Johannesburg – The chickens have come home to roost.
When the ANC government threw the borders open back in the 90s, the party did not anticipate the perfect storm it was creating.
It was simply deaf to the warnings over the years to safeguard our borders and regulate the migration of people who were flocking to SA from around the world.
Over a decade ago, foreigners were attacked in what came to be known as xenophobic attacks, which the government thoughtlessly denied.
Former president Thabo Mbeki dismissed the labelling of the attacks and claimed that xenophobia could not exist among a people of the same race.
When then Johannesburg mayor Herman Mashaba tried to deal with the illegal immigrant problem in the city, former home affairs minister Malusi Gigaba could not even grant him an audience to deal with the problem.
Now Gigaba’s successor, Aaron Motsoaledi, is bearing the brunt as he belatedly tries to halt the trek to Mzansi.
The joke of a fence erected to halt people jumping the border into South Africa from neighbouring countries during the pandemic has proven ineffective.
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So, here we are now being deemed unaccommodating when Motsoaledi tries to close the stable door.
The government does not even know the number of foreigners in this country because thousands of them are undocumented.
Home Affairs is a cesspool of corruption as many foreigners pay bribes to be documented.
Last year saw the attacks on foreign truck drivers by the locals who claimed to be overlooked for employment. The restaurant sector is also known to favour foreigners as waitresses.
In a country with high unemployment, this is a powder keg bound to explode in our government’s face sooner than later.
The competition for scant resources by the people at the bottom of the pyramid is a perfect storm that will fuel mayhem in the townships. If you take a stroll in my neighbourhood of Cosmo City, north of Joburg, you will be correct to imagine you have stepped in Bulawayo or even Abuja.
The outcry over the deportation of undocumented foreigners last week is misplaced. Botswana, a country that prides itself on strict law enforcement, routinely kicks out border jumpers and ignores the backlash.
It will be interesting how the ANC deals with the problem of immigration. But the signs on the horizon are not encouraging. The masses are restless and rumours of impending attacks on foreigners should be taken seriously.
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