Durban - Xenophobic tension is simmering between local and foreign business people in Jamaica, Chesterville, where locals have ordered foreigners to stop trading and leave the area by the end of the week.
On Wednesday, the local business people, who have organised themselves into a small business people forum of about 30 businesses, visited several foreign-owned shops to tell them to close until further notice.
“They (foreigners) are opening tuck shops at every corner and it has become impossible for us to continue trading,” said Sibusiso Nzama, a member of the business committee. He faces stiff competition as there is a tuck shop about 100m from his business. Close to him there are three other tuck shops and a total of 10 in his ward.
He said as members of the business committee in the area they had decided the foreigners should leave by the weekend.
“We held a meeting on Tuesday to discuss what we are going to do and on Wednesday we decided to go on a door-to-door visit to all the people that rent out land to foreigners, telling them they should stop and foreigners must go.
“They arrive with containers already packed with goods and they can undercut us in any prices we charge, so the community will obviously buy from them.”
He said a number of the businesses in the forum used to operate in town but had to retreat from the towns to the township because foreigners had “taken over there”.
“Now they are moving into the township.”
He said asking the foreigners to leave was the most diplomatic approach to the issue.
“The eThekwini Municipality said there should be a meeting by Sunday, and we told them that Sunday was too far away. The meeting has been scheduled for Friday because the situation is urgent. If the municipality does not attend they should not bother and we will find ways to deal with the situation.”
A woman who lets land to a foreign tuck shop owner said she was now living in fear.
“They (local business people) woke us up early and there was a crowd telling us that the tuck shop should close and must move.
“This is very unsettling because if they decide to attack, and anything happens to this person, we could he held responsible.”
She said the foreigners paid rent, which they relied on.
“Should they be forced to leave, what will happen to us and how will we survive? The people who are fighting will thrive afterwards, but what will happen to the rest of us?” she said.
Ethiopian Girma Lemba said he was still trading and was expecting that a solution would be worked out at the meeing.
“My brother was working and he told me that people came here and told him to close the shop, I do not know why.”
Police spokeswoman Nqobile Gwala said they were monitoring the situation.
“We have received such information; however, no case was opened. The police are deployed in the area to monitor the situation. The businesses are operating as usual. No incidents have been reported.”
The Mercury