Pretoria – The peace and calm that has prevailed in communities that were affected by the recent attacks on foreign nationals, has been welcomed by Cabinet.
This is according to Minister in the Presidency: Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation, Jeff Radebe, who was briefing media in Pretoria on the ordinary Cabinet meeting that took place on Wednesday.
Seven people lost their lives during the attacks, including an Ethiopian, a Zimbabwean, a Mozambican, a Bangladeshi and three South Africans. The violence first broke out in Durban and spread to some parts of Gauteng.
“Cabinet commended the departments that worked through the National Joint Operation Centre to stop the act of violence that took place in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng.
“Cabinet commended the provincial and municipal leaders in affected areas for their role in providing relief and leading the process of reintegration of foreign nationals into communities,” said Minister Radebe.
Many displaced foreign nationals sought refuge at temporary shelters, where the Department of Social Development has been providing food, shelter, trauma counselling and other necessities.
President Jacob Zuma last week convened stakeholder meetings with the representatives of business, religious groups, labour, civil society and foreign nationals.
“The engagements were constructive to assist in taking the process forward. All participants were unanimous in expressing their condemnation of these attacks and committed to work with government in finding a lasting solution,” he said.
Minister Radebe added that the recently appointed Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) on Migration was working to find a lasting solution to issues raised by communities and foreign nationals.
The mandate of the IMC was tasked with dealing with all the underlying causes of the tensions between communities and foreign nationals.
The IMC, established by President Jacob Zuma, comprises of Minister Radebe as the Chairperson and the Ministers of Police, Home Affairs, Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, International Relations and Cooperation, Defence and Military Veterans, Social Development, Health, Basic Education, State Security, Justice and Correctional Services, Small Business Development, Trade and Industry and Human Settlements. – SAnews.gov.za
