Ramaphosa to WEF: SA is a home for all
Violence against mainly African immigrants overshadows conference aimed at boosting trade
As the World Economic Forum (WEF) kicked off in Cape Town on Wednesday, SA was awash with negative news headlines.
A wave of anti-immigrant violence swept through Johannesburg and Pretoria this week with groups of people attacking and looting shops, mainly owned by foreigners, while hundreds of demonstrators marched in Cape Town on Wednesday to express their anger over gender-based violence.
At a meeting, hosted by Brand SA on the sidelines of the WEF, intended to pitch SA as an investor-friendly market for foreign capital, President Cyril Ramaphosa had no choice but to adapt his remarks.
He held a moment’s silence for women killed at the hands of men in the country and for those who have died as a consequence of the attacks on foreign nationals in Gauteng.
“It is most unfortunate to meet at a time when we are going through a spate of horrible news,” Ramaphosa said.
The violence against foreigners, mainly African immigrants, has overshadowed the conference aimed at boosting inter-Africa trade and caused diplomatic strain with other African countries including Nigeria.
It also threatened to undermine Ramaphosa’s efforts to position SA as a friendly investment destination as he tries to break SA out of a low-growth trap with foreign capital and structural policy reforms.
“Taking action against people from other nations can never be justified and should never be allowed,” Ramaphosa said.
“SA is a home for all. We are not the only country that has become home for people who are fleeing their own countries.”
MTN and Multichoice closed stores in Nigeria on Wednesday after they came under attack, while Shoprite’s stores at home, and in Zambia and Nigeria were shut after being damaged in
retaliation to xenophobic attacks in SA.
“Over the past day, four MTN outlets in Nigeria have been the subject of attacks and we have had to close some stores in Johannesburg,” MTN said.
On Wednesday, hundreds of people, mainly students from the University of Cape Town (UCT), protested outside a conference centre where the WEF is being held, demanding action on violence against women following the rape and murder last week of a female UCT student, Uyinene Mrwetyana.
Police fired stun grenades to disperse protesters, dressed in black with duct tape over their mouths, after they attempted to storm into the Cape Town International Convention Centre.
“The nation is in deep mourning; we are all deeply disturbed by the killings of women,” Ramaphosa said.
Ethiopia’s president, SahleWork Zewde, expressed sympathy with victims of xenophobic and gender-based violence. “This is not the Africa we want to see,” she told a WEF panel.
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari’s personal assistant, Bashir Ahmad, said on Wednesday, via his verified Twitter account, the government had boycotted the WEF due to the xenophobic violence, but “some individuals from Nigeria including a former minister are attending on their own”.
Nigeria has also issued a travel warning, advising its citizens to avoid travelling to “high-risk and volatile areas” until the situation was brought under control.
On Tuesday, Zambia cancelled an international friendly soccer match against Bafana Bafana, scheduled for Saturday, due to the violence.
A no-show at the WEF by other heads of states including Rwandan President Paul Kagame and the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Félix Tshisekedi, sparked speculation that they had pulled out due to the attacks on foreigners.
But international relations spokesperson Lunga Ngqengelele dismissed the reports, saying Kagame had declined an invitation before the outbreak of the violence, while Tshisekedi and his Malawian counterpart, Peter Mutharika, had not confirmed their attendance.
“There is, therefore, no truth to the reports that the three heads of state have cancelled their visits due to attacks on African migrants,” Ngqengelele said.
Residents have reportedly taken part in co-ordinated attacks, looting foreign-owned businesses in Tembisa, Alexandra, Hillbrow, Cleveland, Jeppestown and the Johannesburg CBD since Sunday.
The violence continued on Tuesday, spreading to other areas such as Germiston on the East Rand. Similar violence also took place in the Pretoria CBD last week.