Days after June 30 in South Africa

FINALLY, THE UTOPIA those South African vigilante gangs expected has arrived. Everywhere is bubbling with economic activities; groceries sellers are making brisk business, commercial bus drivers are carrying overloaded passengers and running many more daily trips, the streets are dripping with honey and residential houses for rentals are experiencing a boom with oversubscription from prospective tenants. Banking halls are filled with protesters who are now depositing the proceeds of their street activism, plus incomes from their own businesses and the newly employed South Africans who have now retrieved their jobs from the foreign invaders. 

One of the leading protesters has assured on TV that they can create one million jobs within a year. His logic was simple: by substitution. You take out one million immigrants and give their jobs to South Africans. This is just the beginning. Big factories are about to spring up, owned and run by South Africans. Big farms will soon be opened by South African commercial farmers on the lands they have reclaimed. Expect bumper harvests, overflowing revenues and bigger revenues as rewards for the recent protests that have succeeded in driving the foreign African job snatchers away. Are these not happening faster than expected?

Wrong!

Events unfolding are providing indicators to aid in the prognosis on South Africa after the June 30 deadline imposed on immigrants of other countries of origin in Africa. Following nationwide anti-immigrant protests and an unofficial June 30 deadline, waves of looting and xenophobic violence targeted foreign-owned shops across South Africa. Criminals hijacked peaceful demonstrations to ransack businesses, particularly in KwaZulu-Natal and parts of Johannesburg, prompting massive police and military deployments.

In KwaZulu-Natal, townships west of Durban, including Clermont, KwaDabeka, Mariannridge, Hammersdale and Umlazi reportedly experienced severe looting. For example, the Lovemore Supermarket in Clermont was completely gutted, losing over R1 million in stock. In Johannesburg, violent protests and store lootings were reported in Alexandra, Germiston and Ekurhuleni. While the protesters operated without let or hindrance, over 900 suspects were arrested nationwide by the South African Police Service (SAPS) in connection with the unrest, public violence and theft. What impression does this crisis create to the world about South Africa?

The June 30 anti-migrant protests may be over, but South Africa remains on edge. More than 400 arrests have been made since. South African companies are now hiring citizens to replace immigrant workers who have left the country. This follows heightened scrutiny on employers. The situation is too early to clearly assess as numerous businesses deliberately exploited migrant workers by underpaying them to bypass labour laws. Organised labour and local groups are now demanding strict implementation of labour laws to prioritise citizens for available roles. But that comes with its peculiar problems. 

South Africans are accused of poor work ethics and unrealistic expectations, yet they want paid employment. Many of them want pensionable jobs with a good pay package and additional incentives. Paradoxically, however, they are known to decide when to report to work and when to leave, citing human rights that may not allow them to retain private sector productive real sector jobs. It is instructive that South Africans are not accustomed to small scale private businesses. 

There are jobs typically ignored and looked down upon by native South Africans. According to Julius Malema, “these people who come from outside South Africa are the ones doing those jobs during harvesting seasons in Stellenbosch, where they are not paid anything. And you will never want to do that job because we don’t want slave jobs. We want jobs that have got appointment letter, with benefits, with pension funds, a letter that can confirm that you are economically active. Not jobs that are going to exploit South Africans.”

In the same South Africa, while the protesters are wildly going after undocumented and even documented African immigrants, they seem to omit the undocumented Chinese, Pakistanis, eastern Europeans and Latin Americans. Those who capture a bigger pie of the economy are not affected by the campaign against immigrants. The issue of undocumented foreign nationals seems more of a campaign to reside in a particular socio economic level where people are fighting for scarce economic resources. Part of an unresolved Apartheid political economy is feeding into concerns of being forced into a small basket where people who entered the country not though the right ways become easy targets.

Instead of violence against African immigrants, South Africa needs policies that don’t leave foreigners in doubt of safety and security. Rather than arbitrarily targeting other Africans living in South Africa, policies that should be put in place should specify the businesses and areas reserved for locals. A kind of economic affirmative action should be established, with many years planned ahead on how to integrate South Africans into business. A change of orientation is needed, such as making South Africans have a better working culture. For instance, many South African men won’t show up at work on a Monday because of a weekend hangover, whereas foreigners that are mindful of sending money back home to their families will not miss a day at work.

In South Africa, SPAZA shops are very popular. A spaza shop is a traditional, informal convenience store run out of a home, garage or shipping container in South African townships and rural areas. They are vital to local communities, providing everyday essentials like bread, airtime and basic groceries on credit to neighbours. Often called “tuck shops,” they act as the backbone of the township economy, offering walk-in access to goods without requiring transport to distant supermarkets. Shelves are typically stocked with local favourites like maize meal, Ouma rusks, Simba chips, and canned goods. It seems as if South African protesters are upset that foreigners are venturing into this area and are doing a lot better than the locals.

