President Thabo Mbeki has brushed off criticism that he failed to show compassion by not visiting areas affected by violent attacks against foreigners around the country, the South African Broadcasting Corporation reported on Thursday.
Mbeki said government acted swiftly by deploying police and dispatching Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka to some of the troubled spots.
”There is a government of the Republic of South Africa and we discussed all these things, all elements of this problem. Indeed, have taken various decisions at different points about people visiting the areas.
”But there is a whole range of other decisions also that have to do first of all with the deployment of police, later use of the national defence force.
”The government of South Africa will respond to these matters using all of people and resources at its command,” said Mbeki.
The Cabinet said the inter-ministerial task team was meeting later on Thursday to release the latest figures on the number of foreigners displaced in the attacks.
Red Cross calls for action
The Red Cross on Thursday called for ”urgent humanitarian action” to help up to 100 000 people caught up in the anti-foreigner violence.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) said there was an urgent need for ”sustained humanitarian action to bring vital emergency assistance to the victims”.
Tens of thousands of mainly Zimbabwean and Mozambican immigrants have been forced out of their homes since the onset of xenophobic attacks which have so far left 56 people dead.
”The situation is getting worse, not better. We must make sure that the needs of people forced out of their homes by these attacks, often with nothing more than the clothes on their backs, are met now, and for the forseeable future,” said Francoise Le Goff, head of the IFRC’s Southern Africa office in Johannesburg.
”It is cold and raining, and families, often with young children, are sleeping on the ground, under simple tents, putting their health at risk,” she warned.
The South African Red Cross has distributed food, hygiene articles and clothing since the attacks began on May 11.
South Africa’s government acknowledged an urgent need on Thursday to accelerate efforts to tackle poverty and unemployment as it assessed the damage.
Spat in Cape Town
The politicking over Cape Town’s xenophobia refugees continued on Thursday when Western Cape premier Ebrahim Rasool claimed city mayor Helen Zille walked out of a planning meeting at the height of the violence.
”We cannot afford to play political games in the midst of this humanitarian emergency,” he said in a statement.
However Zille said she would never be so petty as to boycott such a meeting, and it was ”really sad” that Rasool had decided to turn the refugee issue into a political battle.
Rasool has previously publicly disagreed with the city’s decision to set up six special camps for foreigners displaced by the xenophobic violence.
He said on Thursday that there had been a ”walkout” by Zille from a briefing last week at the joint operations command centre (JOC) in Killarney, where the planning of ”all aspects of the response to the violence against foreign nationals” took place.
Rasool was at the meeting.
”I did not realise at the time that NGOs present had witnessed the mayor’s refusal to join the joint planning meeting and at least two attempts to get her into the meeting,” he said.
However this had not given rise to a tug of war over the refugees between the city and province.
”[The provincial] cabinet and I have reiterated the desire to work with the city, to set aside the egos of individuals and prioritise the management of the disaster that we are facing,” Rasool said.
”The needs of the 20 000 displaced people in our province cannot become a political football.”
Asked to comment, Zille said it was clear Rasool wanted to pick a fight.
”But I am not rising to the bait because it is totally inappropriate for politicians to be behaving like prima donnas,” she said.
”The facts of the matter are as follows: When I arrived in Du Noon at about 11pm last Thursday night, the city’s joint operation centre had just been set up.
”When I got out of the car, I decided to go and speak to the growing number of refugees at the centre, and take urgent steps to open community halls before it got too late.
”I decided that this was the priority action to take, and that turned out to be right because we only managed to settle the displaced people in the early hours of Friday morning.”
She said she had welcomed the province’s involvement in dealing with the refugees, and had certainly not counted the ”large” number of times the premier had not attended JOC meetings.
”I would never be that petty. I and the city look forward to increased involvement from the province.”
Earlier on Thursday, the United Nations’ refugee protection agency said it was opposed to setting up camps for xenophobia victims, but would help ensure they met international standards.
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees’ South African office was responding to reports that a UNHCR official had criticised the city’s decision to set up the ”safe havens” at venues including beach resorts and a military base.
In a message released to media by the city, the office’s spokesperson Yusuf Hassan said that if anything, comments by the official, Arvind Gupta, had been complimentary of the city’s ”commendable efforts”, both in the rapid assistance it provided and in its handling of the crisis.
Gupta had also highlighted the UNHCR’s position on camps, he said.
”In principle, in the South African context, the UNHCR is opposed to the placing or confining of displaced persons, including refugees, in camps or sites.
”However, the recent xenophobic attacks in which thousands of refugees and other migrants were forcibly displaced have presented new challenges and call for urgent responses.
”The UNHCR is of the view that, given the prevailing circumstances, should the authorities and the disaster management bodies consider it unavoidable to accommodate the displaced in camp-like settings, it could only take note of this course of action.”
But it was imperative that such sites met accepted international standards.
The UNHCR stood ready to help the authorities attain this.
”We would like once again to thank the city of Cape Town for its speedy response to the displacement crisis,” Hassan said.
The six camps house over 6 000 refugees, while twice that number were staying at sites such as community halls scattered throughout the metro.
Meanwhile, the Western Cape education department announced it was establishing classes at ”various sites”, including the camps, for students displaced by the violence. – Sapa, AFP