I'm I'm a former president of this country and you'll never ever convince me that his economy is in crisis because of foreigners it's not [Applause] true that's a challenge real challenge we face it doesn't matter I'm saying it doesn't matter how many electrical fences you built you are not going to stop these Africans coming here historically the African Community here has never been xenophobic about other [Applause] Africans that thing was organized to to drive the zimbabweans out of the country back to Zimbabwe because there were elections in zimabu it was people were being driven out
they were going to vote against Bob mcab then an intelligence report which has got the names and the dates and venues where people was met and planned this and so on it's presented as a xenophobic attack by the people of Alex against it was wrong it was organized systematic for the political purpose part of what has happened the issue that is raised about the African Renaissance part of what has happened in the continent and don't ask me why uh is a very very clear decline in the levels of commitment to a panafrican perspective you see
it everywhere it's very visible uh so the matter of a Renaissance of the continent It suffers that kind of Fate when this commitment to a Pana African perspective dies away and people are very preoccupied with what happens in my country what happens in my country which is Justified but does not mean you focus on your country to the exclusion of the continent but I'm saying there's been a a retreat a retreat from that P African perspective it affects this African Renaissance thing it's in the leadership it's in our political leadership on the continent it's not
among the masses of the people the masses of the people continue to share this view that as a continent we share the same Destiny what do we do together in that context the matter that again raised I hope that the national dialog I'm talking about we we'll address this issue which a matter of great debate in this country about the so-called uh undocumented people um you know colleagues the first the the people to let me say since the beginning of diamond mining in the 19th century later gold mining and all of that this country has
seen lots of Africans from the rest of the continent moving to this country the issue of many other Africans being present with us is not new and historically historically the indigenous African Community has never ever been hostile to other Africans coming from other African countries take take the old townships the old Township Alexander Township in Johannesburg that Township has always always had people from all over the continent with no fre with no nothing historically the African Community here has never been xenophobic about other [Applause] Africans so 2008 uh we're way past 6:00 now 2008 uh
all man of trouble breaks out in Alexander Township in johanes b a on these foreigners particularly zabu then he spread elsewhere xenophobia xenophobia afrophobia afrophobia so me I say when I saw that thing I wasn't government I was President I said but this is not it's not Alexander Township Alex Alex for decades has had zimbabweans and micans and this and that and that and never ever this conflict why there's a mistake we made as government then not to disass ify an intelligence document about what happened in Alexander 2008 that thing was organized to to drive
the zimbabweans out of the country back to Zimbabwe because there were elections in Zimbabwe it was people were being driven out they were going to vote against Bob m an intelligence report which has got the names and the dates and venues where people was met and planned this and so on it's presented as a xenophobic ATT by the people of Alex against it was wrong was organized systematic for the political purpose I'm saying the mistake we made we should have dis dis classify that intelligence report it's got the names and the dates and the venues
of the meeting meetings which are organized in order to produce its outcome we've got many many challenges of the economy here unemployment very serious problem economy is in crisis I'm I'm a former president of this country and you'll never ever convince me that that his economy is in crisis because of foreigners it's not [Applause] true it's not true it's because with there certain things that have happened with the regard economy which have produced economic crisis resulting among other things in unemployment so we got to solve this problem we got to deal with this economy and
deal with these problems of unemployment at the same time the country has got laws about migration of people let's let's let's enforce the laws you can't just come in illegally so the thing about the registration of people undocumented is correct but I'm saying like we have an economic crisis it's incorrect to think that that economic crisis is caused by people who have come from the rest of the world I'm I'm hoping that I I'm coming back to the matter of the national dialogue that this matter also becomes a matter of discussion one of the things
that happened colleagues very important in my view is that the the continent genuinely took it as one of its responsibility to help us to fight and defeat a it ordinary citizens would contribute Monies to go into a common Fund in order to support the struggle here in Namibia in M that became a people's issue wherever you went around the continent I've got willo here former Ambassador whatever you went on the continent 1980 1985 the focus on South Africa among the Ordinary People was very high the consequence of it is that when South Africa becomes liberated
the same masses they say I'm going to South Africa it's natural they developed that kind of very fondness and closeness to this country so we must go to this country that's the challenge real challenge we face it doesn't matter I'm saying it doesn't matter how many electrical fences you build you are not going to stop these Africans coming here so our challenge is to say how do we deal with that reality and then my colleagues you might also remember that a few years back there were similar so-called xenophobic attacks in deban what the provincial government
did there was to appoint a commission to go into that which was ched by judge navip you'll find that report on the internet and they deal with this question they say the reality of the matter is you've got many migrants coming from the continent and elsewhere who come here and there's no way I'm going to stop it the issue is how do we deal with this things who become new citizens of South Africa new residents who got to find a way of dealing with it and practical steps I'm saying that that na report is very
important it deals addresses this question when we're new in government here issue was raised about there are many mozambicans who come across the border and get employed by the farmers in the then Eastern transval ER paid low wages out compet the South African Farm Workers and and all that must deal with this matter so we agreed and and then a big movement took place to deport to deport these mozambicans back to mosambik I think we contined that program for two months at best and stopped it the reason we stopped it is because the following week
after they've been back in the country or you had lindella this place they called lindella for people are being deported come Christmas time the zimbabweans would go to lindela to say I'm illegal so that the government must must convey them at its cost transform them back to Zimbabwe two days after New Year they are back how do you deal with this situation I'm saying that I'm hoping that in the National dialogue there will be a discussion of this because certainly I mean as a as an African and I belong to this old tradition as in
our culture you are never ever hostile to a stranger a visitor mam w a visitor will come say get the best food in the house it's a frame of [Applause] mind I hope that the matter will get discussed and then resolved in that in that context
