Congolese hit back at Xeno&Homophobe Zulu king

THE Congolese community in South Africa has accused Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini of being irresponsible and fanning the fires of xenophobic attacks against foreign nationals.

Blanchard Kimuena, spokesman for the community, which calls itself the Congolese Freedom and Justice Fighters, was fuming yesterday, saying Zwelithini's attack on them shows that he was not in touch with reality on the ground.

"The King's criticism of the Congolese community is unfair and irresponsible. The King's baseless attack on foreigners shows that the monarch is out of touch with realities on the African continent, a tangible proof that he does not regularly travel to African countries to see the impact of misery, poverty and abuse of power by the so-called friends of South Africa," Kimuena said.

The Congolese were responding to Zwelithini's attack on their recent march to Parliament demanding that Zuma denounce the re-election of President Joseph Kabila in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

The Zulu King used his address before the opening of the KwaZulu-Natal legislature on Monday to express his disappointment with the Congolese nationals' march against Zuma.

In his address, Zwelithini said: "They must understand that President Zuma was elected by the majority of South Africans and they do not have a right to march against him .

"If such behaviour is allowed to continue, I have no doubt that locals might ask themselves many questions, and I hope it will never happen."

Kimuena insisted that their march was not directed at Zuma's administration and the ANC.

"Our main concern is that South Africa, as the continent leader, is setting a bad example by indirectly supporting dictatorial regimes in exchange for economic interests, which include oil, gold and diamonds contracts.

"Hard evidence suggests that the DRC elections were rigged by Joseph Kabila, and yet South Africa kept quiet and swiftly approved its results, which is tantamount to propping a government that lacks legitimacy." - Sowetan

Delivery issues dominate hearings

SERVICE delivery issues took centre stage during public hearings on the Protection of Information Bill in Mamelodi, east of Pretoria, yesterday.

Instead of expressing their feelings on the proposed bill, which seeks to make it a criminal offence to reveal classified state information, most people who attended the proceedings talked about how the State was failing them.

The issue of the government's failure to control foreigners living in the country also topped the list. "During apartheid, no one would see a situation where people from outside this country would come and do as they please," said one attendant, amid cheering from about 1,000 people who attended at the International Assembly of God.

The community also raised concerns about the illegal occupation of many RDP houses in the township.

The residents said it was rare for community leaders in the area to hold public meetings with them and they had to use yesterday's opportunity to express their anger.

Tshwane DA leader Solly Msimanga said the bill amounted to a full-scale legislative assault on the freedom of the country and robs South Africans of their basic right to know what their government is up to.

"It offends the very basic constitutional rights of access to information and freedom of expression," he said.

The bill, in its current form, is opposed by every opposition party in Parliament. It is also opposed by Cosatu, Samwu and Sadtu, by the Nelson Mandela Foundation, by Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, and the Right to Know Campaign, a collective civil society group representing more than 400 organisations.

Meanwhile, there were mixed reactions among political parties and civic organisations yesterday, during the public hearings of the Protection of Information Bill in Sharpeville in the Vaal.

Chairman of the National Council of Provinces' ad hoc committee on the bill Nosipho Ntwanambi had her hands full trying to bring the house to order. ANC delegates and its tripartite alliance partners Cosatu and SACP boldly told the packed Rhoda Yende Hall that they support the bill.

ANC representative Sello Pitso said: "I welcome the bill, it will help make South Africa a better country. It will not victimise the citizens of this country."

Bheki Ntsele attacked the print media, claiming that it was hiding behind the public interest.

"Every citizen of this country has rights. It is not fair for the newspaper to report about people's health like they did with Dr Manto Tshabalala-Msimang and the report on Kgalema Motlanthe that he fathered a child in Limpopo," Ntsele said.

- Sowetan

Foreigners streaming into WCape

Foreigners are streaming into the Western Cape in their thousands, becoming both the victims and perpetrators of crime, MPs heard on Wednesday.

“An estimated 8 000 a month are flowing into the province,” provincial police commissioner Arno Lamoer told Parliament's police portfolio committee.

The committee was being briefed by each of the nine provincial police commissioners on crime statistics, following the release of these in September.

“If you see the influence of foreign nationals in the Western Cape, you will be shocked,” Lamoer told MPs.

He invited them to take a trip with him to the Bellville railway station.

“You will see what it looks like there with foreign nationals – and it's only Somalians we have in that (Bellville) area.”

