MONDAY, 5.00PM:
MPUMALANGA Premier Matthews Phosa on Sunday said that many of Mozambique’s ecomomic troubles are the direct result of the former South African government’s destabilisation policies, and that South Africa has a moral obligation to compensate Mozambique for the gap between the two countries’ economies.
African Eye News Service reports that Phosa stressed, however, that a quick-fix cash solution from South Africa is not viable because of South Africa’s own pressing developmental problems. He said that South Africa and Mozambique should, “focus on jointly reconstructing and reintegrating [their] economies, and so avoid creating a relationship of South African dominance and Mozambican dependency”.
Meanwhile, Paul de Sousa, president of Mozambique’s national chamber of commerce, on Sunday criticised South Africa’s treatment of Mozambican nationals, saying the chamber regularly receives reports of physical and legal abuse of legitimate travellers to South Africa.
De Sousa added that Mozambican drivers, easily identified by their black-and-white number plates, are specifically targeted by hijackers along the N4 highway due to the perception that they are “easy targets” with ready cash.
De Sousa added that Mozambican crime victims often get the impression that the South African police are not serious about investigating the incidents. “There appears to be rising xenophobia in South Africa and an attitude that Mozambicans shouldn’t be there anyway. As a result we get second-best treatment or get quizzed on our travel documents instead of the crimes against us,” said De Sousa.
De Sousa said the chamber appealed to Phosa on Friday to improve police response to crimes against Mozambicans. “We’ve also appealed for him look into the unfair tax on Mozambican-owned vehicles in South Africa, which is directly affecting cross-border business,” he added.