Xenophobic SA suffering from leadership crisis - Expert

Security Expert Irbard Ibrahim has blamed the outbreak of xenophobic attacks in South Africa on the lack of effective leadership in the rainbow nation.

According to him, unlike other democracies in the world, the South African President does not have absolute powers and control over what happens in the country.

“There is a huge leadership deficit in that country.

“Jacob Zuma is in charge of the country but South Africa is not an absolute democracy like Ghana; the Zulu king holds sway in certain parts of the country.

“They have a quasi-republican and a kingship kind of system and their kings have considerable powers that can provoke actions like we are witnessing currently,” the international relations expert told Kafui Dey on Morning Starr Friday.

Ten people including a Ghanaian have been confirmed dead in the attack as locals agitate they have been deprived of jobs while foreigners are working.

Condemnations

Meanwhile, ECOWAS has condemned the barbaric, criminal and xenophobic murder of innocent African foreigners in South Africa, urging the South African Government to act quickly to stop the increasing wave of attacks across its country.

An ECOWAS statement signed by the Chair of the Authority, HE John Dramani Mahama, President of the Republic of Ghana, also condemned the individual South Africans involved in the act.

The West African body described as a pity, the fact that the very people, whose nations sacrificed to help South Africans fight, repel and defeat apartheid, will today be considered aliens and hacked to death in such barbaric manners.

“We welcome the statement of our brother, President Jacob Zuma, and his assurances of a peaceful resolution, but we request for an urgent national action plan, backed by a behavioral change campaign against xenophobia in South Africa”, the statement added.

Evacuation

Ghana’s Foreign Minister Hanna Tetteh has serviced notice Ghanaians living in South Africa whole lives are in danger will be evacuated based on advise by the Ghana mission.

In a tweet, she said “the matter is being investigated by the South African Police and our embassy is following up on this matter.

“There will be a meeting at the South African Ministry of Foreign Affairs with African ambassadors today to discuss the matters. Our Embassy will advise on the need for evacuation of Ghanaian citizens if necessary”.