Don’t divide us as Africans

The president referred to the latest census report which indicated that white households had an income six times that of African households.

How general, how racist, how misleading and how divisive is that statement?

Firstly to refer to South Africans who sport the "paler” shade of colour as "whites” and those of the darker pigmentation as Africans is insulting in the extreme.

I, and so many of those like me, are African, Mr President, like it or not.

Don’t you dare separate "us” from "them” in such a vulgar manner. The description of the income statement is so general, and indeed so misleading, there is no room in space allocated adequately to perform a political and economic post-mortem.

Suffice to say, Mr President, that little section of what might have been an adequate New Year’s message is ruined by these thoughtless and insensitive statements. An apology to "us whites” is strongly called for.

Conor Ward, Addo