Herman Mashaba, Mayor of
Johannesburg, was being interviewed by CNBC Africa and asked whether he too
would apologise, as President Cyril Ramaphosa had done.
"There's nothing for
me to apologise. We have the responsibility to get the president to get Home
Affairs about the documentation [of foreign nationals]. What do you expect me
to apologise for?" Mashaba said in the interview, which was broadcast on
Tuesday evening.
Ramaphosa apologised for
the latest xenophobic attacks at the memorial service for former Zimbabwean
president Robert Mugabe in Harare on Saturday.
"I stand before you as
a fellow African to express my regret and apologise for what has happened in
our country. What has happened in South Africa goes against the principles of
the unity of the African people that presidents Mugabe, Mandela, Tambo and the
great leaders of our continent stood for," Ramaphosa said.
On Monday, Energy Minister
Jeff Radebe, on behalf of Ramaphosa, apologised for the attacks to Nigerian
President Muhammadu Buhari in the capital Abuja.
Series of deadly attacks
Johannesburg and
surrounding areas were rocked by a series of deadly attacks on foreigners in
recent weeks, with many directed against Nigerian-owned businesses and
properties, AFP reported.
At least 12 people were
killed in the violence that left hundreds of shops destroyed. Ten out of the 12
people killed were South Africans, the government has said.
No Nigerians were killed
according to South African authorities, but the violence led to condemnation
across Africa, particularly in Nigeria, fuelling diplomatic tensions between
the continent's two leading nations.
The violence also prompted
reprisal attacks against South African firms in Nigeria and the temporary
closing of South Africa's diplomatic missions in Lagos and Abuja.
Last week, almost 200
Nigerian migrants were repatriated back to Lagos, Nigeria's commercial capital,
following the unrest.
During the same interview,
Mashaba said, although he wouldn't apologise, he was not xenophobic, saying he
called on people of the world to come to South Africa. "We welcome people
of the world to come to South Africa. How can that be xenophobic?
"What I want is the
rule of law," he added. "For me, people who are advocating for
lawlessness are xenophobic because they encourage chaos."
Upholding the law is not
xenophobic
In an op-ed piece in
Afrikaans Sunday paper Rapport, Mashaba wrote about "the timidity of those
in power, particularly National Government, when confronted with the issue of
undocumented immigration in South Africa".
"South Africa is
rightly a signatory to international agreements that recognise and protect the
rights of refugees and immigrants. However, upholding these rights does not
require us to turn our backs on our own sovereignty as a democratic state.
"Our Constitution is
founded on values that include the supremacy of the Constitution and the rule
of law. We also have the Immigration Act that sets out clear legal requirements
for those entering our country.
"Countries all over
Africa and the world insist on the right to protect their ports of entry and
process those entering their country. They also have the right to deny you entry
or deport you should you be there unlawfully, rights which are staunchly
protected.
Herman Mashaba, has said
that it was not necessary for South Africa to apologize to Nigeria for
xenophobic attacks.
He made this known in
reaction to the envoy sent to Nigeria with a letter of apology from President
Cyril Ramaphosa.
“No, there is nothing for
me to apologise about,” Mashaba said on CNBC Africa’s Political Capital on
Tuesday.
“What do you expect me to
really apologise for?”
“We are not going to turn a
blind eye on such evil crime happening under our watch,” Mashaba said, adding
that “the country [South Africa] also owes an official apology to the 10.2
million unemployed South Africans who are today without jobs as a result of
billions of counterfeit goods being brought illegally into the country, killing
local manufacturing”, he said.
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