As the debate on migration rages, do not dare blame foreign nationals who left their homes in search of a better life and livelihood.
The real culprits are unpatriotic individuals who sold the country to the highest bidder, in breach of their fiduciary duty to the public.
The narrative that “foreigners have hijacked our cities” is convenient subterfuge.
The truth is more damning — in some cases, corrupt South Africans accepted bribes for the unauthorised leasing of government and private buildings in strategic CBDs across the country.
In every major city, we find pockets of public infrastructure that have been surrendered to unscrupulous businesspeople trading outside the established commercial laws of the country.
Streets and businesses have been turned into enclaves where some South African authority figures became willing participants in issuing illegal leases to fortune-seekers who arrived on our shores empty-handed.
SA has been failed by its own citizens — not by one person, but by a network of officials who act ultra vires.
A number of trading general dealers that once contributed to revenue generation and job creation were handed over to visitors for a pittance.
Several government buildings in Mthatha, Komani, Butterworth and other small towns are, as we speak, in the hands of foreign nationals.
It is ill-advised to blame immigrants when it is we who enabled their infiltration and impunity
Our own law allows these individuals, regardless of their immigration status, to use admissible evidence in court and challenge eviction through injunction and litigation.
Some of them exploit the system ab initio. Others do not pay tax, preferring to trade and keeping cash.
The worst thing is that in some of these businesses indescribable crimes are committed, including illegal abortions.
It is ill-advised to blame immigrants when it is we who enabled their infiltration and impunity.
Those tasked with inspections and revenue collection dare not enter foreign-owned shops to check compliance.
Expired products are sold on every corner. Let me be forthright that this is not a practice confined to only foreign nationals’ businesses.
Some formal retailers are also not removing expired goods from shelves, because food inspectors “zife zithwele umnqwazi” (they come only to collect a bribe).
We cannot continue to blame people escaping hardship from their areas of origin when we have allowed our country to resemble a post-war zone.
Foreign nationals are not responsible for the dereliction of duty that has brought SA to its knees.
High crime rates, violence, open borders and the looting of public infrastructure in broad daylight are the products of South African complicity. Syndicates operate in every sector.
Batteries that run communication towers are stolen. Mineral resources are pilfered from disused mines. Our country is being turned into a banana republic.
It is some government officials who sell South African passports and essential documents to illegal foreigners and drug dealers. These documents are then used for human and drug trafficking across borders.
We have taken our hard-earned democracy for granted.
In 2003, we kept quiet when the SAPS narcotics unit was disbanded.
More than 20 years later, health facilities cannot cope with the number of drug victims requiring medical and rehabilitation services.
The future is bleak unless we confront the truth — SA’s problem is not foreign nationals. It is South Africans who betray their own country for pro bono gain and short-term profit.
We cannot apportion blame outward while our own officials engage in perjury, corruption and the sale of state sovereignty.
If we want to save this country, we must start by enforcing the law without fear or favour.
That means holding to account every official who has acted ultra vires, every syndicate that operates with impunity, and every citizen who has abandoned the principle of fiduciary duty.
Until then, we are not a democracy in crisis. We are a democracy committing suicide.
Sizwe Kupelo is a government spokesperson and former journalist. He writes in his personal capacity
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.