A group calling itself the Concerned Citizens and the Voters of SA is calling for a countrywide shutdown on Monday 4 May over the presence of millions of foreigners who it demands be returned to their home countries, whether documented or not.
This appears to be the latest of several groups – among them Operation Dudula, and March and March – calling for the repatriation of foreign nationals.
“We are xenophobic,” reads one message from the group. “We want all foreigners, documented or not, out of this country as a matter of urgency.”
The group plans to hand over a memorandum at the ANC’s Luthuli House in Johannesburg to President Cyril Ramaphosa and Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi, among others.
A call to action by the group says anyone failing to remove foreigners must either resign or be removed by the relevant authorities, including the ANC National Executive Committee and the South African National Defence Force.
The departments of Education, Health and Correctional Services must start removing undocumented foreigners from their premises, it says. This will prevent them from exploiting free services and save money for SA.
All this is demanded to “avoid civil war”, according to the group. This is the latest in a wave of anti-immigrant actions in the lead-up to the local government elections due to be held later this year.
