Xenophobia: What South Africa is doing

AS IN other parts of the world, immigration has taken a centre stage in the life of the nation. On the global stage, immigration has proven to be an emotive and contentious issue. It has been used to divide global citizens, with the view that it poses a serious threat and socio-economic challenges for receiving countries.

South Africa is not unique in this regard. Many countries are wrestling with anti-immigrant sentiments. Its manifestations may be seen in some of the issues affecting communities, and are discernible also in the issues exploited to perpetrate criminal activities.

This is to a large measure a complex and delicate matter. Reckless abandonment of the core values of Ubuntu will only lead us into a clumsy and irresponsible reaction. We must respond in a humane and lawful manner, taking into cognisance the genuine frustrations of communities, while remaining mindful of tempers likely to spark violence and other acts of criminality.

There will be no progressive and sustainable victory in xenophobic violence. Opportunistic individuals who partake in it erode the human face we have struggled very hard to acquire.

While a more measured approach may not make me the most popular politician, I believe it is the right thing to do.

Our democracy enshrines our hardearned human rights. We are first and foremost humans. This reality cannot be diluted by your country of origin or what documents you hold, or lack thereof. Humanity, within the context of our constitution, is not only a cultural prescription of Ubuntu, it is also about legal compliance and respect for rights of all persons.

Law and order are, therefore, critical factors when we talk about migration. We must address matters raised by communities, in a legal framework, while ensuring, at all times, they also raise matters within the confines of the law.

Unfortunately, xenophobic violence is not new in South Africa. The country first experienced xenophobic violence in 2008, with attacks on foreign nationals mainly in Gauteng (Alexandra, Diepsloot and Tembisa) and the Western Cape. The 2008 attacks were investigated by the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC).

According to the SAHRC, among the reasons for the violence were the following: ◆ Poor relations between local residents and key officials dealing with informal settlements, ◆ Corruption and indifference of lead

ers, ◆ Police unable to deal with attacks,

and, ◆ Capacity problems, for those providing effective remedy and promotion of access to justice. In 2015, another wave of attacks was seen in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng.

It was sparked by a labour dispute over the employment of foreign nationals at the KwaJeena Store in Isipingo.

Among the recurring themes had been contestation over scarce resources in a climate of unemployment, poverty and other socio-economic challenges.

Currently, in 2017, there are renewed incidents of violence against foreign nationals in Rosettenville and Pretoria West. There are also communities agitating against foreign nationals. In this regard, a protest march is planned for the 24th of February 2017, in the Pretoria CBD by the Mamelodi Concerned Residents. Disgruntlement raised by communities is around competition for jobs, access to economic opportunities and alleged criminal activities involving foreign nationals; these include drug peddling and prostitution.

I have met with protest organisers and have appealed to them to express themselves responsibly. Government responded speedily to the latest outbreak of violence. We have directed all security officials to be visible in communities and to objectively deal with criminality, regardless of whether it is committed by a South African or a foreign national.

We led a government delegation, with the Gauteng MEC for Community Safety, to Rosettenville on Monday 13 February, to make sure that law enforcement agencies are responding to issues raised by communities and to encourage dialogue between communities and the authorities. Arrests have been made, among others, for alleged drug peddling and acts of public violence.

We called for visible and effective policing, precisely because, failure to respond would be irresponsible in the extreme, as it would serve further to fuel tensions among communities.

We called for compliance with the constitution and other laws of the Republic, by citizens and foreign nationals. We prioritised documentation of persons in South Africa and deportation of those who are undocumented. This message to act responsibly, had been conveyed also to businesses in the country, starting with those in the hospitality sector, pointing to the folly and dangers of failing to comply with the laws of the Republic.

Business is a critical partner in managing anti-immigrant sentiments and more will be expected of them.

In many cases, business incentivises irregular migration and those contributing to questionable labour practices must be held to account. It is far easier and convenient for some to target desperate and vulnerable migrants than the unscrupulous employers who deliberately fuel tensions in the labour market. It is easier and convenient to target dwellers of rundown buildings than irresponsible buildings’ owners.

In this regard, a paradigm shift has been adopted, we will now target unethical businesses that employ illegal practises.

Government is working with business on these issues, to ensure compliance, employment of locals and harmonious relationships desired for development, economic growth and empowerment of citizens. This work started before Rosettenville. As explained, businesses are a critical factor in some of the challenges. They should not fuel tensions, playing locals against foreigners, but should be on the side of the law.

We have a commitment of the hospitality sector on the need to comply with SA’s labour and immigration laws, especially the requirement to employ a minimum 60 percent of local people.

This is the message we are taking to the rest of business, and will feature strongly in our upcoming meetings. There will be workplace inspections and penalties for employing undocumented foreigners will be imposed.

We are making inroads, also in this respect. A total of 63 people who were employed by the Spar without documentation were arrested at three Spar supermarkets. Of these, 19 females are detained at Pretoria Noord SAPS and 36 males plus nine females are detained at Kameeldrift SAPS. The breakdown for these arrests is as follows: ◆ 19 females and 28 males arrested at Montana Spar, and the manager was charged, ◆ Six females and nine males were arrested at Zambezi Spar, the Manager will be charged, ◆ One arrest at Doornpoort Spar, here

the Manager was not available, I have directed my office to set up a meeting with the management of Spar to discuss labour issues. ◆ Malusi Gigaba is Home Affairs Minister, Republic of South Africa.