Business leaders and ordinary South Africans are raising their voices to call on their government to get serious with containing a wave of premeditated attacks by mobs on foreigners in Johannesburg, Pretoria and other cities and the attacks have put the country in the spotlight as this year’s World Economic Forum on Africa opens in Cape Town.
Business Unity SA (Busa) and Business Leadership SA both spoke out against the violence against foreigners and their businesses and warned against the negative effect it was bound to have on the ailing South African economy and the country’s image.
According to Busa’s president, Sipho Pityana, “these attacks send a terrible signal at a time when we should all be pulling together to make our economy stronger, to make our country a safe place to live and to ensure that South Africans are seen as welcoming investment, commerce and a respect for human life and property.”
Telecoms giant MTN which operates in a number of countries on the continent, was the first to speak out Tuesday, urging the government in South Africa to be decisive in handling the disgraceful attacks.
The South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry Chief Executive Alan Mukoki called the attacks criminal in nature and slammed those who orchestrated them.
“This is disruptive behaviour”, he said. “People are forgetting that there is huge criminal element in these protests. The element of xenophobia is regretted and we are urging people to be careful with their remarks that they make about foreign nationals so that it does not fan any flames.”
In Zimbabwe whose nationals are arguably the most affected by the attacks, the Cross Border Transport Association said they will stop all South African vehicles and trains from entering their country if the aattacks on foreign truck drivers continue.
At least seven trucks belonging to Zimbabweans were torched in South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal at the weekend.
There many in South Africa who believe the government has not been firm in its handling of the crisis which has now brought the rest of Africa against the government of President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Zambia calls the attacks act of economic sabotage which threatens to derail the nacent Africa free trade pact and Nigeria is threatening sanctions against South Africa.
President Ramaphosa finally spoke against the violence Tuesday, saying that it went against the ethos that South Africa espoused.
According to him, South Africa was completely “against xenophobia, we do not allow and cannot tolerate attacks on people from other African countries and indeed from other countries.”
The president said he was convening a meeting with ministers from the security cluster and had directed police minister Bheki Cele to meet hostel leaders.
“This violence is now mutating and taking different forms and presenting themselves in ways that we do not want to see in South Africa, where communities seem to be attacking one another, so we want this and I want this to stop immediately,” the president said.
