HARARE – Former South African President Thabo Mbeki has distanced foreigners from being the source of his country’s economic challenges after deadly xenophobic attacks that have erupted in the past have been linked the controversial belief.
Zimbabwe’s rich neighbour is home to a giant African migrant population with both documented and undocumented Zimbabweans forming one of the largest group of foreigners.
In a recent address to students at the University of South Africa, in Pretoria, Mbeki admitted the South African economy is in crisis but absolved foreigners from being the cause of the problem.
He denied ordinary South Africans were hostile towards fellow Africans.
“Since the beginning of diamond mining in the 19th century, later gold mining and all that, this country has seen lots of Africans from the rest of the continent moving to this country.
“The issue of many other Africans being present with us is not new and historically, the indigenous African community has never ever been hostile to other Africans coming from other African countries.
“Take the old townships; Alexandra township in Johannesburg. That township has always had people from all over the continent with no friction…historically, the African community here has never been xenophobic to other Africans.
“2008, all manner of trouble breaks out in Alexandra township in Johannesburg, attacks on fellow Africans particularly Zimbabweans.”
Mbeki said the May 2008 attacks that killed 44 foreigners and displaced many more were ignited by unnamed forces who were keen to drive Zimbabweans back to their country to go and vote out then President Robert Mugabe.
Zimbabwe was staring a run-off election pitting Mugabe against his opposition MDC nemesis Morgan Tsvangirai, who had just won an inclusive poll in March 2008.
Mbeki, who was President at the time, said an intelligence report on the attacks in South Africa unearthed that there were forces that sponsored the attacks in an attempt to drive the giant Zimbabwean migrant population in South Africa to go and vote Mugabe out.
“That thing was organised to drive Zimbabweans back to Zimbabwe because there were elections in Zimbabwe,” Mbeki said.
“It was people who were driven out; there were going to vote against Bob (Mugabe) in Zimbabwe.
“It’s presented as a xenophobic attack …but it was wrong.
“…It was organised, systematic for a political purpose.”
Mbeki admitted the South African economy was in crisis but not because of the presence of foreigners.
He said it was incumbent upon South African authorities to invent solutions which include using laws to deal with illegal migration and not just limit it to erecting electric fences to block entry via illegal points.
“It’s incorrect to think that that economic crisis is caused by people who have come from the rest of the world,” Mbeki said.
He reminded South Africans of the sacrifice that was put behind his country’s bid to end apartheid before 1994.
