Patriotic Alliance hits back at the xenophobic tag

By: Sello Theletsane

The Patriotic Alliance has hit back at allegations that it’s xenophobic and is targeting immigrants as retaliation to Somizi Mhlongo being barred from entering Zimbabwe.

The party’s deputy president Kenny Kunene found himself at the receiving end of backlash following an interview he had done with Newzroom Afrika’s Xoli Mgambi.

In the interview, Kunene gave examples of how the Zimbabwean government could implement a policy that barred homosexuals from entering the country, with the Mhlongo incident being one such incident.

However, that example was taken out of context. Many claimed that the PA’s call for illegal foreigners and those without scarce skills to be deported to their countries is retaliation.

Kunene explained that he used what transpired to Mhlongo as an example.

“Our stance has been clear from the beginning as a party that immigrants must go back to their countries. This is contained in our manifesto, and we are not apologetic about it. We don’t base our decisions on the issue of an individual, in this case, Somizi’s rejection in Zimbabwe,” he said.

Party president Gayton McKenzie told supporters that all illegal foreigners would be deported during its manifesto launch in Eldorado Park ahead of the elections.

“When the Patriotic Alliance takes over, I don’t care whether you are Chinese or from Mozambique; when PA takes over, you are going home. We are unapologetic, and we don’t want to see illegal foreigners in our country. As a legal immigrant, you must come with a skill we don’t have in South Africa. You can’t be a teacher or nurse, and we have enough of these skills in South Africa,” McKenzie said at the time.

Kunene added that the party was not targetting Zimbabweans. He said they were addressing the issue of immigrants in the country, including those from Europe, Asia, and America.

The party’s stance on the issue of immigrants appears to be in line with the rest of the continent, as many governments have spoken out against immigrants taking jobs from locals.

The ruling party in Zimbabwe, Zanu PF embarked on a campaign to ensure foreigners were not allowed to operate businesses in the economic sub-sectors reserved for Zimbabwean citizens.

This month, the Botswana government passed a law that seeks to ring-fence business activities reserved for locals and ensure foreigners don’t participate in those sectors.

In a statement dated 3 November 2021, issued by that country’s Ministry of Investment, Trade, and Industry, the government said it had noted foreign individuals and companies engaged in operating business activities reserved for citizens with great concern.

“Some of the businesses noted include wholesale, retail, and filling stations. The public and business community are hereby cautioned that such operations are illegal and are in contravention of the Industrial Development Act of 2019 and its Regulations of 2020,” it said.

The statement further indicates that action would be taken against the perpetrators. In South Africa, however, foreigners work in almost every industry, including in government departments.

According to a study by Wits which was published in 2020, approximately 5.3% of people of working age (15years to 64 years) across the whole of South Africa were born outside South Africa. The study found that 2 million foreigners are working in SA.

This is despite the country’s unemployment rate at a record high of 34.4% in the second quarter of 2021 from 32.6% in the first quarter.

About 27.1% of migrants work in the informal sector compared to 15.7% of South Africans.

12.4% of migrants work in private households as gardens, nannies, and domestic workers compared to 7.7% of South Africans in this sector.

In a bid to deal with the matter, the SA government has recently put in place measures to ensure that foreigners don’t get preferences in the trucking business. This comes after years of locals complaining that foreigners flooded the sector.