Leader of the African Transformation Movement (ATM) Vuyo Zungula has indicated that President Cyril Ramaphosa’s first five-year term has been disastrous for the country.
He said in the midst of crime, load shedding and an immigration crisis, the country has become a laughing stock.
Zungula blamed Ramaphosa for recently engaging an illegal foreigner at his spaza shop in Soweto and failing to hold the spaza shop owner accountable for his illegal stay in the country.
On Tuesday, Zungula addressed the National Assembly during a parliamentary response to Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation Address (Sona) delivered last week.
“Mr President, it is a reality that things are worse off for the country as compared to 2019. There has been an increase in load shedding, unemployment, crime and the cost of living. To prevent the collapse of the country and restore the dignity of the people, the following must happen: the government must stand against all these establishments that are selling fake foods and the environmental health practitioners must be employed and deployed to remove all unsafe foods from being sold to our people.
“Mr President, the fact that you went to a foreign trader, who is probably not even legal in the country, not paying taxes and selling fake and expired foods whilst our children in Soweto died of fake foods last year, and you did not go to their families, let alone condemn the action, shows how much you disregard South Africans who have been calling for the government to act against illegal immigration and foreign domination of the local economy,” Zungula said.
He called for government to act fast in securing the country’s borders to prevent the illegal immigration crisis.
“Mr President, the rate at which illegal immigration is happening in our country can’t be characterised as illegal immigration anymore. It is an invasion. The government must criminally charge all these companies that are employing people who are in the country illegally. There must be an end to load shedding,” he added.
However, Home Affairs Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi has revealed that he has mandated mayors to do an audit of spaza shops operating within their municipalities.
The minister was speaking to Newzroom Afrika on Tuesday following a recent Gauteng High Court ruling that ruled against a group of illegal foreigners who were detained for contravening SA laws.
“There’s a resolution that every mayor must conduct an audit on spaza shops in their area. They must conduct that audit and hand it over. If the owner is illegal, we will start the process of deportation; if he’s legal, we will demand that the spaza shop be registered because we are insisting that municipalities must start registering spaza shops and when they register them, they must also register them for tax,” said Motsoaledi.
The Star