LHR calls for chair of the Home Affairs Portfolio Committee to retract xenophobic statements

It is with an increasing sense of frustration that LHR has learned of comments made by Ms Maggie Maunye, Chairperson of the Parliament’s Home Affairs’ Portfolio Committee. 

On 29 July 2011, Ms Maunye made comments during a parliamentary portfolio committee meeting implying that South Africans have not been able to enjoy freedom since 1994 due to the presence of foreign nationals who, in her view, are a drain on South Africa’s resources . She reportedly went on to question the use of the constitution and human rights legislation to “accommodate foreigners”.

It is unacceptable that the chairperson of the portfolio committee monitoring South Africa’s implementation of its international human rights obligations could take such an uninformed and blatantly xenophobic view of the contributions that foreign nationals have made in building a modern South Africa. This is particularly discouraging considering that these comments were made by a senior member of Parliament whose duty it is to uphold the law. These unfortunate comments have come at a time of increased tension across Gauteng and where memories of the 2008 violence where foreign nationals were targeted for violence and destruction of their property are not far from mind. 

Ms Maunye would do better to look at the mismanagement by the Department of Home Affairs’ asylum management directorate over the past 11 years that the Refugees Act has been in place. This includes long queues, corruption, unlawful detentions and underequipped and poorly trained staff which have resulted in many asylum applicants waiting years for even a first decision on their refugee claims. A typical example of this is the recent closure of the Crown Mines Refugee Reception Office which has left thousands of asylum seekers and refugees without any services in Johannesburg. The Department was well aware of the fact that these offices were not in zones which allowed their services to be offered there yet continued to operate without making any alternative plans. 

The Department of Home Affairs, and evidently Ms Maunye, must stop blaming asylum seekers, refugees, and foreigners in general for the mismanagement which plagues the Department.  We call of the Portfolio Committee to act under its mandate and ask the Department the hard questions which South Africans and foreign nationals alike deserve to have answered. 

We also call on Ms Maunye to publicly retract her statements and assist in finding solutions so that everyone within South Africa’s borders can enjoy their rights under the law. 

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