The xenophobic violence that swept KwaZulu-Natal last year was sparked by deliberate efforts to drive away competition from foreign national-owned businesses.
That is one of the findings of a special reference group (SRG) report on migration and community. The report, released in Durban on Tuesday, also flagged the lack of intelligence available before the outbreak of violence and noted that unfounded rumours and misinformation, including on social media, fuelled community anger.
A seven-member SRG, led by Judge Navi Pillay, assessed the attacks on foreign nationals and the successes and shortcomings of initiatives aimed at reducing tensions.
It was tasked with recommending long-term solutions to the violence.
KZN Premier Senzo Mchunu on Tuesday promised the ushering of a renaissance in relations between the province and other African countries to improve “people-to-people” relations.
“On behalf of the people of KwaZulu-Natal and the KZN provincial government in general, we reiterate our commitment to ushering a new era of KZN renaissance,” Mchunu said.
The xenophobic attacks took place between March and May last year. Seven people died and many were injured, while thousands were displaced.
In the report’s foreword, Pillay said the socio-economic challenges in the country laid a foundation for increased competition for employment, basic social services and business communities within and between communities.
“These tensions were amplified greatly in the informal trading sector, where the success of traders who are foreign nationals are perceived to have come at the direct expense of their local counterparts.”
She said as local communities felt threatened by the overwhelming competition, foreigners had felt they had yet to achieve meaningful acceptance within the communities where they had lived for years.
“These underlying challenges are amplified by tangible gaps in the implementation of a number of policies, which led to anxieties among locals and left foreign nationals increasingly vulnerable within their communities.”
Pillay said the SRG had found the immediate cause of the violent attacks was the result of deliberate efforts to drive away competition by foreign national-owned businesses.
“The trigger of the outbreak was the perception of what occurred at KwaJeena’s Supermarket, Isipingo, at the end of March 2015 which was later found by a government investigation to be without substance.”
Some of the SRG’s findings are:
* Most of the allegations against foreign national traders were found to be perceptions not based on facts.
* Unfounded rumours, misinformation, fake videos and images and exaggerated headlines and social media heightened anxieties.
* Foreign nationals were vulnerable irrespective of their immigration status.
The SRG has recommended the formation of platforms to reduce tensions between local and foreign informal traders.
It also recommended sensitising civil servants on rights and documentation of foreign nationals.
It recommended education campaigns in schools on diversity and cohesion as well as the need to speak out against hate speech, derogatory and discriminatory language.
Mchunu committed his executive council to ensuring the report’s recommendations were implemented. An implementation roll-out plan had been adopted, he said.
Daily News
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