By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) leader and Cape Town mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis has called for calm and urged South Africans to reject vigilantism, ahead of planned anti-migrant protests.
South Africa is bracing for protest action on 30 June by anti-illegal-immigration groups.
He was speaking about the state of our country, political developments, the challenges ahead, and the way forward to get South Africa working for all.
Hill-Lewis acknowledged anger felt by many South Africans over unemployment, crime, corruption and ineffective governance. However, he stressed that these challenges should not be used to justify attacks on foreign nationals.
“South Africans are not a hateful people,” he said. “We are a decent, generous and resilient people. Let us once again show the best of who we are, not the worst.”
Hill-Lewis warned against politicians and vigilante groups who, he said, exploit economic hardship by scapegoating foreign nationals for South Africa’s broader challenges. “Our frustration must never become hatred, and it must never become violence,” he said.
While emphasising that immigration laws must be enforced, Hill-Lewis said this should be done lawfully and with respect for human dignity. “If people have come to our country illegally, the law must be applied, but it must be applied with the full knowledge that we are dealing with human beings, “he said.
He argued that South Africa’s current challenges stem from years of corruption, weakened state institutions and a sluggish economy that has failed to create sufficient jobs.
According to Hill-Lewis, the solution does not lie in vigilantism but in rebuilding state capacity and strengthening law enforcement institutions.
He also called on national, provincial and local governments to work together to prevent violence and uphold the law.
He said he had contacted President Cyril Ramaphosa to encourage cooperation across all spheres of government in addressing the situation.
Hill-Lewis argued that South Africa’s most pressing challenge remains economic stagnation rather than the presence of vulnerable migrants.
“South Africa’s deepest problem is not a vulnerable person selling vegetables on a corner who happens not to be born here,” he said. “It is an economy that does not grow, a state that does not work, and a government that has failed to create jobs, secure our borders, fight crime and deliver basic services.”
In 2008, xenophobic riots left more than 60 dead — some burned alive by mobs — and tens of thousands displaced. There were deadly riots again in 2019. This year, so far, a Malawian and several Mozambicans have been reported killed.
South Africa’s official unemployment rate is one of the worst in the world at over 30%, with youth unemployment at over 60%. They also blame the country’s high crime levels on foreigners.
But the data shows neither problem can be blamed solely on immigration, but rather years of economic stagnation and government mismanagement.
Ramaphosa has tried to calm tensions, but the xenophobic feeling here is so entrenched now that he’s walking a fine line between condemning any violence and capitulating to some of their demands.