Writer Padraig O’Malley observed that the 1976 Soweto uprising took the ANC by surprise, but that the organisation proved “adept at clinging to the coattails of the revolution and later claiming ownership of the entire coat”.
That sums up what is currently happening with the problem of illegal foreigners in South Africa. Not so long ago – a matter of months, in reality – the ANC would attack anyone who raised the issue and accused them of xenophobia.
Then came the Krugersdorp gang rape, which was blamed on foreign zama zama illegal miners from Lesotho. And suddenly, ANC apparatchiks, like its national spokesperson, Pule Mabe, were having a full go at foreigners allegedly stealing food out of the mouths of locals.
This week, Limpopo health MEC Phophi Ramathuba jumped on the antiforeigner bandwagon, haranguing a Zimbabwean patient for clogging up “her” hospital. And home affairs minister Aaron Motsoaledi has been getting increasingly hard on expelling Zimbabweans whose temporary residence permits have expired.
ALSO READ: Cosatu’s shutdown flop should give ANC sleepless nights ahead of 2024
The ANC’s flip-flop is even more dramatic than the ones regularly made by Julius Malema and the EFF… and indicates the ruling party has suddenly become aware that the non-policy on illegals may well cost it the 2024 election.
It has also tumbled to the fact that Herman Mashaba’s ActionSA party has almost become the voice of the angry, voiceless, ordinary South Africans who are barely keeping their heads above water.
Focusing on foreigners is a great diversionary strategy, because it seeks to blame them for all of the ills – from overcrowding in hospitals, to the lack of jobs – which the ANC has had a major hand in causing in the first place. Illegal immigration is such a hot-button topic that the ANC’s tactics might succeed in pulling the wool over the eyes of some voters.
