Don’t practise your ubuntu at the expense of South Africans, Herman Mashaba tells Mmusi Maimane

Former DA and The People’s Dialogue colleagues Herman Mashaba and Mmusi Maimane had social media timelines heating up this week with their debate on foreign nationals working in SA.

Immigration has been a hot topic in politics over the last few months, with the Patriotic Alliance “inspecting” local stores owned by foreign nationals for expired goods and the EFF visiting restaurants to check the ratio of locals employed.

Maimane weighed in on the conversation recently, saying “when we scapegoat our African brothers and sisters we are going against our values ​​and demonstrating a lack of vision and appetite to fix the real problems”.

He shared an article, published in the Citizen, in which he said there had been a failure to create jobs and that banning foreigners from certain jobs was nothing more than scapegoating for the real failures.

He added that creating tension between foreigners and South Africans was a political trick that goes against the principle of ubuntu.

Mashaba weighed in on the debate Maimane's comments sparked, telling him to not use ubuntu at the expense of South Africans.

“Please, Mr Maimane, don't practise your ubuntu at the expense of South Africans. I thought you believed in the rule of law to build a capable state. You can’t build a country when you are selective in the application of your country’s laws,” he said.

Mashaba has been vocal for several years on the need to clamp down on illegal immigration, with many branding him a xenophobe.

In 2017 the African Diaspora Forum laid a complaint at the SA Human Rights Commission against Mashaba for allegedly making comments that could spark xenophobic attacks. These included allegations that the administration was “declaring war against illegality in our city” and comments linking undocumented immigrants to criminality.

The forum later reached a “historic” settlement with Mashaba on the matter.

“I personally condemn all forms of xenophobia. Foreigners are welcome in SA and immigration continues to add richness to our society. No-one should be discriminated against based on their country of birth or origin,” Mashaba said last year.

He also told his Twitter follower that ActionSA’s position on immigration was “misunderstood” and “mischaracterised”. 

“As ActionSA, we want people of the world to come to SA, but they must do so legally. And when they are here, they must respect our laws.”