An international relations analyst, Professor Gilbert Bluwey has blamed South African President, Jacob Zuma for the recent xenophobic attacks in Durban and parts of Johannesburg.
The attacks have led to the death of a Ghanaian and nine others.
[contextly_sidebar id=”Km0j0gfmAe6mJ9HEcvFonP3B5AguhoP3″]The attackers blame the other African migrants for taking over businesses and other employment opportunities.
Prof Bluwey in an interview with Citi News pointed out that the current situation is as a result of Jacob Zuma’s attitude towards the incident.
“Zuma is a disappointment to South Africans. He has reduced the Presidency to a very low perception and performance.Under Mbeki the tension was still there but no ruler could have made this kind of the statement that was made by this Zulu King,”he said.
He believes people will not stage such attacks if they see genuine efforts being made to better their lot.
“Genuine efforts will mean that everybody gets a touch of something and corruption is minimised then of course prosperity will not drive people into this dire action. The rich are getting richer,” he lamented.
Click on audio to listen to Prof. Bluwey
State responsible for xenophobic attacks
The international relations analyst’s accusation comes days after the leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters(EFF) and a Member of Parliament in South Africa,Julius Malema also blamed the state for the violence in the country.
“The state, being the elder for the whole of society, becomes responsible for all the violence meted against our foreign nationals,” he said in Parliament on Thursday after being given the podium for a few minutes.
“It was through the State that our people were told that resolution to differences should be through violence. It was under your leadership that when you disagreed with people at Marikana, you killed them because you never believed in peaceful resolution of differences.”
He took President Jacob Zuma’s son, Edward on for his recent comments about foreigners.
“Your own son continues to say these people must be killed. You stand up here and say nothing…your son is such a typical example of a family member you cannot whip into line.”
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By: Marian Efe Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @EfeAnsah