Zimbos Face Deportation

More than 1,5 million Zimbabweans living illegally in neighbouring South Africa face deportation at the end of this month when the moratorium for illegal immigrants expires.

The South African Home Affairs department introduced the moratorium, through the Zimbabwe Documentation Process (ZDP) in April 2009, to allow undocumented Zimba-bweans living in the country a chance to formalise their stay by applying for, and being issued with residence and work permits. However, only 250 000 out of an estimated two million Zimbabweans living in South Africa applied for the permits, with about 20 000 believed to have been turned down.

A total of 25 827 illegal immigrants have been deported since South Africa resumed deportations in October last year. Two weeks ago, 587 people were bussed back home through Beitbridge Border Post.

According to border officials, this latest batch of deportees was brought in aboard seven buses from Johannesburg from Lindela Detention Centre.

Assistant regional immigration officer, Francis Mabika told The Financial Gazette that the border post was prepared for any volume of deportees that passed through it.

"South Africa has not yet communicated with us on that issue, but if there are going to be mass deportations then there will have preparatory meetings between the two governments so that we work out the logistics," said Mabika.

"In any case, we will never fail to accept our people coming back home at any day or hour. If large volumes are deported, arrangements would be made so as not to disrupt traffic at the border post," said Mabika. A representative of the Welshman Ncube-led Movement for Democratic Change in South Africa, Jabulani Mkhwananzi, said officials at the South African Home Affairs department had indicated that they would finish processing permits by the end of this month, after which mass deportations would resume.

"The response when we were preaching the gospel of applying for permits to Zimbabweans was electrifying but unfortunately this did not translate into action. Now of course it is too late as the South African government has made it clear there will be no more extensions of the deadline," said Mkhwananzi.

Mkhwananzi said most people were only just realising the benefits of having proper documentation.

Co- Minister of Home Affairs, Theresa Makone this week said her ministry would engage its South African counterpart for a possible extension of the ZDP as a lot of Zimbabweans had failed to regularise their stay. For Zimbabweans living in the neighbouring country, deportation means leaving their jobs and coming back to their country, whose economy is still underperforming. Unemployment in Zimbabwe is now reportedly the highest in southern Africa.

The majority would much rather turn right back as soon as they have reached Beitbridge Border post than come back home.

A study by the Solidarity Peace Trust and People Against Suffering, Oppression and Poverty revealed that 200 out of 227 respondents would return to South Africa if deported.

According to a recent report by the two civic organisations, the detention stage in the deportation process at Lindela detention camp was littered with abuse, neglect and failure to respect the rule of law.

"Detainees held in Lindela reported not going through any medical screening before detention.

"Data shows an almost complete lack of access to medical services, including anti-retrovirals.

"The length of detention is also of serious concern. It was common practice for detainees from countries further North of Zimbabwe to be held in Lindela for longer than 120 days, but even Zimbabweans have on occasion been detained for more than the 120 days," reads part of the report.

- allAfrica

Foreigners' shops looted in Botriver

A service delivery protest by Botrivier residents turned ugly on Monday when six Somali and Chinese shops were looted and police had to use tear gas, rubber bullets and blue dye to try to disperse the crowd.

The police confirmed that 32 men and 12 women were arrested and were expected to appear in the Caledon Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday.

Botrivier police spokesman Cyril Coetzee said police would continue to patrol the area during the night.

The protest started early on Monday morning and continued for most the afternoon. Residents are demanding that the Theewaterskloof municipality deliver on promises of housing, toilets and tarred roads.

It was the second protest in less than a month.

Chen Xi Ynu, who operates one of the looted shops, said she woke up to the sound of rocks landing on her roof. When she heard someone break the door, she ran away while her husband called the police. She said they have been in the area for just more than a year and had lost everything.

Barbara Matomela rented a room in her house to a Somali shopkeeper.

The shop was trashed and looted and Matomela said she did not know where her tenant had run to.

“He was alone in the shop when they (the looters) came, as his brothers were away. They (the brothers) did not even realise they were going to be targeted.

“They also wanted to join the march because we all thought we were marching against the municipality.”

Community leader James Pheiffer said: “The residents are angry with the municipality which made a lot of promises for houses, toilets and tarred roads and never delivered. This is not about the ANC or DA or Cope. People here are unhappy and they came together as a community for the protest,” he said. (from IOL)

 

This is what happens when you have the ANC trying to leverage xenophobia for votes. Once you identify an "enemy" it's very hard to close that tap. People's emotions are irrational.

