The Member of Parliament for Asawase constituency in the Ashanti Region, Muntaka Mubarak Mohammed has moved a motion for the relocation of the Pan African parliament from South Africa following renewed xenophobic attacks in that country.<\/p>\n
According to him, some of his colleagues in the parliament feel insecure to travel to the country to conduct parliamentary business over the renewed clashes that has seen some foreigners kicked out of their shops and manhandled by local South Africans.<\/p>\n
[contextly_sidebar id=”HFlL6T7YX3KlnJTUCftItIIU3ZUpNfAY”]There is growing tension in Pretoria as locals have charged against foreigners claiming they had taken over their jobs and left them unemployed.<\/p>\n
Reports suggest that Nigerians have been the most affected nationals by the recent xenophobic attacks.<\/p>\n
Muntaka Mubarak said, \u201cthe xenophobic attacks in South Africa contradict our values as Africans and threaten the foundation of the continent\u2019s Pan-Africanist agenda of establishing a political alliance or union of all the African nations to foster economic development and continental integration.\u201d<\/p>\n
He expressed regret that the attacks were carried out against nationals of countries that were frontliners in the fight against the apartheid system in South Africa decades ago.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen incidents of this nature which touch on the co-existence of human beings crop up, it always brings about nolstagic feelings. We could recall how many African nations made several sacrifices to see the demise of the apartheid regime in South Africa – all in the spirit of Pan-Africanism and fellow feeling. Sacrifices were not limited to only political and financial aid.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe countries whose citizens were brutalised in the xenophobic attacks were known as the frontline states that harboured South African Freedom Fighters during apartheid. They gave them safe havens, and passports to be able to avoid the clutches of the apartheid regime,\u201d he noted.<\/p>\n
The Ghanaian MP in his motion called on the South African government to take a strong stand against the crime and punish perpetuators of the act.<\/p>\n
He has also called for the establishment of a special fund to compensate persons who have been victims of the unfortunate attacks.<\/p>\n
\u201c[Today we call on] the Government of South Africa to liaise with the sister countries which were affected to establish support funds to compensate victims and also take care of orphans who lost their parents through the attacks;\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The pan-African parliament, which is the legislative arm of the African Union currently has its headquarters in Midrand, South Africa.<\/p>\n
AU Member States are represented at\u00a0the Parliament by five Parliamentarians.<\/p>\n
Ghanaians in SA panic over xenophobic attacks<\/strong><\/p>\n The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, last week told Parliament that\u00a0Ghanaians in South Africa are paranoid over xenophobic attacks in some parts of that country.<\/p>\n \u201cIn Mamelodi, a suburb in Pretoria, there is general fear and apprehension within the various foreign communities including that of Ghana following a decision by a local to organize an anti-foreigner march today to protest at what he referred to as South African nationals being tired of enslavement and being deprived of job opportunities in their own country,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n She further explained some measures Ghana’s mission in South Africa had put in place to ensure the safety of Ghanaians in that country:<\/p>\n –<\/p>\n By: Jonas Nyabor\/citifmonline.com\/Ghana\n
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