via Xenophobia: Zim must fix economy, churches – NewZimbabwe 22 April 2015
THE government should take urgent political and economic measures to avoid an influx of its citizens to South Africa, where they face humiliation, the umbrella body for local churches said Wednesday.
The call by the Evangelical Fellowship of Zimbabwe (EFZ) comes in the wake of deadly xenophobic attacks in South Africa that have resulted in the death of about seven people including a Zimbabwean national.
EFZ comprises over 500 Zimbabwe churches and parachurch organisations.
Speaking during an anti-xenophobic violence prayer meeting held in Harare Wednesday morning, EFZ president Shingi Munyeza said attacks against Zimbabweans can be avoided if the country’s citizens stopped flocking to South Africa in search of better life.
“We implore the government of Zimbabwe to take urgent political and economic steps to reduce the need for our people to become economic refugees in neighbouring countries where they are exposed to all kinds of humiliation and xenophobic attacks,” said Munyeza.
Over one million Zimbabweans are believed to be living in South Africa as economic or political refugees.
Zim economy
Zimbabwe’s economy is currently on its knees and according to the country’s central bank, over 4,000 workers lost their jobs in 2014, and the finance ministry said 4 600 companies closed down between 2011 and October 2014, resulting in 64 000 job losses.
Local economists have also warned that, unless something drastic happens, 2015 will be another year of economic decline, associated with the collapse of social institutions and a further reduction in the delivery of essential services to the population.
Munyeza commended the South African government for its public denunciation of xenophobic attacks, but urged them to use more effective and sustainable ways of enforcing and sustaining the stoppage of xenophobia with immediate effect.
“We wish to remind the perpetrators of xenophobic violence in South Africa of a time in history when many South Africans took habitation in Zimbabwe without having to face this same fate,” said Munyeza.
South Africa, with a population of over 50 million people, is home to an estimated five million immigrants.
Wednesday’s prayer meeting, which was being facilitated by the Zimbabwe heads of Christian denominations and civil society organisations, was attended by over 200 church leaders.
Munyeza urged the African Union and the regional SADC grouping – both currently chaired by President Robert Mugabe – to “adopt more effective process resulting in the immediate halting of these attacks which threaten peace in the region and on the continent”.
“(EFZ) implores the international community to be unequivocal in the condemnation of this evil and to exert due pressure to ensure that xenophobia in South Africa and in other parts of the world is halted now and in the future through appropriate dialogue and other processes,” the EFZ president said.
Mugabe in his independence message to Zimbabweans last week, described the attacks as “disgusting and must not be allowed to continue”.
The South African government has since deployed soldiers in xenophobia hot-spots in the country’s economic hub of Johannesburg following the killing of a Mozambican national at the weekend and the shooting of a Zimbabwean couple early this week.
COMMENTS
I DON’T WANT TO SEE A WHITE FACE. Mugabe in his independence message to Zimbabweans last week, described the attacks as “disgusting and must not be allowed to continue”. LOL.
Isn’t it ironic that whilst Mugabe, can as usual, cease opportunities at some poorly attended rallies to rant & rave about zenophobic attacks & killing of innocent fellow Africans by SA criminals & gangsters the two regional organizations that he currently presides over (leads), SADC & AU, have not yet summoned moral courage to issue any official statement on the same.
I also, doubt if Zimbabwean government that he leads again, has also issued any official statement. In fact, the Zimbabwe riot-police, armed to the tooth, was deployed by Chihuri a few days ago to go & ruthless crush a group peaceful zenophobic protesters who had just gone to The SA Embassy to register their disgust about on-going xenophobic killings in SA. Obviously, Chihuri wouldn’t do that without approval of his boss, who happens to be Mugabe again.
The question is: Should we then take Mugabe’s huffing & puffing @ rallies serious? Isn’t this is just a matter of telling his gullible crowds what they want to hear? I say it is.
Possibly the most isolated country in the world continues to surprise the world with its brinkmanship attitude and its apparently evil agenda. Close to 14 million people a year starve to death in this nation and its only getting worse. After more than three decades of strongman Robert Mugabe’s misrule — punctuated by massacres, assassinations, and government-led campaigns against white farmers — Zimbabwe is in shambles. The country’s economy has deteriorated for much of the past decade, and in 2008 hyperinflation peaked at an annual rate that one economist calculated as the second highest in world history. Unlike many other sub-Saharan African countries that landed on the bottom of the chart, Zimbabwe’s human development has decreased significantly. Few seem to be reporting on the actual quality of life in this once-esteemed African nation. With all media on Zimbabwean soil under state-run governmental control, there is little if any information on the living conditions of the nation’s people struggling to survive in such brutal conditions.
Internal media coverage appears solely focused on political matters. However, there are obvious concerns to be considered in Zimbabwe. According to a Worldpress report, suffering is a far-reaching reality:
“Contrary to testimonies of people who have visited the country and mass media reports that Zimbabwe is righting itself, people continue to suffer greatly. Zimbabwe has become a very hard place to be poor, and poverty is ugly. Conspicuous consumerism is very evident, and greed is also very visible. This is the same country where Zimbabwe’s Regional Integration and International Cooperation Minister Misihairabwi says “[The UN] must leave us alone, we are fine. We don’t need their research or endorsement to see that our country is going in the right direction.”
“The system was supposed to take care of its people, but it has failed. In less than a generation, the country has changed beyond all recognition. Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe and his government have been widely criticized by the international community and the country continues to be both politically and economically isolated. With one in seven adults living with HIV, Zimbabwe’s AIDS epidemics is one of the worst in the world.
Daily life in Zimbabwe was not always this devastating.
Oh Lets be fair. Without the whole hearted support of Mbeki and now Zuma we would not be in this position As was done to Smith “get a deal fast boy or we close the border” SORTED No problem Fixed in a matter of hours. But don’t hold your breath….. waiting for that to happen!!!