Johannesburg mayor, Herman Mashaba, makes U-turn on foreigners, condemns planned demos against immigrants

Johannesburg mayor, Herman Mashaba, who has been on record accusing foreigners of fuelling crime in South Africa’s commercial capital, made a U-turn yesterday when he issued a statement condemning planned demonstrations against immigrants.

Part of the statement reads:

Protests against foreign nationals are not a cure for joblessness and crime. I am deeply concerned to hear reports of xenophobic attacks and planned protests, which aim to target foreign nationals residing within communities across Gauteng. I would like to state outright that I condemn xenophobia and my administration will do everything in its power to prevent any outburst of xenophobic violence in our city. There is no place for xenophobia in the City of Johannesburg.

He said that instead of planned xenophobic marches, the national government should be held to account for its failure to create meaningful and sustainable economic growth for our country and to secure South Africa’s borders. Mashaba recently courted controversy after he lashed out at foreign nationals doing menial jobs in South Africa, accusing them of fuelling the crime rate, particularly in Johannesburg.

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