Passop slams call to limit foreign shops

An ANC proposal to curtail township spaza shops owned by foreign nationals has come under fire from People Against Suffering, Oppression and Poverty (Passop), whose co-ordinator Braam Hanekom slammed the move as misguided and a mistake.

He responded on Sunday to comments by ANC provincial secretary Songezo Mjongile, who said an explosion of foreign-owned shops had out-muscled local owners. They must be curtailed otherwise it could result in tension between the groups and outbreaks of xenophobia, Mjongile said.

Mjongile said the issue came up at the ANC provincial general council two weeks ago where concerns were raised about township entrepreneurs “disappearing”.

“What we are saying is there needs to be intervention,” Mjongile said when approached following a Sunday Times report that the ANC wanted migrants stopped from running spaza shops in townships.

Hanekom said: “We think this is a huge mistake. We are very disappointed to hear this. We are hoping to communicate with the ANC provincial chairman about this issue. We don’t know the number of foreign entrepreneurs in townships, but can safely assume that the rights of the number of people who pay cheaper for a loaf of bread far outweigh the interest of local shop owners.”

ANC provincial chairman Marius Fransman, a former International Relations and Co-operation deputy minister, had in the past expressed concern about Somali refugees, and would be asked for an explanation, said Hanekom.

He said the notion to curtail foreign-owned spaza shops would champion the interests of an “elite minority”.

“If it should come to a vote on this issue, I don’t believe the people of Khayelitsha would vote for foreigners being removed. Part of the problem is some politicians are more concerned about local businesses than about people. It undermines the rights of the majority of our people,” he said.

Mjongile said it was “unnatural that almost all shops in townships are owned by foreigners. More locals need to participate and need to be supported… it creates tension. If we are not attending to it, it becomes a source of division.”

He said more local small businesses should come to the fore and the ANC wanted the government to support them. He said foreign-owned shops should be regulated.

Fransman said: “It is not a Western Cape proposal. It is part of a national discussion document. This is not the position of the ANC Western Cape leadership. The bottom line is we must be sensitive how we treat our fellow Africans. They are our brothers and sisters.”

He said the interests of locals and foreign nationals should be balanced. “We need to find ways to regulate the situation better, but we need not be xenophobic. We must be sensitive.”

Patrick Ngani, SA National Civics Association leader in Khayelitsha, said: “We have not been consulted about this issue. It is true some local owners are suffering while foreigners benefit, but it is not proper to say foreigners must not run shops.”

He was uncertain how many foreign-owned spaza shops there were in Khayelitsha, but believed there were more than 150.

“There is nothing wrong about coming with a proposal, but discuss it at grassroots level first. There must be a way to find an amicable solution.”

Khayelitsha Development Forum secretary Zoliswa Lonja said it supported regulation of foreign-owned shops. “There is a situation where almost every third house in some areas is a spaza shop – most of them are owned by foreigners. Regulation is critical, but we also support integration.”

She said foreigners were better at business and there was potential for conflict.

“Poverty and unemployment turn people to run spaza shops, leading to overpopulation of shops. A joint working relationship between all groups is the way to go. It can help avoid the problem of xenophobia.”

Zanokhayo Retailers Association member Loyiso Doyi said: “Foreigners do not empower local citizens. They employ their own. We suggested to them to sit down and discuss joint ventures and working together. We don’t want to chase them out, but the government seem not willing to assist us. There are over 600 foreigner spaza shops in Khayelitsha. Can you imagine how locals could survive? They are killing locals.”

Asked for a solution, he said: “There are two. They must pack up and go – which is very harsh. Or they can sit down with us and discuss joint ventures.” Cosatu provincial secretary Tony Ehrenreich declined to comment, while messages left for the Somali Traders Association spokesman Abdi Ahmed were not returned.

- Cape Times

Cut number of foreign spaza shops - Western Cape ANC

The ANC in the Western Cape wants the government to cut the number of foreign-owned spaza shops and will push for this during the party’s policy conference in Joburg this week.

ANC provincial secretary Songezo Mjongile said party branches, especially those in townships, were concerned that the majority of the province’s spaza shops were owned, managed and staffed by foreigners, and that locals were “losing out”.

