Johannesburg – Joburg mayor Herman Mashaba has extended an invitation to any citizen who feels aggrieved by comments he made pertaining to undocumented foreigners to notify him.
Mashaba’s comments at the beginning of this month resulted in a backlash after he described illegal immigrants occupying abandoned buildings in Joburg's inner city as criminals.
The ANC greater Joburg region last week said it was disturbed by his comments and vowed to take him to the SA Human Rights Commission.
"This is not a matter where we can put our heads in the sand and not deal with them,” Mashaba said.
He was speaking to the media at St Mary’s Cathedral in Joburg on Sunday, where he was attending the mass Eucharist service.
“I advise them to look at other international bodies where I can be reported to, so that it can give us as South Africans an opportunity to openly discuss this very important matter that is threatening the future economy of our country.”
During his “100 Days in Office” speech two weeks ago, Mashaba said illegal immigrants without documentation in Joburg were linked to criminal activity in the city and called for their deportation.
This angered foreign communities, which have described his comments as reckless and shameful, to the extent that the African Diaspora Forum has organised a march to his office scheduled for December 19.
The forum’s chairperson, Marc Gbaffou, said the mayor should focus his energies on repairing derelict buildings rather then making irresponsible and harmful utterances.
“He made those comments without backing them up with facts or figures. He has no evidence to back up what he said. He does not have proof that people occupying those buildings are illegal migrants or criminals,” Gbaffou said.
Meanwhile, Mashaba said his visit to the cathedral was part of the plan to revitalise the inner city after the previous administration allowed it to fall into ruin. He said he was there to register his awareness of the challenges faced by the church and that they would be working with the church to preserve it as it was a heritage site.
“The church is going through a difficult time due to the declining number of churchgoers. The church said one of the contributing factors is the crime in the surrounding area,” he said.
“People are too scared to attend the services. The filth around the precinct and the shebeens have been given liquor licences to operate in the vicinity. So I needed to come and show them that I'm committed to working with the church to correct this problem,” Mashaba said.
He added that his tenure would be defined by bringing an end to the grime in the city through a legal framework to ensure that the rule of law was brought back into Joburg
Police presence had been increased in the inner city but the metro police needed 1500 extra officers, he said.