Afadjato South MP Condemns South Africa Xenophobic Attacks as “Shared Madness,” Backs Reciprocity

Member of Parliament for Afadjato South, Hon. Frank Afriyie, has described the ongoing xenophobic attacks in South Africa as “shameful” and a “blatant failure” of the South African government.

Commenting on a statement by the Majority Chief Whip in Parliament, Hon. Afriyie said the attacks must be condemned “three hundred and sixty degrees” by the House.

He argued that the violence strikes at the core of African identity. “What is happening today is a direct rip on the values that bind Africans together – collectivism, interdependence, and moral responsibility,” he said.

Hon. Afriyie noted that South African delegates were absent from the 4th Inter-Parliamentary Conference on African Values and Sovereignty recently held in Ghana. “They were conspicuously missing. They couldn’t even come here,” he stated.

The MP warned that the attacks are “cascading gradually beyond the borders of Africa,” referencing violent assaults on Blacks in Belfast, Northern Ireland, over the weekend. “The seeds that South Africans are beginning to plant will put all Africans at risk globally. Our welfare everywhere cannot be guaranteed,” he said.

Hon. Afriyie rejected claims that immigrants are to blame for South Africa’s 32.7% unemployment rate, pointing out that immigrants make up only 4 to 5% of the population. “Take away five percent from thirty-two and it makes nonsense of this whole thing,” he argued.

He commended EFF leader Julius Malema for describing the attacks as “madness at its height.” “I salute him. This is shared madness,” Hon. Afriyie added.

*Supports principle of reciprocity*

Backing calls to treat perpetrators as outcasts, the Afadjato South MP said Ghana has the capacity to respond but will choose civility. “In diplomacy there is something we call the principle of reciprocity. It is not as if we do not have the capacity. We can even exact more harm and more violence but we will choose the path of civility.”

“This is the height of inhumanity and it must be roundly condemned,” he concluded.