A picture taken on July 23, 2021 shows members of the African National Congress (ANC) protest at the Phoenix Police station in Phoenix, north of Durban to demand the police investigate the killing of over 20 Black South African allegedly at the hands of vigilante groups and those responsible for the killings be arrested. - Armed community members and vigilante groups have stepped in to tackle unrest in South Africa, taking matters into their own hands and sometimes stoking violence as security forces struggle to restore order. (Photo by RAJESH JANTILAL / AFP)
The ANC should shoulder the blame for ethnic tensions that often erupt in KwaZulu-Natal and elsewhere in South Africa because it had failed to dismantle the apartheid setup that used ethnicity as a basis for human identity and economic progression.
KZN-based political analyst Xolani Dube said instead of breaking up apartheid, the ANC had embraced its structures post 1994 by letting people live in racially exclusive areas.
Yesterday, Ramaphosa said much of the narrative around the events in Phoenix during the recent riots had been dominated by attempts to turn one race against another.
“It has been stoked by anonymous people on social media and in messaging groups making outrageous claims and calling for revenge. There is an attempt to present this as a sign of imploding race relations between African and Indian communities,” said Ramaphosa.
That was not the only area facing these challenges.
ALSO READ: ‘Rights commission has no moral authority to probe Phoenix racism,’ says NGO
In his weekly online newsletter, Ramaphosa conceded government’s efforts to build integrated communities had been frustrated by the legacy of apartheid planning and persistent inequality.
“Our cities, towns and rural areas are still all divided by both race and class. This discourages cooperation and understanding, and hampers the work we have undertaken to build a non-racial society,” he said.
However, efforts were being made to address fear and mistrust in Phoenix and neighbouring Bhambayi, Zwelitsha and Amaoti. A SA Police Service-initiated peace forum had been established in partnership with community leaders.
Ramaphosa said the communities had come together to support those affected by the unrest and to open channels of dialogue.
Dube, from the Xubera Institute for Research and Development, said the ANC was using apartheid structures in its governance, which often resulted in racial tension.
The tribal and ethnic tension emerged because there was a lack of leadership in the country to guide people away from judging one another on the basis of ethnicity or tribalism.
“We don’t have strong leadership and this is worsened by the fact that the country’s economic distribution is skewed against the natives,” said Dube.
“This is not the only part of the country confronted with such challenges. The ANC adopted and kept intact the interpersonal divisions created by apartheid. As a result, we still continue to see pockets of ethnic tensions. The ANC never tampered with or dismantled apartheid structures.
ALSO READ: Phoenix violence not a race issue, but ‘police’s incompetence’
But Dube said this could be addressed through proper economic distribution.
“Indians are not the problem. Zulus or Amampondo or Xhosa are not the problem. The problem is the ANC that does not address these issues.”
“The issue is how do we distribute the economy to benefit all South Africans equally, and natives in particular. The ANC failed to control the real issues facing our country.”
He said people should not rely on the ANC but must resuscitate their pre-1993 community structures to govern them.
“People must do away with the ANC. They must elect their organic leaders, not these microwaved ANC leaders,” he said.
Download our app and read this and other great stories on the move. Available for Android and iOS.
