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Daily Maverick
6 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Maverick
Civil society groups stand firm with rights institute against Operation Dudula protest
An anti-migrant protest by Operation Dudula outside Seri's offices backfired when civil society organisations gathered in solidarity with the rights group. Operation Dudula's mission to march to the offices of the Socio-Economic Rights Institute (Seri) and hand over a memorandum to the civil society organisation fell flat on Thursday, 17 July, when the anti-migrant group was confronted by several rights groups that had gathered outside Seri's offices. The anti-migrant group descended on the office in Braamfontein, Johannesburg, accusing the organisation of being 'unpatriotic' and protecting undocumented migrants (who they deem to be criminals) by providing them with legal support. It accused the South African Human Rights Commission and the Helen Suzman Foundation of doing the same. However, as Operation Dudula marched from Mary Fitzgerald Square to Nzunza House, where the Seri offices are located, several civil society organisations gathered outside the building in a show of solidarity with the rights organisation. 'We are here today to show solidarity to Seri, the Human Rights Commission, as well as the Helen Suzman Foundation, who have been attacked by Operation Dudula,' said Thapelo Mohapi, chairperson of Abahlali baseMjondolo. 'We are here for humanity, we are here to protect humanity and to protect our Constitution, which is now under attack more than ever.' Abahlali baseMjondolo's red-clad supporters were present in large numbers. Also there were members of Kopanang Africa Against Xenophobia (KAAX), SECTION27, the Institute for Economic Justice, Equal Education and several other civil society groups. While the crowd waited for Operation Dudula to arrive, they sang and danced, and their leaders voiced messages of support for Seri. 'We know Operation Dudula are angry and we understand why, but they are directing their anger at the wrong people. Our issue in South Africa is not migrants,' said KAAX's Dale McKinley. 'Our issue is poverty, unemployment, corruption and persistent budget cuts, but instead of directing their attention on holding the government accountable for those problems, Operation Dudula is targeting vulnerable people who had no part in creating them.' Tense showdown The sizeable crowd of green and white-clad Operation Dudula members arrived at the offices at 12.30, an hour later than expected, and what had been a peaceful gathering turned into a tense showdown between the organisations gathered to support Seri and the anti-migrant group. A throng of red and a mass of green and white military-style regalia were separated by a thin blue line of police officers. Operation Dudula members, some of them wielding sjamboks, hurled insults at the Seri supporters, calling them ' makwerekwere ' (a derogatory term for Africans born outside South Africa), threatening to beat them and telling them to go back home — even though most appeared to be South African citizens. Operation Dudula leader Zandile Dubula told a member of the South African Police Service that the police must remove the Seri supporters. 'We will not hand over the memorandum with these people here. Our members want to stand here and sing. They must move, our people must stand there,' said Dubula. The standoff between Operation Dudula and the civil society organisations lasted for more than an hour, with tensions mounting. An Operation Dudula member lunged at the police, who retaliated with pepper spray. Nkosinathi Sithole, Seri's director of litigation, said, 'If [Operation Dudula] say they are submitting a memorandum at Seri, they should know exactly who Seri's clients are, who Seri fight for, as opposed to the misconception they are presenting in the media.' Daily Maverick has reported on the court action of several rights groups to stop Operation Dudula from assaulting or harassing foreign nationals and impeding access to healthcare services and schools for the children of international migrants. The groups accused Operation Dudula of illegally demanding that individuals produce identity documents to prove their right to be in South Africa, and obstructing migrant's access to healthcare facilities and schools. Judgment in the matter has been reserved. Memorandum undelivered Addressing her organisation's members, Dubula accused the police of colluding with Seri by refusing to remove the crowd that had gathered to support the organisation, insisting that she would not hand over the memorandum while they were present. Dubula and the Operation Dudula members left with the memorandum undelivered, hurling insults and singing derogatory songs. Dubula told Daily Maverick, 'They [the Seri supporters] definitely took us by surprise. We have never come across such a situation. We are not doing anything wrong; we applied [to protest], and we have the right to be here. We didn't expect to get resistance, but this means that Seri is breaking laws because we have all the right to submit memorandums and Seri must be dealt with.' Sithole said Seri was disappointed that Operation Dudula left without delivering its memorandum, because the organisation was looking forward to engaging with the group. 'We were very much prepared to receive Operation Dudula's memorandum and to understand their concerns and make Seri's position clear to them. I think this is a sign that they had no intention to deliver the memo, because we were ready to accept it, and they refused,' he said. 'The reason they are taken aback is because they have a false perception about Seri as an organisation. We represent millions of South Africans.
Eyewitness News
14-06-2025
- Business
- Eyewitness News
Systemic govt failures, not BEE to blame rising unemployment in SA, says economist
JOHANNESBURG - The debate over the effects of broad-based black economic empowerment (B-BBEE) continues, as some push back against claims that affirmative action is to blame for rising unemployment. This follows a report by the Free Market Foundation and trade union Solidarity, which links the country's high unemployment rate to B-BBEE policies. However, numbers from Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) tell a different story, showing that employment has grown from 8.9 million in 1994 to 16.7 million in the first quarter of 2025. Of these, more than 12 million jobs are held by black South Africans. According to Stats SA, the number of employed black people has increased from 5 million in 1994 to 12 million in the first quarter of 2025. While more black people are employed now than three decades ago, they still experience the highest rate of unemployment compared to other racial groups. Solidarity argued that B-BBEE had contributed to rising unemployment among black South Africans. However, political economist Dale McKinley disputed the claim that B-BBEE was responsible, instead attributing the issue to systemic government failures. "What I don't agree with is that you can blame BEE [black economic empowerment] for the lack of growth in the economy as a whole. Those are structural problems in our economy that go way beyond a particular BEE policy, that go through apartheid legacy and racial and class divisions that are very deep." In his presidential newsletter, President Cyril Ramaphosa also refuted claims that B-BBEE had failed to address unemployment.
