Poverty and policy drives xenophobia in South Africa - South Africa promotes the African Continental Free Trade Area — yet its immigration and labour legislation is becoming increasingly anti-African
I have just come from a work trip to Accra, Ghana. Accra is one of my favourite cities on the continent. It is a bustling coastal city that offers a culturally rich and cosmopolitan experience. In every subsequent visit to the city since my first trip some 15 years ago, I see progress — the improved Kotoka Airport, better roads, telecommunications and tourism infrastructure and better social services.
I am an Afro-optimist but every time I travel on the continent, it coincides with increased threats of violence by South Africans against African immigrants. So, I don’t want to write this column. I feel uncomfortable when I am asked to explain why South Africans hate Africans so much when I am in other countries. This resurgence of xenophobia, anger and debates on whether South Africans are “inherently xenophobic” hasn’t got us far.
The post-apartheid government would initially try to rectify this position, by adopting a more African-immigrant sympathetic view alongside the African Renaissance narrative. There has been an increase in the incidence of unfavourable views toward immigrants, particularly since the late 1990s, with perceptions of immigrants low and deteriorating fast.
Still, the government thought something should be done about a problem it often claims doesn’t exist. The inflation rate remained high throughout this period, surpassing the 3-6% inflation target set by the South African Reserve Bank in 2016 to hit 6.5% before easing down to less than 4% in 2017.
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