Myrtle Ryan
Sunday Tribune
Sunday, September 24, 2006
The number of foreigners living in South Africa’s inner cities is rapidly outstripping that of locals.
However, because their day to day situation is more precarious, African foreign workers in this country often tend to be more creative and enterprising, as well as socially adaptable.
This is the view of Neville Schaefer, Chairperson of the National Property Managing Company Trafalgar, who said these immigrants had an important contribution to make to South Africa’s economy.
In light of this, 15 months ago Trafalgar initiated a programme aimed at easing the lot of those who came to South Africa hoping to make a new life.
When it came to renting properties, these people found it impossible to provide credit and employment references – one of the prerequisites for signing a lease.
By processing the rental application in a more lenient light, the company was trying to “make the procedure less onerous, and make them feel more welcome,” said Schaefer.
Staff throughout the company – which lets about 2 500 units in central Durban – have been versed in the special needs of immigrants. Building managers, in particular, are being trained to adopt a more understanding approach and sometimes act as mediators between other tenants and immigrants.
“We have pointed out their (foreigners’) potential,” said Schaefer.
“They are good tenants, pay their rent on time and cannot afford to get into skirmishes with the law.”
The xenophobic belief that African foreigners were drug and gang lords, was usually a matter of perception, he said. While some did contribute to crime, he believed finding ways to work with the law-abiding majority would help contain the problem.
“Clearly they should be regulated, but in a way that encourages their contribution to the economy and diversity of South Africa,” he said.
Pointing to violence against Somalis and Ethiopians in some areas of the Cape, Schaefer said this xenophobia should be dealt with swiftly, to prevent it fuelling similar situations in other parts of the country.
Last week a Somali shop assistant was shot dead in Thembalethu, George, while this week a Somali shop owner was murdered in Delft South in the Western Cape, bringing the number of Somalis killed this year to 12.
Schaefer said many immigrants were highly skilled or educated, with the potential to create jobs for others.
He pointed to a report released in Britain last week, which showed that the UK’s open-door employment policy – for new entrants to the European Union – had contributed an average of 1 percent a year to the country’s GDP growth.
A disturbing trend in South Africa was the tendency of some policemen to extort money from immigrants, rather than protect them, he said.
“Researchers tell us that there are about four million foreign Africans legally here and, they guess, two million illegally,” said Schaefer.
“They probably already make up 70 percent of the population of Johannesburg’s inner suburbs like Hillbrow and Yeoville. This could grow to 90 percent within a few years. You will see major growth in the business districts of these suburbs over the next few years,” he said.
While he did not have statistics for Durban, Schaefer said the Albert Park and Point Road area played home to an ever-increasing number of immigrants, predominantly Ethiopians, Nigerians and Zimbabweans.
Source: Sunday Tribune, Sept 24, 2006
