Following the unrest in Nkqubela, Robertson, last week, the Langeberg Municipality, the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) and the local police all gathered, along with local councillors to address the situation.
Reportedly more than 500 Zimbabweans were left homeless during the violent clashes with fellow seasonal farmworkers from Lesotho on Thursday night last week. Police Casspirs and a helicopter were dispatched to quell the violence that broke out in Nkqubela.
According to local ward councillor, Zola Gxowa, the various stakeholders discussed strategies on Monday on how to address the ongoing problem.
“We discussed strategies and ideas on how to end this once and for all. We will have a follow-up meeting to discuss progress, but this has not yet been confirmed,” Gxowa said.
The unrest, which lasted two days, garnered the attention from various political parties as well. One such party was GOOD. In a press release, the party secretary-general Brett Herron said the “toxic and unjust tragedy” is a direct consequence of South Africa’s non-existent immigration policy and porous borders, but that it is also a situation for which farm owners must account.
“For it is they who have systematically reduced the number of South Africans they employ and accommodate on their farms, in favour of cheaper and more exploitable foreign labour.”
Anti-foreigner emotion
He adds his party condemns perpetrators of the violence in Robertson, and calls for their arrest and deportation and further condemned all those who seek to manipulate anti-foreigner emotion for political ends.
On 18 March, Langeberg Municipality’s excecutive mayor, Schalk van Eden, said: “Earlier this week, a Nkqubela community meeting was called where unemployed locals addressed their unhappiness that labour brokers are employing foreign nationals and taking their jobs. During the meeting, it was concluded that a protest will take place.”
He added it is the role of the municipality to facilitate and take part in integrated discussions with the various departments to resolve the conflict.
However, the Robertson Labour Brokers Forum is of the opinion that the mayor’s statement is untrue.
“This statement is a lie, done deliberately in an attempt by the mayor to protect the real culprits of the clashes, the farmers themselves. It is no lie that currently labour brokers are being used to appoint workers at the farms, but it is and has always been the request and preference of the farmers that only Zimbabwean nationals be utilised on the farms. Those instructions are quite clear. We believe the mayor, in his attempts to protect the farmers, used the labour brokers as a scapegoat to ensure a fitting scenario,” read a statement by Xolisile Mhobo, Chairperson of the forum.
They will be asking the mayor to publicly apologise to the labour brokers.
‘Desk clerk leadership’
“This might have a very negative impact on the reputation of our members as contributors to the economy and families in the Langeberg. In future we do ask that leaders play an active role in the region and not take the desk clerk leadership approach they have taken especially with issues concerning black and brown communities,” the statement reads.
The Langeberg Municipality along with the South African Human Rights Commission and the South African Police Service, together with other parties of interest also had a meeting on Sunday 20 March. In a statement the Langeberg Municipality said three points were identified during the meeting.
1. Due to the unrest in Nkqubela many foreign nationals have been displaced with many of them seeking refuge outside the local police office. Temporary accommodation needs to be identified.
2. A lack of access to basic services for the displaced foreign nationals was also identified. Van Eeden is to engage with the Premier of the Western Cape, Alan Winde and the Western Cape Department of Human Settlement to assist with access to basic services.
3. The SAHRC in conjunction with Langeberg Municipality will host a summit to engage with local farmers and labour brokers.
The SAHRC and police is to meet with the leadership of warring factions; and the SAHRC will meet with political parties and councillors from Nkqubela.
According to WO Blackie Swart, spokesperson for the Robertson police, they have been monitoring the situation since they met with those involved in the unrest on Friday afternoon.
“Everything calmed down after our meeting, There were no violent flare ups thus far.”
He confirmed that so far one person has been arrested for public violence.
