Chasing foreign nationals won’t solve S’Africa’s challenges — MTN chairman

MTN Group Chairman, Mcebisi Jonas, has blamed South Africa’s persistent economic and social challenges on failures of governance rather than the presence of foreign nationals, warning that politicians have exploited public frustration instead of addressing the country’s structural problems.

Jonas stated this while delivering a eulogy at the funeral of Zimbabwean-born activist and public servant, Thokozani Damasane, in Johannesburg.

He stated that expelling foreign nationals would neither end unemployment, inequality nor corruption, insisting that the country’s problems stem from failures of the state.

“Foreigners can leave tomorrow, inequality will be with us. Foreigners will leave tomorrow, unemployment will be with us. Foreigners will leave tomorrow, our police will remain corrupt. Foreigners will leave tomorrow, our politicians will still be concerned with one thing: being elected and re-elected,” he said.

According to him, South Africa’s problems are rooted in poor governance rather than immigration.

“The problem is the failure of the state. The state doesn’t manage immigration. It doesn’t manage its borders. It doesn’t enforce law enforcement. It doesn’t manage education. What are you expecting?

“When people feel the burn, they become vulnerable to politicians whose sole purpose is to be elected and re-elected. Some of them have no credibility whatsoever. But they lead marches and tell our people that the problem is not us; it is foreigners.”

Damasane, who was born and educated in Zimbabwe before relocating to South Africa, was widely known in policy and civic circles for his work in public service and advocacy.

Jonas used the occasion to condemn anti-foreigner sentiment and call for renewed commitment to African solidarity.

The former Deputy Minister of Finance questioned the growing hostility towards immigrants, saying Damasane’s life demonstrated that humanity transcends nationality.

Reflecting on his drive to the funeral, Jonas said he had been listening to calls for foreign nationals to leave South Africa, prompting him to reflect on what truly defines home.

“I was thinking, what is home to Damasane? Because I understand, and I understood very early in life, that home is where humanity is.

“Home is about humanness. It is about the good of humanity and striving for the good of humanity.”

Jonas described Damasane as someone who arrived in South Africa “as an outcast” but immersed himself in the country’s struggles and became part of its national story.

“In Damasane’s strength, our strength as South Africa and South Africans are reflected. And in his weaknesses, our own weaknesses are reflected,” he said.

Jonas also criticised identity politics, arguing that tribal divisions were rooted in colonial rule and continue to fuel discrimination across Africa.

“The tribe is a product of colonial powers,” he said.

“You would notice that it is so dominant in areas where the English conquered because they used something called the principle of indirect rule. You have got to divide these people by psychologically enhancing the notion that one is different from the other. That’s how the notion of tribe was born.”

He said ethnic politics had evolved beyond nationality to become a broader tool of exclusion.

“You would see in the streets, it’s no longer about whether you are from South Africa or not from South Africa. It’s about the tribe, it’s about who you are, you are not like us, and you are different, and therefore we have to persecute you.

“Something fundamental has been lost in our country. Something fundamental has been lost in our nations.”

Jonas further criticised liberation movements for sustaining ethnic divisions.

“Liberation movements still sustain this thing of tribes Zulu and Xhosa and we sustain this thing as if it is real. It is in our heads. We’re creating it because it makes us feel big. Identity politics we must banish them in our country. Ethno-nationalism is something that in this country we must banish.”

Recalling one of his conversations with Damasane, Jonas said the late activist once responded to a young man who questioned why foreigners should remain in South Africa.

“Damasane said to this guy: just wait fifteen or twenty years. You will also be wanting to leave your country.”

Jonas said the warning had become increasingly relevant.

“As I stand up today, I look at South Africa. The level of oppression and inequality, the level of exclusion of our people, the level of corruption, the betrayal of the dream of liberation — those words of Damasane ring very loud in my ears.”

He urged South Africans to embrace a broader African identity, stressing that the country’s future is inseparable from that of the continent.

“We are a nation embedded in Africa. And without Africa, our growth as a country economically, our fortune is intertwined with the growth of Africa.

“South Africa is nothing without Africa. And Africa is nothing without South Africa.”

Speaking directly to Damasane’s family, Jonas said true success should be measured by values rather than wealth.

“Sometimes this thing called meritocracy is measured in wealth. No. It is values, it is principle, it is integrity. And your father had all of that.

“We cannot judge people by their origin. We cannot determine the legal status of people by their origin.”