A history lesson.
This assumption that affirmative action/positive discrimination is necessarily a bad thing has to be addressed. A quick look at the population of South Africa: 79.5% Black, 11.4% Asian and Coloured and 9.2% White. The flight deck crew of SAA meanwhile is at least 80% white. The reason for this grossly disproportionate representation of white people on the flight deck is not, as some posters seem to think, because black people lack the intelligence or the wherewithal to become airline pilots nor that white people have displayed greater determination and tenacity in attaining airline positions. No, the reason is the legacy of apartheid and 40 odd years of racist legislation that meant that black people were denied access to a decent education and hence jobs. Without intervention, this grossly disproportionate distribution of opportunity could continue for a number of generations. Affirmative action in SA is just a way of speeding up the process of restoring social justice.
To comment, as some have, that the introduction of the MPL as a tool of affirmative action is bound to compromise safety is just plain racist. Do you really believe that a black populace that outnumbers the white by more than eight to one will be unable to produce the required number of suitable candidates? Any shortfall in suitable candidates at this time is a legacy of the poor education offered to black people during the apartheid era and will in the near future become a thing of the past.
As for the white South African pilots who have been whining on this forum about "reverse racism", what utter tosh. When SAA's flight decks properly represent the ethnic spread of the country, if you are then denied access to jobs, then and only then will you have earned the right to complain of being victims of racism. What you are now calling racism is the undoing of the racism of the past. I honestly feel sorry for you but unfortunately for you history has placed you in the wrong place at the wrong time. Don't blame this government. Blame the one before that gave you a misplaced optimism.
Interesting to note that alot of this debate was provoked by an article in an English language SA newspaper which, as Scroggs has pointed out, was highly inaccurate. I spent 14 years in SA up to '89 and in that time I learned that 90% of the SA English and Afrikaans language media could not be trusted to report a simple story like this one without twisting it to serve their right wing political agenda. Plus ca change . . .
As regards the merits of the MPL itself, others here have stated good cases for and against. But don't tarnish the good reputation of SAA. Tell me what well run, competitive airline wouldn't be looking into the relative merits of a whole new training philosophy proposed by ICAO?