Ntuli links anti-illegal immigration protests to unemployment crisis
At the same time, ANC Secretary General Fikile Mbalula has praised South Africans for remaining peaceful during the protests and reiterated that immigration enforcement is the responsibility of the state, not private groups.
KZN Premier Thami Ntuli believes the anti-illegal immigration protests on Tuesday exposed the province's deep unemployment crisis.
Economic exclusion
He sais the large number of working-age men and women who took part in the demonstrations in Durban, Pietermaritzburg and other parts of the province on a weekday highlights the extent of economic exclusion.
“The frustration that drove people to march is not simply about the presence of undocumented migrants. At its root, it's about competition for scarce work, about pressure on housing, schooling, healthcare, and public safety, and about communities that have been waiting too long for an economy that includes them.”
Speaking during a briefing Thursday afternoon, Ntuli said the government will convene a roundtable on developing the local economy.
He says among other opportunities, there will be a focus on the spaza shop sector to help create jobs.
Skills development priority
The Premier also said government will engage stakeholders to shape its response to the impact of foreign nationals leaving the province.
“It's exactly going to address the issue of the skills that for if we are short of the people to drive the scooters, then as government you'll have to come in at various levels, local government and federal government to fund such skills so that we'll have people who will be ready to take over.
“There is a lot of work, but what is important is that we must start from engagements so that our planning will be informed by the inputs from various stakeholders.”
He added that managing the transition will require cooperation between government, the private sector and the public.
ANC urges calm
Meanwhile, ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula says South Africans rejected calls for a nationwide shutdown on Tuesday, with schools, businesses, public transport and clinics continuing to operate normally.
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Addressing the media, Mbalula thanked citizens for choosing peace and praised law enforcement agencies for maintaining order during the protests against illegal immigration.
He warned that no individual or group should take the law into their own hands.
“Where there was violence, intimidation, and looting because there was, the law took its course, and it will continue to do so. We have said it before, and we say it again. The enforcement of immigration law is the work of the democratic state. No mob, no march, and no self-appointed commander may take that power.”
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