The lethal debate now engulfing South Africa and the deliberate distortion of public demands will soon extrapolate into a full diplomatic nightmare if left unchecked.
Ghana has already airlifted 300 of its citizens from South Africa and is reportedly considering the non-renewal of a mine operating licence for a South African company. Bilateral trust is being decimated while Pretoria dithers.
South Africa needs a perspicacious, evidence-based definition of its immigration crisis. The circumstances that birthed this situation are clear: porous borders and dereliction of duty by those entrusted with enforcing the law.
For decades, immigration enforcement has been badly managed and the rule of law treated as anything but sacrosanct.
Influential figures comment on the issue oblivious of the grave concerns of most citizens. They resort to the adversarial and antagonistic communication of dangerously labelling South Africans as xenophobic, with no scientific evidence.
The contrivance is preposterous. For decades South Africans have embraced foreigners, black or white. Proof exists in the population of children of different nationalities born to South African women and in foreigners integrated into communities around the country.
Authorities have dismally failed to manage immigration and neglected laws regulating immigration and asylum seekers. All parties — the government, some foreign governments, and affected groups — have misunderstood the call against undocumented immigrants.
This contrivance has resulted in threats to South Africans legally living in some African states, with calls for retaliatory deportations.
South Africa and the world must understand: we face contraventions of the law, not xenophobia. Yet the government’s response has been weak.
What was required was a huge communication plan to educate the public and deal with unregistered immigrants believed to number in the millions. Instead, hubristic behaviour and obdurate refusal to shift course have dominated.
Communications management remains one of the biggest problems.
Everyone speaks in different voices. There is no decorum. The plurality of messages dissipates clarity and creates confusion. Inability to speak in one voice is a real threat to this democracy.
The unregulated social media space is abused by locals and commentators abroad. Threatening and inflammatory messages are delivered daily.
The current discourse is vitriolic and acrimonious and characterised by insults and counter-name-calling. It is not good for the country.
Politicians must observe the thin line between opposition and co-managing the country. Government communications urgently needs a protocol defining when the head of state should address issues and give directives.
The time to allow indefinite political scoring and electioneering must end.
On the crisis at hand, ministers must desist from vitriolic and threatening language and instead talk to prevent June 30 gatherings. The actions we witnessed so far have been so insidious that stability is now under threat should the June D-Day go ahead. Prevention is better than cure.
We cannot allow July 2021’s history to repeat itself, nor do we want 1976 to repeat itself under another cause with the same detrimental consequences.
Some officials have given a mendacious account of events, while others displayed a plausible deniability that fools no one.
The complainants are vicious in tone, yet despite that they remained tenacious in demanding accountability.
- Kupelo is a government spokesperson and former journalist. He writes in his personal capacity.
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