The new e-hailing platform Wanatu is facing increasing scrutiny for its policy of hiring only drivers who can speak Afrikaans.
Launched in October 2024 and funded by private investors, Wanatu – a play on the Afrikaans term “waarnatoe”; in English, “where to” – is one of the country’s newest e-hailing services that seeks to do things differently than existing players like Uber, Bolt, and inDrive.
Primarily, the service only hires drivers who speaks Afrikaans with the goal to “restore dignity in our communities’ jobs in Afrikaans.”
Unlike its rivals, it also employs drivers full time instead of treating them as independent contractors, and it owns its entire fleet of vehicles instead of requiring the driver to use their own.
By January 2025, Wanatu’s staff complement had grown to 85 drivers and its fleet currently consists of 50 Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrids with bold Wanatu branding, all of which are equipped with a dashcam and inward-facing camera, GPS tracking device, two-way radio system, and panic button.
A weak leg to stand on
While Wanatu has been welcomed by the Afrikaans community since its debut, a point of contention has been its policy to only hire Afrikaans-speaking drivers.
The platform emphasises that speaking Afrikaans is only one of the requirements of the job, and that the service is open to all users regardless of their native tongue.
Be that as it may, the language policy could be viewed as discrimination in the eyes of South Africa’s Constitution and certain labour laws.
Craig Kirchmann, attorney and labour law specialist at Kirchmann Inc., is persuaded that making Afrikaans a requirement satisfies the needs of a very small portion of the populous who are unable to effectively communicate with existing e-hailing drivers who may not be proficient in the language.
“I emphasise, I don’t believe there could be very many of these people in our country,” Kirchmann told Newzroom Afrika.
“And to exclude so many people from that job market or that particular job in the name of what I believe would amount to very few people, I think would be very difficult to justify, and I think our courts would frown upon that.”
At face value, Kirchmann said the language prerequisite amounts to “straightforward discrimination” against non-Afrikaans-speaking citizens.
Likewise, legal experts from Werksmans Attorneys said Wanatu’s policy may be in contravention of Section 9(4) of the Constitution and Section 6(1) of the Employment Equity Act (EEA) unless the company can prove that excluding people based on their language abilities is rational, justifiable, and inherently linked to the job.
Both these acts specifically prohibit “direct and indirect discrimination based on language.”
“If Wanatu employs its drivers rather than engaging them as independent contractors, its Afrikaans proficiency requirement could contravene these provisions,” they said.
The attorneys highlighted two past cases that offer guidance on the matter.
In the 2006 case of Stojce v University of KwaZulu-Natal and Another, the Labour Court upheld the employer’s decision not to appoint a senior lecturer who lacked sufficient English fluency, highlighting the importance of effective communication for the role.
Similarly, in the 2021 case of De Bruyn v Metorex Proprietary Limited, the Labour Appeal Court found that requiring Chinese proficiency for managerial positions was justified due to the company’s reliance on communication with Chinese stakeholders.
“These precedents suggest that language requirements can be upheld if they are intrinsically necessary for job performance,” said Werksmans Attorneys.
“However, Wanatu faces a challenge in proving that Afrikaans proficiency is indispensable for its drivers.”
Wanatu may have a leg to stand on, however, thanks to its English translation feature that enables non-Afrikaans speakers to communicate with the driver.
Even so, Wanatu’s goal of preserving Afrikaans as part of South Africa’s linguistic heritage must be balanced with constitutional protections against discrimination and the need for inclusivity.
“If Wanatu’s drivers are classified as independent contractors, the EEA would not apply,” said Werksmans Attorneys.
“However, the company’s language policy could still face scrutiny under the Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act.”
This legislation aims to prevent unfair discrimination in the public and private sectors alike, ensuring that all South Africans can equally participate in society.
Courts evaluating such cases would likely consider whether Wanatu’s language requirement aligns with the principles of fairness and proportionality, said Werksmans Attorneys.
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