His power-point presentation to the committee – a copy of which was not immediately available – also referred to Nigerians, Congolese, and Namibians in the province.

Lamoer said home affairs in the Western Cape was processing hundreds of foreigners each week.

“Home affairs gave an indication that at their processing centre, where they (foreigners) apply for asylum, we're talking about 500 to 800 that come per day. The processing is about 800 per week.”

Lamoer referred to a gang of Namibians robbing houses along so-called green belts in Cape Town's southern suburbs.

“There was a group of foreign nationals, Ovambos from Namibia, that we arrested. We arrested them but they were released on bail.”

Foreigners were also on the receiving end when it came to crime.

Police had investigated the rise in business robberies in the province, which started after the 2010 World Cup, and had discovered that only a third of the victims were South African.

Many foreigners had established spaza shops or were operating businesses from containers or from their homes. Many did not bank their takings and slept on the premises.

“”One of the major problems... is the spaza shops, the container shops, and the house shops. Eighty percent of business robberies involve these establishments.

“But only 33 percent of the victims of these robberies are South Africans; the rest are all foreign nationals. We have a serious problem.”

Lamoer also questioned the legality of many of these businesses. He criticised Cape Town authorities for not properly applying city by-laws.

“What we've discovered is that foreign nationals are not supposed to trade unless they have a working permit and a trade permit.”

Lamoer said this was a “major challenge” and one that he was taking up with the department of home affairs.

He also reported that foreigners were arming themselves.

“We arrested – from April 1 to December 31 last year – a total of 72 foreign nationals with 70 illegal firearms. They are arming themselves because they need to protect themselves.”

On illegal drugs, Lamoer said police in the province had, since April 1, 2010, confiscated drugs with a street value of over R12 billion.

“Every single day we confiscate drugs,” he said.

The police, together with their traffic counterparts, were working to block the entrance of drugs into the province.

“We started in January last year, specifically in the Beaufort West area. In the first week, we stopped buses, as well as taxis and courier vans... and in the first week confiscated R50 million worth of drugs from these buses.”

The police had contacted the bus companies and instituted a scheme to tag loaded luggage.

“Some of them listened, but last week, on Friday, we got another bus with khat on board. There was no tag. We arrested the bus drivers and we confiscated the bus....”

The owners of the bus where now giving the police “very good co-operation”.

A minibus that was stopped while being transported on an auto-carrier in the southern Cape was found to be “full of dagga”.

Lamoer said illegal liquor was another big problem.

“We confiscate liquor every week. Over the past year, more than a million litres was confiscated.”

On gang violence in the Western Cape, Lamoer said this was linked to drugs.

“As soon as we put on the pressure and confiscate drugs, the gang violence goes up.”

Lamoer said tik was not the most-used drug.

“Heroin is the one, and it's more addictive than any other drug... It is a major, major problem,” he said.

The provincial police commissioners from the Free State and North West provinces, who preceded Lamoer at the briefing, both also reported an increase in crime related to foreigners. – Sapa

Sleeping foreigners severely beaten

Eight foreigners sleeping in their shack in the Doornkuil informal settlement, south of Joburg, were seriously injured by men who assaulted them using knobkieries, baseball bats and golf clubs.

Johannesburg Emergency Management Services spokesman Robert Mulaudzi said paramedics went to the informal settlement on Wednesday. They attended to eight foreigners who had suffered serious injuries.

“They told us that they were sleeping when a group of between five and six men stormed into their shack and immediately attacked them,” Mulaudzi said.

The Zimbabweans and Malawians were taken to Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital for treatment.

Mulaudzi said three were treated for minor injuries, while five with serious injuries were kept in hospital.

The victims, who were working for a construction company, told emergency services that the attack was the first of its kind since they came to live in the informal settlement.

Mulaudzi said the victims told them that some of the local residents had, in the past, demanded cash from them when they got their wages. They would demand between R50 and R100 from them.

“We can’t at this stage claim that it was a xenophobic-related attack. We will monitor the situation,” he said.

In another incident, two Bangladeshi shopkeepers died at the weekend after being severely burnt whentheir container shop in Thokoza was torched. A group of men poured petrol into their shop and set it alight.

SA experienced explosive xenophobic attacks in 2008 in which 62 people were killed and more than 1 000 people fled their homes. They had to be placed at various police stations and churches.

The foreigners were accused of stealing jobs and RDP homes meant for locals. - The Star