Foreigners: problem or opportunity?

Foreign Africans are overtaking locals, in number, as the biggest population groups in South Africa's inner cities and there is a danger of violence against them taking off, warns Neville Schaefer, Chairman of Trafalgar the national residential property managers.

"Reports of murders of Somalis and Ethiopians in some Cape Town suburbs could spread, and similar situations could arise in other inner cities, unless we have swift and wise leadership to deal with xenophobia and irrational fear of outsiders," he adds.

Schaefer says that history has shown conclusively that outsiders like foreign Africans are big contributors to the economic and social success of cities and towns. "They usually lack extended family and clan support, and are financially precarious," notes Schaefer. "So they tend to be both more socially adaptable and enterprising than locals. Many of them are highly skilled or educated.

"This makes them important contributors to economic growth and employment." A research report in Britain last week showed that the UK's open door employment policy for new entrants to the European Union and contributed and average of 1% a year to its GDP growth. This, in turn, had increased the employment of locals.

"Researchers tell us that there are about 4 million foreign Africans legally here and they guess at 2 million illegally," says Schaefer. "They probably make up 70% of the population of Johannesburg's inner suburbs like Hillbrow, Berea and Yeoville, already and could be 90% in a few years. You will see a major growth in business districts of these suburbs over the next few years as a result.

"One disturbing trend is the tendency of some policemen, who are supposed to be protecting them but exploit them by regularly extorting money from them."

Schaefer concedes that some foreign Africans also contribute to crime, Finding ways to work with the law abiding majority instead of rejecting them will help contain that as well. Clearly they should be regulated but in an enlightened way that encourages their contribution to the economy and diversity of SA cities and towns

"Prejudice against foreign Africans is endemic and seems to be growing and its exasperatingly difficult to overcome," he says. There are also practical problems in dealing with foreigners who want to rent in the many inner city buildings. For instance, locals have ID numbers and family connections that make defaulters and absconders easy to trace. This is more difficult with foreigners who have no ID numbers. A high proportion of documents are forged as well.

"However, Trafalgar is pioneering an internal programme to deal with foreign tenants and to find different criteria and practical solutions to what is ultimately an opportunity for our cities and not a problem".

For more information contact 083 701 5592.

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