The DA has refused to apologise to Action SA leader Herman Mashaba for parading him as symbol of division and xenophobic sentiments in a DA SMS campaign.
The Star understands that the SMSes were sent to DA supporters and some members of the public. The SMS reads as follows: “Populists like Mashaba are fanning flames of xenophobia, which could lead to a repeat of last year’s riots & chaos.”
The SMS comes after a Zimbabwean national was killed in Diepsloot, north of Joburg in a mob attack. The area has been violently unstable with clashes between South Africans and foreign nationals that some have described as illegal and causing crime in the area.
DA MP Cilliers Brink said there were clear signs on Herman Mashaba’s twitter account that the leader was xenophobic and said the DA would not retract the SMS.
The DA said politicians who take advantage of popular anger and frustration such as Mashaba should take responsibility for the growing tension between South Africans and foreign nationals from parts of Africa.
“Herman Mashaba and ActionSA are typical cry-bullies and opportunists. They want to exploit popular anger and frustration, diverting attention away from the failures of the ANC and government. But when violence breaks out as it did in Diepsloot last week, they refuse to take responsibility. In the past Mashaba has referred to foreigners as carriers of Ebola, and said that nobody without a South African ID should be allowed to run a business. He’s also attacked the appointment of foreigners in the education department (presumably without regard to whether their skills might be useful to South Africans). It’s all there on his Twitter timeline. But when you challenge him as the DA has, he quickly backtracks and loses the courage of his convictions,” Cilliers said.
The DA called on the police to carry out their duties effectively in Diepsloot.
This comes after reports that some members of the police service were targeting foreign nationals and asking them to name body parts in South African language.
“The breakdown of law and order and the dysfunctionality of home affairs are at the heart of the crisis. A failing ANC-led government creates the conditions for opportunists to fan the flames of xenophobia.
South Africans need a police service that works and that is trusted, and home affairs officials that don’t have to be bribed to do their work.
We also need to remove the obstacles to economic growth, so that there is confidence to invest in SA and create jobs.
The chaos and tragedy that played out Diepsloot last week undermines economic confidence, and reinforces the idea that SA is a lawless country,“ Cilliers said.
In a statement Mashaba, said the the party was not xenophobic at all. At the same time he said the rule of law was one of the founding pillars of Action SA.
“ActionSA has a clear policy position on immigration that has been stated many times on record. We want the people of the world to come to South Africa but, in accordance with the Immigration Act, they must come here legally and, once here, obey our laws. This position is consistent with every self-respecting country in the world,” Mashaba said.
Mashaba said the DA SMS was designed to do nothing more than invoke fear into what is left of the DA’s suburban support base by triggering the memory of a terrible time in our country where people lived in real fear.
“It is a demonstration of the DA’s increasing irrelevance in South Africa and their efforts to scare people to support them for lack of any other reason. We call upon all South Africans to reject the DA’s tone-deaf politicking on the real pain and tragedy that has unfolded in Diepsloot and to try and re-create the fear that terrorised South Africans during the July unrest of last year,” Mashaba said.