Xenophobia: ‘South Africa is nothing without the rest of Africa’ — MTN Group Chairman condemns anti-foreigner sentiment

South Africa’s economic growth and future are inextricably tied to the rest of the continent, and the country is “nothing without Africa,” MTN Group Chairman Mcebisi Jonas declared in a sweeping and unsparing condemnation of ongoing xenophobic violence and anti-foreigner sentiment.

Delivering a deeply political eulogy at the funeral of Zimbabwean-born activist and public servant Thokozani Damasane, the former South African Deputy Minister of Finance turned private-sector leader issued one of the most direct interventions by a major African business figure on the country’s immigration crisis. He forcefully pushed back against the narrative that removing foreign nationals would solve South Africa’s socioeconomic woes, attributing the crisis instead to state failure and cynical political exploitation.

“Foreigners can leave tomorrow – inequality will be with us,” Jonas told the congregation. “Foreigners will leave tomorrow – unemployment will be with us. Foreigners will leave tomorrow – our police will remain corrupt. Foreigners will leave tomorrow – our politicians will still be concerned with one thing: being elected and re-elected.”

He placed responsibility for the crisis squarely on the South African government, arguing that weak law enforcement and failing systems have created fertile ground for political manipulation. “The problem is the failure of the state. The state doesn’t manage immigration. It doesn’t manage its borders. It doesn’t enforce law enforcement. It doesn’t manage education. What are you expecting?” he asked.

When citizens feel the burn of state failure, Jonas noted, they become vulnerable to opportunists. “When people feel the burn, they become vulnerable to politicians whose sole purpose is to be elected and re-elected. Some of them have no credibility whatsoever. But they lead marches and tell our people that the problem is not us – it is foreigners.”

Beyond immediate political failures, Jonas offered a sharp historical critique of tribalism and ethno-nationalism, describing them as colonial inheritances designed to divide African people. “The tribe is a product of colonial powers,” he argued, noting that ethnic divisions were historically amplified to enforce indirect rule.

He lamented that this colonial logic has mutated into the engine driving contemporary xenophobic violence. “You would see in the streets, it’s no longer about whether you are from South Africa or not from South Africa. It’s about the tribe, it’s about who you are, you are not like us, and you are different, and therefore we have to persecute you. Something fundamental has been lost in our country. Something fundamental has been lost in our nations,” Jonas said.

He did not spare liberation movements, including South Africa’s own, criticizing them for sustaining ethnic divisions for political gain. “Liberation movements still sustain this thing of tribes – Zulu and Xhosa – and we sustain this thing as if it is real. It is in our heads. We’re creating it because it makes us feel big. Identity politics – we must banish them in our country. Ethno-nationalism is something that in this country we must banish.”

Reflecting on the life of Damasane, who relocated to South Africa post-apartheid, Jonas recalled the late activist’s commitment to his adopted home. “He immersed himself deeply into the struggles, into the pains of South Africans, and he became one of us,” Jonas said. “In Damasane’s strength, our strength as South Africa and South Africans are reflected. And in his weaknesses, our own weaknesses are reflected.”

Drawing on a past conversation where Damasane warned a young South African that in 15 or 20 years, they too might want to leave their country, Jonas noted the tragic prescience of those words. “As I stand up today, I look at South Africa. The level of oppression and inequality, the level of exclusion of our people, the level of corruption, the betrayal of the dream of liberation – those words of Damasane ring very loud in my ears.”

By grounding his message in continental solidarity, Jonas reminded his audience of the economic realities of a connected Africa. “We are a nation embedded in Africa,” he concluded. “And without Africa, our growth as a country – economically – our fortune is intertwined with the growth of Africa. South Africa is nothing without Africa. And Africa is nothing without South Africa… We cannot judge people by their origin. We cannot determine the legal status of people by their origin.”

The post Xenophobia: ‘South Africa is nothing without the rest of Africa’ — MTN Group Chairman condemns anti-foreigner sentiment appeared first on Vanguard News.