The ANC in parliament has welcomed the decision by the National Assembly to free Members of Parliament from doing parliamentary work to be able to participate in spreading the anti-xenophobic message next week.
The decision comes after National Assembly Speaker, Baleka Mbete, announced that parliamentarians should get actively involved in the anti-xenophobia campaign next week.
ANC caucus spokesperson, Moloto Mothapo, states that “it is important that Parliament, as a supreme representative of the public, is not only seen to be holding a snap debate condemning it and ends there.”
Mothapo says Parliament further “goes down to the people on the ground. It must interact with various communities. It must go to the hotspots where the xenophobic attack incidents have been taking place, interact and investigate the causes and report back to the National Assembly.”
Meanwhile, the country’s former deputy President, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, believes South Africa’s coming of age as a democracy allows it an opportunity for deep introspection about the values it wants to embrace.
Speaking to SABC News in New York, Mlambo-Ngcuka indicated that the time has come to think about issues of tolerance, the values of ubuntu and the humane society the citizens want to build.
Recent scenes of xenophobic violence in South Africa have shocked the world, but Mlambo-Ngcuka believes the struggle is about creating a better life for all who live in South Africa, including foreign nationals.
She maintains that “it is unacceptable that people will feel unwelcomed in our country.” She adds, “It is worse if people will be killed and experience violence.”
Mlambo-Nquka says the country needs to reflect about how it goes back to being the people that those we struggled with, who struggled for us, wanted us to be.
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