On the grounds that they are displacing South African citizens from jobs, the Put South Africans First organization has been calling for the expulsion of all illegal immigrants in South Africa for a number of weeks. Deportation advocates suffered a major blow after Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, a leader in the African National Congress and the present Speaker of the National Assembly, asserted that the nation belonged to its citizens.

As a result, we now regard this South Africa as belonging to all of its residents equally. You are still in South Africa, which is our country, whether you are in Cape Town in the Eastern Cape or in Pretoria in the Northern Cape. We are all citizens of this great country because of our shared history and shared values. The whole thing is owned by the people that live there.” It was in these terms that Mapisa-Nqakula expressed his ideas.

Just last week, numerous political groups, including the Patriotic Alliance and Action South Africa, expressed concern about the rising number of foreign workers in South Africa, so the ANC veteran’s comments came as something of a surprise. Cape Town’s mayor, Geordin Hill-Lewis, echoed these sentiments, saying that non-citizens are welcome to remain in the country indefinitely.

He urged them to never hide who they were or where they came from “I find the extreme intolerance shown toward persons who have journeyed hundreds of kilometers to South Africa from places like war, terror, starvation, and poverty is deeply upsetting.This time, I really believe we can put the numerous refugees and asylum-seekers in South Africa at ease. There is no need for anyone in South Africa to feel they must provide an explanation or apologize for anything they may have done.” He elucidated the situation for us.