South Africa’s Worsening Xenophobia Exposes a Broken Economic Promise

South Africa’s worsening xenophobia exposes a broken economic promise. As Afrophobic violence flares ahead of November’s local elections, political leaders are opting for cheap scapegoating over tackling deep structural decline and broken public utilities.

Professor Loren Landau (African Centre for Migration & Society / Xenowatch) explains why now: “Inequality, unemployment and crime remain high or are rising. Add rising petrol costs, water cuts and irregular electricity, and you get widespread uncertainty and a loss of faith in the constitutional order.”

These pressures are sharpest among those already on the economic margins. “Leaders, elected, selected and self-appointed, are capitalising on this disaffection for their own ends. We have seen xenophobic violence peak when leadership is disputed or up for grabs.”

Read the article on The Africa Report.

[Printed Copy of the Original article from The Africa Report – Credit to The Africa Report]