The South African government supports local entrepreneurs through the Spaza Shop Support Fund (SSSF), which provides permits, infrastructure upgrades and inventory to qualifying local business owners. Operating a Spaza shop, especially from the start, requires navigating both business basics and local regulations. Owners must secure trading permits and business licences from their local municipal authority. Spaza shops are the small street corner grocery shops or supermarket outlets, predominately found in South Africa’s Black populated areas or townships. The setup 

is such that they generally operate from modified shipping containers or converted garages to minimise overhead costs. Successful shops rely on strategic wholesale buying and often use digital inventory trackers or point-of-sale systems.

The problem with the Spaza shops is the inefficiency in its management by the South Africans. It seems the uncoordinated expulsion of foreign Africans in the operation of SPAZA shops will create a supply chain vacuum that will prompt conglomerates to take over. This will consolidate the business of sales of commodities hitherto by Spaza shops into the hands of a few bigger operators, particularly the Whites who want to take over and control the entire economy. Now, closing down Spaza shops will only lead people into going to the big supermarkets, putting them further into the unemployment market.

The implication is likely to be counterproductive in the sense that small operators will be swept off in competitive markets, thereby rendering them further unemployed. They will likely open the door to supply chains conglomerates that will flood the country with few franchise subordinate companies. Since the locals fear the Whites, this will hinder South Africans from enjoying the overall contributions of small scale shops to a nation’s economy.

South Africa is so vital to Africa. But the country is now defined by vigilantism, Afrophobia and violence. Sadly, South African politicians, including President Cyril Ramaphosa, are playing politics with the immigrants. They are not vocal against the vigilantism of Operation Dudula or the March and March gang. The politicians obviously fear public backlash if far reaching liberal policies that keep foreigners of African origin in South Africa are pursued. They echo or reinforce the narrative that immigrants are taking the jobs of South Africans. The truth is actually the opposite. Immigrants are creating jobs for them. 

Seeing half-naked men parading the streets, especially in KwaZulu Natal district, unchallenged and even aided by police presence, is a direct confirmation of official complicity. If the argument of the agitators is about undocumented immigrants, then the politicians and those in government ought to be creative and innovative about fashioning a seamless path to their being documented, including diplomatic liaison with embassies of affected countries. But to beat, haunt, harass, intimidate and loot the shops of foreigners can only instil fears in people’s minds. The reality is that South African blacks are suffering from Stockholm syndrome. They love their White tormentors – who still control 70 per cent of their land – and hate fellow blacks. 

The political invisible hands at work are aiding and abetting the protesters, making the environment so toxic to the extent that people are selling their items and leaving. Belated and veiled diplomatic statements of Ramaphosa do more harm than good. The passive tone, the apologetic gestures and failure to read riots act to those on the street show clearly that, in his closet, his heart is with them. Why not arrest the leaders of the vigilantism gangs and make public examples of them as a deterrent to others? Among those atrocities the vigilante gangs have committed, people have been killed,  many shops have been looted and even documented immigrants have been maltreated. 

Through their utterances, some individuals have led others to commit murders and led others to lose their properties. Now, South African authorities are attempting some forms of damage control. Sending envoys to other countries is one of them. One wonders about what the ambassadors of South Africa to those countries of Africa could have said to pacify them. Clearly, President John Dramani Mahama was not buying diplomacy after the damage done to Ghanaians in South Africa by the vigilante non-state actors. Ghana reportedly turned down a request for a state visit by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.

According to Ghanaian official sources, the decision followed sustained tensions over recent xenophobic violence in South Africa. The planned visit, which was expected to take place in early August, was reportedly declined to avoid possible public backlash and protests in Ghana while emotions around the issue remain strong. Ghanaian officials claim the safety and dignity of their citizens remain a top priority, urging South Africa to take concrete steps to address the attacks and guarantee the protection of foreign nationals before any future high‑level visit can take place.

Among other allegations by the vigilante groups to justify their actions, they claim that crimes in South Africa are mostly perpetrated by immigrants, particularly Nigerians. However, existing official documents prove such claims as false. For instance, statistically, 99 per cent of those in jail are South African men. Why not deal according to the law with the foreign criminals when caught? Why go after them through extrajudicial means? Considering African integration when South Africa is treating foreigners this way, it could be asked if South Africans are ready for reciprocal measures from other countries. It is doubtful if those protesters have ever travelled outside South Africa.

Nearly one million South Africans live in other African countries. Many corporate entities belonging to South Africa are making huge fortunes in other African countries. South Africa needs to brace for serious backlash from these countries. The implementation of African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) will experience setbacks, especially against South Africa. In many more ramifications, South Africa looks set to face the grim consequences of the recent outrage against fellow Africans of other nationalities. Quantifying the magnitude, depth and duration of the consequences may be too early as realities of the aftermath of forced eviction of foreign Africans in South Africa are just beginning to unfold. In a matter of time, South Africa will wake up to realities different from its fantasies.

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OLUKAYODE OYELEYE

Dr. Olukayode Oyeleye, Business a.m.’s Editorial Advisor, who graduated in veterinary medicine from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, before establishing himself in science and public policy journalism and communication, also has a postgraduate diploma in public administration, and is a former special adviser to two former Nigerian ministers of agriculture. He specialises in development and policy issues in the areas of food, trade and competition, security, governance, environment and innovation, politics and emerging economies.