As South Africans prepare to head to the poll in 2024, many questions hang in the nicks of the politicians.
Due to cheap popularity and endeavor to win elections, these usually front a believable lie that migrants steal jobs from South African nationals. Such pronouncements have led many disgruntled locals to the streets in bouts of violence.
This is however to forget that immigrants are largely skilled and have better education than many locals. This as a result compels them to perform complementary tasks with locals, leading to creation of more economic opportunities.
Many politicians have come up with several recommendations on how the Government should tame the run away immigration. They usually front the deportation of undocumented migrants as the only solution to the problem at hand.
Some say that the undocumented migrants should be booked into flights and buses and hurled to their countries of origin.
My suggestion is that human beings should not be subjected to this level of unspeakable cruelty, without due legal process. Humanity should not be cast to the winds just because a political upstart wants to win a few thousand votes. This is a disgrace to South Africa as a beacon of democracy on the African continent.
This quest for power is an abstract to humanity and spirit of Ubuntu, which was fronted by the late Nelson Mandela.
Hiding under the pretext of challenging illegal migration, many South African politicians have perpetuated the narrative that migrants, particularly those who are undocumented, are responsible for the high unemployment rate.
They also say that migrants orchestrate crime. My belief is that this is xenophobia at its best.
This narrative should be stopped forthwith if South Africa is to be at the helm of the league of nations who promote democracy as well social and economic advancement of the millions of people around the world who have been sidelined due to inhumane policies like apartheid.
