"The condemnation of a whole category of people because of their (white) race is the new face of racism in South Africa, says Western Cape Premier Helen Zille.
Writing in the Sunday Times, Zille responded to the uproar that was created by tweets in which she said colonialism was not all negative.
"Colonialism can never be defended, let alone justified. We can spend much time debating what the world might have looked liked had colonialism never happened, but it won't help us create an inclusive future," she said.
Zille argued that Singapore was an example of a country that had managed to 'repurpose aspects of colonialism's legacy to build strong, inclusive economy'. She wrote that she was amazed that in all her reflective tweets after her visit to Singapore, only one was 'decontextualised and distorted', to the point that is became the focus of a major controversy.
Zille wrote that there was clearly more than meets the eye and that there has been a 'tectonic' shift in South African politics over the past few years.
"The virus of anti-whiteness (rooted in the negative legacy of colonialism) has spread rapidly through South Africa's born-free generation, especially the young, educated elite," she wrote.
Zille said this philosophy had potentially perilous consequences for South Africa's future and among these was the idea that that black people can express opinions and whites cannot.
Twitter users made their feelings known about the column on Sunday: