South Africa politicians urged to boost anti-xenophobia service

As high demand for service delivery and jobs is mounting pressure township dwellers in South Africa are calling on politicians to "quickly identifying the immediate needs" of various communities to curb xenophobia violence in the country.

Thursday, one week after the municipal elections which were service delivery centered, Xinhua Correspondent in Johannesburg took time to speaking with voters in Soweto and Alexandra, the biggest and oldest townships in South Africa.

"They (politicians) must quickly identify the immediate needs in their communities and promptly solve them to avoid resistance and acts of xenophobia in townships," Dingindawo Bika of Alexandra told Xinhua.

Alexandra is where xenophobia violence that left 41 foreigners and 21 South Africans dead sparked in May 2008.

"We don't want this (xenophobia violence) to happen again in our country but the solution is with political parties and government to bring basic needs to the people," Elias Motsoaledi Village community leader Lucky Ngobeni told Xinhua Thursday.

"Although as community here we have agreed that we will not attack fellow Africans it might be difficulty for other communities to control people from taking such action," Ngobeni added as people in Motsoaledi settlement are anxious waiting better houses, water and electricity connections.

Motsoaledi is in Soweto where recently xenophobia elements on business owned by foreigners especially Somalis and Pakistanis have been reported.

Wednesday newly elected Ekurhuleni executive Mayor Mondli Gungubele declared "war against xenophobia" in his area as isolated incidents of attacks on foreign business people operating in some townships looms.

"Xenophobia of any guise will not be tolerated and we are going to do everything in our power to make sure it never rears its ugly head in this City again," Gungubele warned perpetrators speaking during his mayoral ceremony Wednesday.

"An entrepreneur is one who sets in place systems and processes that makes them competitive regardless of what the competition may be offering. A business person that threatens to resort to violence when she or he cannot compete is not capable of succeeding under any circumstances," Gungubele said encouraging South Africans to see foreigners doing business in the country as motivators not enemies.

Service delivery, a catchword for the basics of life such as water, electricity, housing, heath, education, jobs and transport was the center demand from communities before local government elections and politicians lured voters by promising service delivery.

With this backdrop Gungubele, a senior politician in the South Africa ruling party Africa National Congress ( ANC) sent a clear message to all new councillors to immediately roll up their sleeves and work tirelessly towards improving the lives of the people as per the mandate they have been given by the voters.

"The masses of our people have played their part by electing us into office, they have pinned their hopes on us, now let us go back to work," he told fellow politicians.

"If mistakes have been committed, they should be corrected. If policy has proven to be sound, it should be supported," Gungubele said.

In 2008 scramble over limited resources, jobs and poor service delivery is believed to have led South Africans to venture their irritation and disgruntlement towards immigrants in their country.

"All of the issues that led to the 2008 attacks still exist in various communities and if it's not addressed this may re-occur," Munjodzi Mutandiri, a political analyst and South Africa coordinator for National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) told Xinhua Thursday.

"I don't expect to see protests or protests scaling to that level, I expect to see things happening ...service delivery coming to our communities because this is what I voted for," 31 year old Welile Mushi told Xinhua.

According to Forced Migration Studies Program (FMSP) at University of the Witwatersrand director Loren Landau, xenophobia violence in South Africa is rooted in a deep disappointment in citizens' ability to claim what they feel is due to them.

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