Initially I wanted to dedicate my blog post to the
magnificent and terrific performance displayed by my home-grown talented Youth
Choir, the Ndlovu Youth Choir at the America’s Got Talent (AGT) stage. One
would know how America values this show; by the way its citizens fill up every
seat ensuring a sold-out show. So for our talent to appear there and reach the
finals, even if they didn’t win is a feat compared to none. It’s a win on its
own! The Ndlovu Youth Choir really took our country and placed it at the
highest level in terms of art and talent. We saw this by the way they nailed
every son and the way they dressed on stage. I know America is one country that
isn’t shy to emulate. Soon you will see how they’re going to emulate the styles
and infusions of every song sang by this choir. Congratulations to this
amazing, talented choir of young people whom I know many of them will cherish
this moment forever. I see great things happening to this choir in the future.
Appearing at the America’s Got Talent was just the beginning.
But like I said, that
was what I wanted this blog to be about, until I stumbled on the remarks of our
Minister of Home Affairs Dr. Aaron Motsoaledi in this Sunday’s City Press, 22
September 2019 when he was addressing Parliament’s Portfolio Committee about
the issue of migrants in South Africa, especially those undocumented ones, who
are refugee seekers. This in the wake of a recent attack South Africans
inflicted on foreign nationals. The Minister’s address forced me to take a
detour from my initial intended purpose of this blog to address the issue, not
directly so about what Minister Motsoaledi was addressing at the committee but rather
what the whole country stand to gain from the recent attack of foreign
nationals by our people.
Africa will reject South
Africa. As a country we have been aware of how fellow African countries treat
us whenever we are in their shores and it isn’t good. Now imagine what they are
going to do to us now that we have killed and displaced many of their uncles
and Aunts, forcing them to flee here empty-handed. It’s not going to be a
pleasant one; they are going to make our stay in their home lands nasty, unpleasant,
volatile and dangerous. They are going to reject every item we export to them,
as they have already started doing so with businesses coming from here. We have
seen how MTN and Shoprite were recently forced to shut down their businesses
after they were attacked and vandalised. They are retaliating; they are
inflicting every pain possible just to show us that they are also capable of
doing exactly what we have done here. Dr. Aaron Motsoaledi tells Parliament’s
Home Affairs Portfolio Committee about the lamentations of International Judges
at the recent Conference about our judge’s judgements and how they impact on
them in their respective countries. The Minister even goes further and proposes
that we overhaul the entire country’s legal regime, citing an abuse to the
system as if we created that system.
One is tempted to agree
with him. As truthful as this may sound and be, particularly since we have seen
how some of this migrants abuse the refugee status. However this is not a
justification of a violent attack to any foreign national, whether they are
legal or illegal in South Africa. South Africans who continue these xenophobic
attacks without being slammed for it continue to cause calamity to fellow South
Africans who like to travel to other African countries. I agree with Miss South
Africa, Zozibini Tunzi when she said, “This is making things harder for me”
It is making things hard
for her and for some of us to make South Africa look great to foreigners
because we attack and kill them when they are here. Yes, we may put the blame
on the system, but it’s our very own people who abuse the system, making it
difficult to identify who is documented and who is not. What the Minister
should first propose is to do away with the current abused system and come up
with the new system, strengthen our border controls and pay officials well so
that they can be discouraged from accepting bribes.
Overhauling the entire
legal regime would not assist much, the people who allow foreigners in our country
illegally are the officials not those judges who passes those judgements or the
parliamentarians. Minister Motsoaledi should rather slam the violent manner in
which foreigners are attacked, deal with his systems and officials as soon as
possible. Then, just maybe then we can come up with a solution to address the
cries of those Judges at the International Judges Conference. Until then the
Minister should just stay away from the legal regime.
