Xenophobia: Zuma wants illegal foreigners to stay away

South African President Jacob Zuma on Monday stated that his government would strengthen measures to tackle illegal immigration, to drastically reduce the number of foreigners that stream into the country

While Zuma condemned the violence, saying immigrants contributed to the South African economy, he also questioned why so many had flocked to South Africa.

“As much as we can have a problem alleged to be xenophobic, our brother countries contributed to this,” he said.

“Why are the citizens not in their countries?”

“Some of them (immigrants) had very serious allegations against their own countries to explain why they are in South Africa,” Zuma said, speaking on Freedom Day that marks the country’s first democratic elections in 1994.

“In fact, some of them warned us that there is almost certainly another wave of refugees coming given the developments in their own countries.

“We have to address the underlying causes of the violence and tensions, which is the legacy of poverty, unemployment and inequality in our country and our continent and the competition for limited resources,” Zuma said.

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