Council of Churches sets up national dialogue on foreign nationals living in SA

The South African Council of Churches (SACC) has announced the establishment of a national dialogue on foreign nationals living and working in South Africa.

This follows the emergence of anti-immigrant groups, such as Operation Dudula and the Alexandra Dudula Movement, who have been targeting illegal foreign nationals in the country, accusing them of taking scarce jobs from locals.

National indaba

Amid fears that the protests by the vigilante groups could spark another wave of xenophobic attacks, the SACC said the national indaba was critical as it sought to fully understand the challenges faced by locals and foreign nationals.

ALSO READ: Cabinet condemns clashes between Dudula Movement members and foreign nationals

Additionally, the council said it wanted to interrogate the factors behind the tensions between locals and what it refers to as “non-South Africans”.

“We have identified that a major contributor to this is the depth of poverty gnawing at the life opportunities of what the SACC refers to as the excluded majority, South Africans who are historically outside of the main fabric of the economy.

“The excluded majority are largely located in the poor communities of our country, where there is much contestation for livelihood opportunities between poor South Africans and non-South African persons,” said SACC general secretary, Bishop Malusi Mpumlwana, in a statement.

Mpumlwana said the tensions were a result of the failure of South Africa’s democratic government to achieve the “promise of the post-apartheid South Africa”.

“The failure to achieve this makes for the growth of a scarcity mentality that grips poor communities in the absence of hope,” he said.

“It must be noted, however, that the campaigns against non-South Africans are not confined to the poor communities, as they also reach to the professionals and other middle-class environments, as has begun in the case of foreign doctors,” he added.

The proposed national indaba has been earmarked for 21-23 June 2022.

It will bring all interested parties to one process of engagement, in an organised and structured manner, with the intention of finding lasting solutions.

Proposals

The SACC appealed to the public to submit their proposals in writing to nationbuilding@sacc.org.za at the SACC for the attention of the secretariat of the national indaba.

“Our request is that these public submissions must be solution-focused, aimed at presenting their recommendations for how these challenges should be resolved in the short and long-term.

“This includes all those individuals who may have previously used different channels to share their thinking; we invite them to re-submit their thoughts through this formal process.”

The deadline for all interested parties to submit their proposals is 31 March 2022.

 NOW READ: Six arrested after violent clashes in Alexandra