NAFCOC forms unity between foreign nationals and locals

He said their efforts did not yield good results as foreign nationals, at that time, did not have leadership and structures at a local level. He said they only had structures and committees nationally.

“It was difficult to work with them at a local level. We did not know who to talk to on their side, we needed someone who was going to make sure that the decisions that were taken were implemented. It was even difficult to understand how they work in terms of protocol. But still, the NAFCOC leadership tried to work with ward councilors, local business people and foreign nationals to calm the situation that had caused friction between locals and foreigners,” said Ratswana.

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He said after xenophobia broke out again in September 2019, they, along with Task Team from Kathorus, led by Duma Radebe, felt the need to assist foreign nationals to form a joint committee called Business Working Team, led by Amir Sheikh from Somalia. Sheikh is also the chairperson of the African Diaspora Forum.

Ratswana said NAFCOC in Ekurhuleni, Task Team from Kathorus, as well as Business Working Team,  had a number of meetings addressing issues affecting local people and concerns from local business owners.

Such concerns included foreign nationals selling fake and expired goods; not having proper documentation to run their businesses; not having signed lease agreements between them and their landlords and as a result they sleep and bathe where they sell food that people eat; not employing local people; unfair competition as they sell at a very low price; not having a closing time of their business operating hours and not respecting the by-laws.

He also said local business people complained about foreign nationals having warehouses where they manufacture their own products, which they sell to the community.

“Local business owners consider this as a deliberate way to destroy local spaza shops,” said Ratswana.

The three committees sat down and came up with a solution that would work for both locals and foreign nationals.

First, they agreed to promote unity among businesses around Ekurhuleni and that they must pool their resources together and develop a programme of action.

They also agreed to educate the community and make them aware of their unity.

They also agreed to correct all concerns locals had about foreign nationals spaza shops.

The three committees also agreed and even signed a contract giving NAFCOC a right to lead future negotiations between the three committees.

They also agreed that they would have an open-door policy. This means small businesses that are not part of the programme of action are going to be allowed to be a part of it.

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In an interview with Kathorus MAIL on October 8, Ratswana said they also agreed to stop calling them foreign nationals.

He said all businesses owned by foreign nationals are now NAFCOC members.

Sheikh said as Business Working Team, they are happy with the outcome of the meeting between them, NAFCOC and Task Team.

“We have a two-way relationship. Firstly, we will help our members to live legally in the country, run legitimate businesses and make sure they stop selling counterfeit and expired products.

“Secondly, we will empower NAFCOC members in terms of entrepreneurship development and work together buy in bulk. We have identified that the cause of attacks on migrants is the socio-economic challenge they pose in local communities. We found ways on how we can work together to bridge inequality between foreign nationals and locals,” said Sheikh.

Radebe said, “We are happy as Task Team that after all the looting and attacks on foreign nationals, we have finally come up with the solution that will make us work well together with foreign nationals.”

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