We can’t guarantee attacks won’t happen again – South Africa

South Africans have said they
cannot guarantee that there will
not be xenophobic attacks in the
country again.
On Wednesday, President Jacob
Zuma convened a stakeholders’
meeting in Pretoria, South Africa, to
discuss the country’s migration
policy and how various sectors can
work with the government “to
promote orderly migration and
good relations between citizens
and other nationals.”
In a statement issued by office of
the Presidency which was made
available to our correspondent, the
meeting began by observing a
moment of silence for the seven
people who were killed in the
recent attacks against foreign
nationals in the country.
The meeting was attended by
various stakeholders from
government, business, sports, trade
union movement, religious leaders,
community formations, youth
formations, children, disabled
persons, traditional authorities, arts
and sports groups.
The statement read in part, “The
meeting reaffirmed that the
overwhelming majority of South
Africans, including leaders
attending the meeting that they
are not xenophobic. The meeting
was unanimous in its
condemnation and rejection of the
attacks against foreign nationals.
“The meeting concluded that it
couldn’t guarantee that these
attacks will not happen again,
unless urgent solutions are found
to address genuine concerns that
are raised by South Africans. The
meeting further agreed
overwhelmingly in conclusion that
the attacks must stop and that all
South Africans must be part of the
solution.”
In his opening remarks, President
Zuma outlined some of the
concerns from South Africans about
some foreign nationals, which
included unfair business practices,
drugs, and influx of illegal foreign
nationals.
He stated that the attacks were
impacting negatively on South
Africa’s reputation. The violence
has also occurred at the time when
the country will be hosting the
World Economic Forum and the
African Union Summit in June this
year.
“These attacks are not a small
matter, nor are they a matter for
government alone but for all of us
as South Africans. We don’t need
another occurrence of these attacks
in our country,” Zuma said.
The President also briefed the
meeting on the measures
undertaken by the South African
government since the attacks
started and progress made.
According to the statement, the
stakeholders acknowledged that
there were genuine concerns
raised by South Africans and these
should be taken seriously.
However, they said there was no
justification for the attacks.
“The meeting decided to form a
committee comprising of
representatives of all stakeholders
who will work with the Inter-
Ministerial Committee announced
by the President to take
discussions of the meeting forward.
The meeting suggested that
government should convene a
colloquium where all stakeholders
should have a discussion and find
out what are the real causes of
these attacks and find solutions.
“Government should consider
establishing inspectors who can go
out to inspect and investigate all
the shops in the country in the rural
areas, townships and cities.
Government should also consider
looking very closely to the
movement of goods coming into
the country and ultimately into the
“spaza” shops in our communities,”
the statement added.
The South African Presidency added
that the South African Youth Council
would convene a meeting of the
youth sector in Pretoria on
Thursday, “to formulate a youth
response to the attacks.”