Political economy of Xenophobia: Cry the Beloved Country

INTRODUCTION

Allan Paton, the famous South African author of “Cry the Beloved Country”, as they say, might be turning in his grave, watching from afar what is happening in South Africa with the recent spate of xenophobic killings and attacks. What has sparked off this orgy of brutal killings in one of Africa’s most promising democracies and economies? What is happening to the “Rainbow Nation”, so labeled by the Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu? Where is the much praised Ubuntu philosophy that helped South Africa to overcome the post-Apartheid revenge and blood-thirst feelings that gave way to truth and reconciliation?

Many commentators are in utter shock at what South Africans are doing to fellow Africans, given the massive support many African countries offered during the anti-apartheid struggle. Is it a case of selective amnesia? Is it that the ordinary South Africans have no clue about what many Africans did to liberate South Africa? Whose fault is it that the “Rainbow Nation” has given in to xenophobic violence?

This article suggests that the post-apartheid political transition in South Africa did not fully address the political economic question, and hence the xenophobic violence which is a symbolic expression of a deeper grudge against an unjust and unequal economic growth. This, however, should not justify xenophobic violence, but rather should put it into a broader perspective the South African post-apartheid reconstruction and distribution of resources. There is a material basis for xenophobia and to address it, radical policy imperatives are required. But in the short term, the South African government, the African Union and the international community need to act swiftly to prevent xenophobic violence from escalating into a humanitarian and security nightmare.

HORROR IN THE RAINBOW NATION AND CAPE OF GOOD HOPE

The “Rainbow Nation” has gone through very horrifying xenophobic violence that has left at least 8 people dead (numbers could be higher). Property has been destroyed. There have been thousands of trekkers heading to neighboring states of Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Mozambique. Some who came from distant countries such as Nigeria, Uganda, Kenya and Ethiopia could only find safety at a stadium in Durban. While the recent xenophobic attacks started in the Province of KwaZulu Natal, they quickly spread to Soweto and Johannesburg. Pictures on social media depicted poor immigrants boarding buses and others carrying luggage heading to unknown destinations. There is anger, fear and frustration across the African continent, since most countries have a good number of people working in South Africa.

Some media headlines tell the tale of horror: “Foreigners tell of being ‘hunted like dogs’ in South Africa”; “South Africa attacks spark anger abroad”; “Zimbabwe to bring home nationals caught in S. Africa attacks.” Mobs brandishing sticks and machetes roamed streets hunting for foreigners. What sparked off this xenophobic violence?

Like any major social upheaval there cannot be one cause. Some were quick to point fingers at Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini as having incited his subjects in a speech where he alluded to foreigners being the cause of insecurity, a charge he has denied. He was quick to make a public statement clearifying that he was not in any way calling for the expulsion of foreigners. “A word said is an arrow let to fly”—hard to retract a statement. This goes to indicate the challenge of mixing modern state systems with traditional political systems. One may recall Prof. Mahmood Mamdani’s thesis of “Citizen and Subject” in his celebrated book: “Citizen and Subject: Contemporary Africa and the Legacy of Late Colonialism.” South Africans are at once citizens of a modern state (or even ultra-modern) and at the same time memebers of kingdoms and chiefdoms where chiefs and kings wield immense power and influence politics and public opinion. The Zulus are close to 12 million, making them the largest ethnic community in South Africa. Such a group with a strong cultural identity and a political system that predates the modern South African state system is a force to reckon with.

Fortunately the South African government has come out strongly to condemn the xenophobic attacks and measures have been put in place to address the issue. President Jacob Zuma’s public statement has given some relief and hope that a solution can be found. In his 20 April 2015 message, he had this to say: “Any problems or issues of concern to South African citizens must be resolved peacefully and through dialogue. The police have been directed to work round the clock to protect both foreign nationals and citizens and to arrest looters and those committing acts of violence.”

CAUSES OF THE VIOLENCE: A POLITICAL-ECONOMIC PERSPECTIVE

Xenophobic attacks do not just erupt in a vacuum. The first widespread xenophobic attacks took place in 2008 and officially 62 people died. All observers of South Africa’s political economy point to a chasm of inequality amidst affluence. The economy has been steadily declining and stands at a 1.5 percent growth rate. Unemployment stands at around 25 percent with the youth unemployment at double that figure. Recently there has been a wave of labour unrest around mines due to low wages. It was recently announced that Nigeria has overtaken South Africa as Africa’s top economic giant. One can safely infer that such economic decline can spark off social unrest.

It is also true that many Africans see South Africa as a land of opportunities. The top 10 universities on the continent are all in South Africa offering comparably excellent education that can easily rival some schools in the West. Given that South Africa has limited qualified local personnel to run the ultra-modern economy, it has attracted many skilled and unskilled Africans. Figures are not easy to find but the neighboring countries such as Zimbabwe, Malawi, and Zambia have a close to a million immigrants in South Africa. Ethiopia is estimated to have about 50,000 immigrants there. Think of Ugandans, Congolese, Tanzanians, Rwandans, and Somalis. These immigrants are no doubt contributing to the growth of South Africa’s economy, but they also attract feelings of resentment among locals who might see their presence as in invasion. Even President Zuma in his message mentioned the benefit of these foreign nationals in contributing to South Africa’s cosmopolitanism.

Like all highly urbanized societies, where you find an amalgamation of many nationalities, you also find petty and grand crime. This crime and insecurity cannot be blamed on foreign immigrants alone, since South Africa has had a reputation of a high crime rate right from the days of apartheid. We are looking at a society wounded by a long period of social and political stress.

