Why are South Africans this angry?

From Tembisa Provincial Tertiary Hospital, a new mall in Witbank in Mpumalanga province, a new mall in Pretoria (Tshwane) that passed through the legendary Loftus Versfeld Stadium, I can stand and say I benefited from the few Rands I got as a worker in the construction industry in South Africa in 2007.

Waking up just after 5am one year, I realised I needed to pay my way to journalism school to do what I have always wanted to do since Chana Primary School days into Manunure High School via Mbizo High School.

Zimbabwe was then on a death bed, everything was down.

These were the days of power crisis, cash shortages, hyperinflation, ugly politics and all things bad.

South Africa was preparing to host the historic 2010 FIFA World Cup and according to a friend of mine, there were job opportunities in South Africa, particularly in the construction industry.

There was boom in construction and I went there, tried my luck and for eight good months, I sweated like a slave to work as a labourer in the industry.

A lot happened in those eight months and mostly terrible.

This is the time thousands of desperate Zimbabweans also found their way down South to find their footing again.

After all, African countries, particularly within SADC, have known to assist and house desperate comrades in times of crisis.

Zimbabwe did that when there was apartheid.

Immigrants did not leave their respective countries out of choice but out of desperation.

Opportunities were there and many of them decided not to come back home after settling in Jozi, as it is known.

It’s a place many felt was now home but alas…

Events of the last days have seen sobs of a shattered life, dream and continuity.

Though I have been out of South Africa where I stayed in Berea very close to the notoriously dangerous Hillbrow and Yeovil areas, it did a lot to shape the now me.

The June 30 protests and the bloody xenophobic history

South Africa had become home to thousands of immigrants, millions even.

There were immigrants from Zimbabwe, Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, Ghana, DRC among many others all in the country for one reason all the other but mainly economic.

Granted, countries with affected citizens must act to right what is wrong in their areas of jurisdiction but that doesn’t give South Africans the inhuman action they are up to.

They did it again in 2008 starting in Alexandra with a series of widespread, violent riots rocking the whole country ultimately.

At least 62 people were killed, including some South African citizens who were mistaken for foreigners.

Between 80,000 and 200,000 foreign nationals were displaced, forcing many to flee into temporary camps established by local authorities and non-governmental organizations.

This is repeating again and its threatening to be bloody.

That the violence demon was not exorcised then spells danger now and in the future.

Implications for Zimbabwe, Africa

In Zimbabwe, political analysts warn the return of Zimbabweans from South Africa could place additional pressure on the country’s economy, public services, and social welfare systems.

And this should be the same in other affected nationalities.

“The impact is multifold,” political analyst, Takura Zhangazha said.

“The first is obviously a social welfare one. Depending on their numbers as they return, they will have to be looked after by the state, and it also affects family relations because some people will be returning to relatively impoverished families that had assumed they were living a better life abroad.”

“There will be a reduction in remittances from South Africa. While these may not have been as significant as those from the United Kingdom, Australia, the United States and Canada, they were making life easier for many Zimbabwean families who had relatives working in South Africa,” he said.

Dr Blessing Vava said: “I think the most immediate impact is the greater risk to our economy through the reduction in remittances. Many families were surviving on support from relatives working in South Africa, and household incomes are likely to fall.”

“Our economy is not able to absorb large numbers of job seekers. Employment opportunities are likely to shrink, while unemployment and underemployment are likely to increase,” he said.

Beyond the labour market, Vava said an influx of returnees could increase pressure on already stretched public services.

“We are likely to see greater competition for access to health services, education, sanitation, and other social programs. The economy was not prepared to handle a large influx of people, and this creates additional pressure on services that are already under strain,” he said.

On the political front, Zhangazha said the return of migrants is likely to intensify debate around migration and economic opportunities in Zimbabwe.

What must be the African leaders’ call?

Recently, South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa, flew to Zimbabwe and enjoyed a stroll around Precabe Farm owned by President Emmerson Mnangagwa and the first family in a show of brotherly love.

The South African leader and President of the neighbouring country’s co-ruling African National Congress (ANC) met his Zanu PF counterpart and I am sure, judging from the pictures shared, they had a good time.

His presence generated interests from friends and foes alike who speculated and unless for a fly in the Precabe Farm walls, his presence remains speculated.

Whatever it was about, I guess now is the right time to meet again and discuss the immigrants issue for it is a serious issue.

There is growing opposition to this anti-immigrant wave and it started long back.

Zimbabwe’s Nelson Chamisa says this is unAfrican and humiliating.

“For this reason, we are deeply concerned by the rise in anti-migrant sentiment, Xenophobic disposition, Afrophobic negativity and Zimphobic toxicity. We condemn acts of humiliation, intimidation, harassment, and violence targeting foreign nationals, especially African migrants. We condemn, without equivocation, any acts of lawlessness, violence, vigilantism, or incitement to hatred,” Chamisa said.

He called on SADC not to “found wanting or be absent without official leave in such desperate circumstances of the dire need of leadership. The necessary organs of SADC must be activated and set in motion to address the root causes and not just the symptoms of the
challenges affecting the region.”

South Africa’s Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema weighed describing perpetrators as misguided and called for Pan-African solidarity.

“You say foreigners are taking jobs, yet after closing their businesses, how many jobs have you created?” he asked.

Malema argued that unemployment cannot be solved through violence, adding that skills development and economic participation are more sustainable solutions.

He also distanced himself from political support rooted in anti-foreigner sentiments, saying he would not seek or accept backing based on hatred toward other Africans.

“I will not accept votes that require me to promote hatred against fellow Africans,” he said.

Is this anti-immigrants wave linked to elections?

Probably yes! This hate manifests each time South Africa is going for elections, main or local government elections that is.

Research show that anti-immigrant campaigns in South Africa are heavily linked to elections. Ahead of the local municipal elections, political figures and activist groups frequently use anti-immigrant sentiment and strict border control rhetoric as a strategy to mobilize voters, capitalize on economic frustrations, and deflect blame from deeper issues like chronic unemployment and poor service delivery.

Foreigners usually become the scapegoat.

Politicians must stop this for this is just bad for African solidarity and relations.

Judging by the anger against South Africa’s Bafana Bafana at the World Cup, the country is the one all Africans would love to hate and this is a slap in Ramaphosa’s face.

Action needs to be taken now for South Africa can’t live without African love.