Deputy Speaker, one of the most enduring legacies of the anticolonial liberation struggle across the continent has to be the principled commitment to the unity of the African continent, unity not just of borders, but a principled commitment to a unified people, unified in culture and love for one another.
Our forefathers knew then, as some of us know now, that Africa will never break away from the curse of colonially imposed underdevelopment if the continent does not unite. That is why, at the formation of the Organisation of African Unity, OAU, Kwame Nkrumah made this important submission, that only a united Africa functioning under a union government can forcefully mobilise the material and moral resources of our separate countries and apply them efficiently and energetically to bring a rapid change in the conditions of our people.
Here in our own country, at the formation of the South African Native Congress in 1912, overriding objective was to unite the African people, so that there is no longer Xhosa, Zulu, Venda or Tswana, but simply African people united by their past and their future. We are disheartened therefore, that in 2019, we still have a false sense of narrow nationalism creeping over and threatening our aspirations for a united Africa. Nationalism without commitment to Pan Africanism is reactionary.
Firstly, let us state unequivocally that we believe that the recent upsurge of attacks against our African siblings from other countries was sponsored by the state. The main catalyst of these events was the unfair raiding of foreign owned shops in Johannesburg Central Business District, CBD. We say this was unfair, because these kinds of raids are only presented for African nationals. No one raids China Mall, where most counterfeit products are sold.
Secondly, we must also dismiss the dominant narrative out there, that African nationals are taking ordinary South African's jobs. South Africa's high unemployment has nothing to do with the
presence of African nationals in this country. Even if you were to take all of them out, we will still remain with high unemployment rate. The main reason for unemployment in this country is government incapacity to build a strong developmental state, which will ensure that the country is able to build its manufacturing sector, to create jobs for the people.
Thirdly, South Africa is a haven for hardened criminals from all over the world. It is easy for criminals to conduct their operations with frightening impunity, because the state has failed to do its job properly. There is no capacity to conduct proper investigations, to prosecute successfully, and to keep those in custody disconnected from the outside. This then gives criminals dealing in drugs free range to do as they wish.
There are Nigerian criminals doing drugs, as much as there are South African criminals, and criminals from East European countries. The targeting of Nigerians only as the main cause of the drug problem in this country is merely an expression of hatred from black people in general. Targeting Zimbabweans for joblessness is a complete misreading of the real causes of
unemployment. Even if the allegations were true, there is no excuse for the barbaric killing of murder of people on the streets. We cannot be a country that allows for self-help at this level.
We therefore, urge the police to do their job properly. All those looting, beating, and killing people must be apprehended and prosecuted. All those dealing in drugs, in human trafficking, and in murder must be investigated, arrested, and prosecuted. It does not matter which country they come from, there must be zero tolerance to criminal activity of this kind.
Lastly, as the EFF, we would like to apologise to the rest of the continent for this self-hatred demonstrated by our countrymen and women, and our government tacit encouragement of these criminal acts.
We condemn the attacks of African nationals in this country, and we urge South Africans to cool down, and redirect their anger to the state and those who stole our wealth, white monopoly capital. The decedents of colonial looters are responsible for
our poverty and suffering. In honour of Kwame Nkrumah, Julius Nyerere, Robert Mugabe, Ben Bella, Haile Selasie, and Sakou Toure, we condemn all forms of xenophobia. Thank you, Deputy Speaker. [Time expired.]