Brief remarks by Minister Lindiwe Zulu meeting with the task team
Violence appears to be spiralling out of control. It is a nation-wide challenge.
Government is concerned at the ongoing violence involving foreign-owned business people and locals.
The loss of lives and destruction of property must be condemned in the strongest possible terms. We need leaders who are bold and principled enough to express unpopular and unpalatable truths to their membership whenever the situation demands.
All of us must speak out against this violence and the criminality that goes with it. Our starting point must be our Constitution, Ubuntu and fair business practice.
Those who purport to be leaders of local traders or association must act on the mandate from members. We need to make sure that their statements and actions are derived from the mandate they receive from members.
As government, business and civil society, we have a collective responsibility to address the root cause of this problem. This is where the role of this Task Team comes in.
We appeal to members of our communities to co-operate with the police and not to take the law into their own hands.
Our law-enforcement agencies are equal to the task. We must co-operate with the police to restore calm and stability in the affected areas.
The long-term solution lies in a multi-sectoral response.
We appeal to members of our communities to allow government departments and other state agencies space to address the situation.
As government, we proceed from the premise that all people living in South Africa, including foreigners, are entitled to the full protection of our law.
Foreigners who own businesses are also subject to the same taxes and levies as South Africans.
We must also fast-track the implementation of the National Informal Business Upliftment Strategy (NIBUS) as part of addressing the concerns and challenges that confront the informal business sector.
NIBUS is anchored on three key pillars, namely, skills development among the South African population, exploring partnerships between locals and foreign traders and reviewing policies and regulations.
