South Africa: SA government flounders in the face of xenophobic attacks By Peter Fabricius Pfabric
Once again South Africa’s government has been caught off-guard by a spate of attacks by locals on foreign African nationals. And once again it is scrambling to draft a plan to tackle the problem – seemingly without grasping why several past plans have failed.
After each spike in attacks, Pretoria has drafted plans to address the problem. In 2015 it assembled an inter-ministerial committee to tackle it. And ironically the Department of Justice posted the latest plan, the National Action Plan to Combat Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, on 25 March – a day before the latest attacks.
Mkongi had warned that it was unacceptable that 80% of a South African city – by which he meant Johannesburg’s rundown Hillbrow suburb – was “foreign national” and that if nothing was done about it, the whole country would become “80% foreign national” and that the country’s president would eventually be a foreign national.
After meeting the African ambassadors last week, Sisulu said Ramaphosa and the ruling ANC both believed the problem was “pure criminality”. However, she also hinted that government might now take a wider view, after hearing the ambassadors who clearly believe the attacks are motivated by xenophobia – or “Afrophobia” as some call it, as most victims are African.Gareth Newham
Newham said attacks continued partly because South Africans know they can get away with it, as the police rarely act against perpetrators. He said short-term interventions could include politicians and influential people – such as local musicians, actors, celebrities and the media – speaking out against xenophobia and promoting cohesion with African foreigners.
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