Unilever also apologized for the announcement.
However, in a statement on Monday night (September 7), Ntshavheni said that he rejected the groups’ apologies as “nonsensical”.
“Clicks misses the point that the offense is not just about the images that are insensitive, but the fact that it represents TRESemmé’s views that are racist, and reflects the continued undermining of the beauty of African women and the violence that they suffer when they are deemed not to meet certain superficial standards.
Therefore, withdrawing the ad and issuing a public apology cannot be enough. Clicks should remove the TRESemmé product from their shelves as an expression of their disengagement with vendors promoting racist and insensitive marketing. “
Ntshavheni said that if the Clicks administration is serious about being ‘a proud South African corporate citizen’ and wants to make amends for its ‘mistake’, it should be reflected in measures to put more hair products made by South African SMEs for African hair on its shelf. .
“Diversity and inclusion training for staff is just a negligible drop in the ocean for corrective action, and it can’t be enough. The Small Business Development Department remains available to help Clicks list more African hair products made by South African SMEs for their shelves. “
‘The time for mouthpiece services is over’
Ntshavheni said the time for South Africa to accept “lip service to racism and derogatory acts is over.” She added that apologies must be backed by actions to build a non-racial and egalitarian society.
“A non-racial and egalitarian society can only be sustained by an inclusive economy, which requires the empowerment of black, women and youth businesses.”
The minister said Clicks must commit to ‘tangible corrective action’ by actively and visibly promoting black hair products made by small black, women and youth businesses on its shelves.
“Any claim of non-racism that lacks impactful economic transformation actions cannot be acceptable.”
No to looting
In a separate statement, the government called on all South Africans to resist the temptation to take the law into their own hands. This comes after significant damage was caused at Clicks stores as part of an Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) campaign to shut down the retailer.
Engaging in illegal behavior is not a responsible way to resolve a conflict, he said.
“We remain committed to the values of democracy. No form of discrimination or violation of human rights for any reason can be tolerated, as it undermines progress in building a united democratic country, ”said Presidential Minister Jackson Mthembu.
“Even in the face of resistance from a small minority, we continue our efforts to build a united South Africa that we can all be proud of. As we launch Heritage Month today, we remember the many cultures, traditions, and languages that make us who we are.
“In the spirit of social cohesion, let us love and respect each other regardless of color, origin, gender and religion.”
In April 2020, data from the group showed that Clicks has a total of 881 retail stores nationwide, employing 15,347 people. According to Reuters, 445 stores were closed on Monday for fear of protests, while seven were damaged in a protest action led by the EFF.
See: EFF takes steps to close Clicks stores in South Africa
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