“The ratio between the number of migrants who own spaza shops and locals is completely out,” Mjongile said. “We need a balance around small enterprises in our communities.

“The government must find a way to support locals so that they too can open shops and be economically active, but then the number of foreign-owned spaza shops has to be cut.”

In its Peace and Stability policy document, which is to be discussed at Gallagher Estate this week, the ANC proposes that non-South Africans should not run spaza shops without adhering to “certain legislated prescripts”, which may or may not be different to those applying to South Africans.

Mjongile said the ANC in the Western Cape supported the proposals in the document “100 percent” and that it would be “pushing hard” to ensure that resolutions were made in its favour and adopted.

The document says “non-South Africans should not be allowed to buy or run spaza shops or larger businesses without having to comply with local laws”. It also says that “laws and by-laws have to be made in a way that impacts positively rather than negatively on the informal economic sector”, and argues that the renting of houses by asylum seekers from South Africans for informal trading may contravene by-laws.

Calling for a strengthening and proper enforcement of municipal by-laws, it says: “Ideally municipalities should know who lives and works and runs businesses in their area as well as their status.”

Refugee rights group Passop has described the proposals as “unconstitutional” and “foolish”.

Passop’s Braam Hanekom said he was shocked and surprised that the Western Cape ANC had indicated it would support the document.

“As Passop, we strongly oppose it. It is unconstitutional and a foolish move,” Hanekom said.

He added that it was “extremely concerning” that some of the proposals in this discussion document were already being implemented”.

Hanekom said closing the refugee reception centre in Cape Town and moving it to the border was one of the proposals.

He said while it might be too late to call a meeting with the leadership of the ANC in the Western Cape, Passop would do “everything possible” to ensure that the proposals were rejected. “Supporting this policy document is not in the interest of the communities that the ANC represents,” he said.

“This is anti-immigrant and violates refugee rights.

“The spaza shop owners feed these communities, their prices are the cheapest. The ANC seems to be more concerned about the businessmen and elite in the townships and not the poor families who depend on the foreign-owned spaza shops for cheaper loaves of bread and cups of rice.”

Spaza shop owners are livid about the proposals. (from IOL) 

Blame Whitey (what the Spear taught me)

The controversy over the Brett Murray painting The Spear has brought the racial fracture lines of South Africa front and centre. Art is what you personally make of it. Interpretation is everything. The "outrage" which has been stirred up by the ANC in particular has had a decided racial angle about it. Why did the race of the artist matter? Senior counsel Malindi had to concede in court that the matter was not about race, yet the ANC continued to cast it as such.

The change in racial discourse in the past two months has been noticible. The victims of the piece are "blacks in general" and the villains are "the whites". The racial epithets are used without questioning whether they are valid. Continuing to use the racial classification of pre-1994 shows that we have learned nothing from history. .
 

The time of blaming failure on apartheid is over. Now is the time to blame "whites". Julius Malema set the alarm bells ringing with his black and white view of the world. To hear it from Kgalema Motlanthe was sad.

Where has the president been while all this has been happening? Absent as usual? No. 

The SABC describe how:

"At the end of his keynote address to the National Union of Mineworkers' conference held in Kempton Park last Wednesday, visibly-hurt and emotionally-shaken President Jacob Zuma broke into a liberation song titled: "Senzeni na?" (What have we done "to deserve this cruel racist treatment"?). Never before have I seen Zuma in such a shaken and troubled state of emotional composure."

The president is out there playing the victim. He's not out there vacuously promising jobs any more, he's playing the race card. After his advocate had conceded that it was not about race in court he's back at it. I have to wonder if the president was able to push some fake tears? A worthy performance from the same man who has been totally silent when our black brethren are beating on their African brothers. 
 

Justice Malala asked Paul Mashatile the ultimate question of why he "as a black person" should be offended by the painting. There was no answer. 

I am tired of being racially classified. I keep paying for the colour of my skin. Try and transform as I might I just don't seem to be turning "black". From now on I am going to have to challenge all attempts at classification with "Hold on - if you are going to want to use racial classifications then you are going to have to have an authority to determine what race people are." Calling me "white" is an insult. It is up there with "you people" "coloured" "Indian" "coolie" "hotnot" "nigger" "spick" "kaffer" and "blacks in general".  

One Party State by Brett Murray. Interpret it as you please or will.

Diversity