Then there is the discomforting fact of why so many immigrants are heading South. What is going on in the respective countries of origin? If the conditions in these countries were so attractive, the citizens would not be moving in huge numbers to look for greener pastures. Some soul-searching is needed among the respective countries where the immigrants originate.

Within South Africa itself, there is an amount of political contestation symbolized by Julius Malema’s Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party. The main critique that EFF is making against the ANC is that the plight of the poor has remained unattended to. Many youth have remained unemployed while the ruling elite of the ANC are sitting pretty. Elections were held last May and EFF managed to get some seats in the legislative assembly. Malema’s disruptive drama during this year’s State of the Nation speech by President Zuma took many by surprise. Could this xenophobic violence be a proxy war against ANC or some other complex political game? It is too early to tell.

SOUTH AFRICA IN AFRICA

Before Nigeria overtook it, South Africa was Africa’s largest economy—do not ask how Nigeria pulled off this. By 2013, South Africa was Africa’s biggest investor overshadowing China and the EU who still dominate investment in Africa when we consider monetary terms. South Africa’s multinational companies are known across Africa: telecoms (MTN), banking (Standard Bank; retail (Shoprite), and food (Tiger Brands). Since these investments are in the service sector, they help the rest of Africa to create jobs, and have therefore initiated a paradigm shift from overdependence on natural resources extraction. Given South Africa’s massive investment in the rest of Africa, one wonders why the xenophobic feelings emanating from the “Cape of good wines” as South Africa is nicknamed by some. After the xenophobic attacks erupted, some angry people were even suggesting a boycott of South African goods and services. This would be a dangerous path, of course, since it would hurt the African continent badly. But the frustration and anger that generated this line of thought is understood.

South Africa is considered by some observers, like Prof. Patrick Bond of the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal, as a sub-imperial power in the African continent. Mention is made about BRICS—a trans-continental regional integration body comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Why would South Africa join this body when it is part of regional bodies SADC and COMESA? The geopolitical configuration of BRICS seems like like an alternative power to compete with the global economy hitherto dominated by the Western imperial powers. In fact there is some growing resentment in the rest of Africa about South Africa’s growing economic and political hegemony.

A quick look at some of the top companies in Africa by 2013 shows how indeed South Africa is Africa’s giant economy: [1]

This is why many Africans are moving down South to have a piece of the pie come what may. Of great interest is the appearance of Aliko Dangote, the Nigerian billionaire who has curved a niche for himself and is the richest African on the continent. While South Africa has some of the wealthiest individuals among the black community such as Cyril Ramaphosa, they do not come anywhere near Dangote’s business empire. South African indigenous entrepreneurs are still a work in progress and they are yet to proved by the test of time.

The hundreds of companies based in South Africa are what are attracting a lot of immigrants both legal and illegal. Another international political economy issue is the ownership of these multinational conglomerates. If one uses a world systems theory, South Africa looks by all intents and purposes like a semi-periphery or entry point of global capitalism. This implies that some of the contradictions of the global capitalistic economy will be played out in South Africa: exploitation of cheap labor to maximize profit; tension between labor and capital; diminishing role of the state as the capitalist market takes the upper hand; and social unrest as a result of failure to resolve these contradictions. South Africa has the sufficient intellectual and political capital to address these contradictions, but political economy has some surprises.

WAY FORWARD: A ROBUST REGIONAL INTEGRATION MODEL IN THE SPIRIT OF PAN-AFRICANISM

South Africa’s freedom is the result of many sacrifices that front-line states made to end the apartheid regime. Many African countries played a crucial role in supporting ANC’s liberation struggle. The ordinary South Africans have no excuse for not knowing this basic fact. The government should make this point loud and clear and even be proactive in including this in the education system of South Africa.

South Africa is part of SADC that includes Tanzania and DRC. It is high time SADC joined the other regional integration blocks—East African Community (EAC) and COMESA to form a large regional block to ease movement of people, goods and services. The anticipated tripartite arrangement to combine SADC, EAC and COMESA come June should address this issue of forging greater regional integration. The lesson from EAC is telling. The countries of Rwanda, Uganda and Kenya have expedited regional integration and citizens from these countries are able to move around the region with just an ID. Citizens from these countries can look for jobs or even settle in any of the three countries dubbed the “coalition of the willing.” Tanzania and Burundi that are part of EAC are still making up their mind on this rapid integration. You do not hear much talk of “taking our jobs” in the three countries of Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda. Every country has some comparative advantage.

If the entire region of East and Southern Africa stretching from the Cape to the Horn of Africa were to form one economic and later political block, this would make a huge economy with plenty of job opportunities, market, and exchange of ideas and knowledge for a population of about 600 million people.

South Africa can also take the lead in promoting pan-Africanism. Even at the highest diplomatic level, the AU Commission Chair is Dr. Nkosozana Dlamini Zuma from South Africa. This is the time for the continent to prove itself and use the xenophobia violence to champion African unity, with South Africa taking the lead.

At the domestic level, South Africa will have to come up with a clear and comprehensive immigration policy that reflects the Ubuntu philosophy of hospitality and generosity. There is a lot to share and participate in across the continent and so countries that are tightly closing their borders and guarding jealously what they call “our jobs” are deluding themselves and delaying Africa’s rise to economic prosperity. Africa Unite, you have nothing to lose but poverty.

* Odomaro Mubangizi, PhD, teaches philosophy and theology at the Institute of Philosophy and Theology in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

END NOTE
[1] Data from African Business, June 2013, 20.

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