When division rises, so must dialogue

11 SEP 2026, 00:00

8 min read

South Africa has overcome difficult moments before. The lessons from the 2008 xenophobic violence, the #FeesMustFall movement and the July 2021 unrest remind us that ignoring public concerns worsens divisions.

Constructive engagement does not mean avoiding difficult conversations. It means creating space for honest discussion, listening to different experiences and finding solutions that protect the Constitution and the dignity of everyone who lives in South Africa.

The debate on immigration has revealed stark divisions.

March and March and ActionSA are among those who call for the mass deportation of immigrants.

Others strongly oppose the calls, including the Economic Freedom Fighters and human rights organisations in the Siyafana Sonke Action Campaign. They accuse March and March of being xenophobic, politically motivated and scapegoating immigrants for the socio-economic issues facing South Africa.

On the other hand, March and March accuses human rights groups of caring more about migrants than South Africans, being unpatriotic and supporting lawlessness.

The government seems slow to respond, leaving the debate to become more hostile and toxic, as Karen Allen from the Institute for Security Studies warned.

It is difficult to ignore the arguments advanced on either side, whether by March and March or the Siyafana Sonke Action Campaign. The debate cuts across race, class and political affiliation. It is no longer clear who speaks for the poor and vulnerable.

Who can be counted as poor and vulnerable? Is it the unemployed South African struggling to find work? Is it a migrant who came to South Africa in search of safety or better opportunities?

Or are unemployed South Africans and migrants from neighbouring countries to be included in talk about poverty and inequality in this unequal society?

These are difficult matters to parse and they deserve a fact-based discussion rather than accusatory posturing.

South Africa's high unemployment, poverty and inequality have created frustration among many people. Communities are struggling with failing municipal services, crime, housing shortages and the burden of trying to make a living amid depressed economic circumstances.

Over the years, the concerns have shaped social interactions and fuelled social tension. This has been reflected in findings from the Human Sciences Research Council's (HSRC) South African Social Attitudes Surveys.

The Covid-19 pandemic exacerbated social tension and contributed significantly to the growth of anti-migrant sentiments.

The concerns must be addressed without scapegoating migrants for the problems facing South Africa, a country battling apartheid legacies, including spatial injustice and exclusion of the black majority from economic participation. Many of the challenges existed long before the immigration 'crisis'.

Research by the HSRC points to unemployment, public frustration and the risk of migrants being scapegoated for problems that require political solutions.

Afrobarometer also highlights growing dissatisfaction with local government and the state of democracy.

The lesson is that the immigration debate cannot be separated from the wider crisis of trust between citizens and government and the growing distrust in social institutions in contemporary South Africa.

One thing is becoming increasingly clear: there are many opinions and groups involved in the debate but many appear unwilling to listen to one another.

Instead of engaging with different views, antagonists question one another's motives.

The government appears to be watching from the sidelines instead of reactivating platforms that can bring people together in dialogue.

In 2008, xenophobic violence erupted across the country.

Xenowatch reported more than 70 deaths related to this. This is also borne out by crime statistics from the government.

And it is the highest of all 1 357 reported incidents of xenophobic discrimination in South Africa, from 1994 till today.

After the 2008 incidents, the government responded through policy interventions and efforts to promote social cohesion, including the National Action Plan to Combat Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance and Anti-Poverty Strategy and the War on Poverty campaign.

While the efforts did not solve every problem, they showed that the government did not remain silent when tension was rising.

South Africa experienced another defining moment through the #FeesMustFall movement.

At the time, the country was also divided. Public interest litigation organisations, like the Centre for Applied Legal Studies, supported students who demanded free higher education, while others believed the protests were disruptive and illegal, especially middle class and business interests.

The government initially responded with force and many students were arrested and injured in the police action.

Some political leaders and the then-minister of higher education, Blade Nzimande, even claimed that students were being used by external forces to destabilise the country.

As tension continued, the government conceded that force alone would not solve the crisis.

It established the Commission of Inquiry into Higher Education and Training, aka the Heher Commission, engaged with students and universities and eventually introduced policies that addressed some of the students' demands, including free higher education for qualifying students.

Although not everyone was satisfied and despite ongoing crises around funding for and access to higher education, the interventions helped reduce tension and opened space for dialogue.

The same lesson can be drawn from the July 2021 unrest in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng.

The crisis took place during a period of severe economic hardship, job losses and political tension.

The SAHRC's report highlighted serious failures by the state and the broader conditions in which the violence occurred.

The current immigration debate requires the same approach. South Africa cannot solve this issue through social media arguments, endless accusations or violence.

The government must reactivate space for meaningful engagement across communities, involving civil society, migrant organisations, researchers, business and elected officials, as well as political administrators to openly discuss the challenges facing the country. This could include the revival of the National Dialogue, to provide an important platform for engagement.

Listening to different perspectives does not mean agreeing with everything. It simply means recognising that lasting solutions come from dialogue rather than confrontation.

A possible step would be for the government to establish an independent commission of inquiry into xenophobic violence and the factors contributing to the tension around immigration.

Such a commission should not be used to target anyone in the debate. Instead, it should examine whether the state is fulfilling its constitutional obligation to protect people from violence, intimidation and unlawful discrimination.

It should assess the effectiveness of immigration policies, investigate credible claims about organised criminality or other factors contributing to public frustration. It should make practical recommendations for the government.

Most importantly, it should allow affected communities, migrants, civil society organisations, businesses, researchers and government departments to present their experiences and evidence.

Corruption Watch argues that commissions can be used as a political tool to delay accountability. The concern is valid.

An inquiry should therefore have a clear mandate, clear timeframes and a mechanism to ensure that its recommendations are acted upon.

The purpose should not be another report that gathers dust. It should be to help South Africa understand why tension has reached this point and what needs to be done to prevent them from becoming worse.

The commission should also establish who should be held accountable, draw lessons from the reported xenophobic violence and consider the findings for investigations by the police and other relevant institutions. It should make clear recommendations on what needs to be done, who should be responsible and how xenophobic violence can be prevented in the future.

Importantly, its work should lead to action rather than simply another report, with at least an 18-month timeframe for completing its work.

An inquiry could help reduce hostility. With law enforcement agencies under scrutiny before the Madlanga commission, another independent commission could provide a more credible way of investigating xenophobic violence and tension around immigration, while government and other actors are working towards addressing socio-economic issues.

Furthermore, the commission of inquiry into the criminality involved in xenophobia and factors contributing to xenophobic violence could allow government departments, institutions, civil society organisations and other stakeholders to assess the steps that have been taken and identify what more needs to be done.

Such a process could provide the public with a platform for engagement that is less hostile and operates within the parameters of the law.

If we continue to choose accusations over engagement, the divisions will deepen. But if we choose evidence-based dialogue, politically and socially responsible actions, we might begin to find the common ground that our democracy requires: free and open engagements on political or economic or social topics, compromise through peaceful means, with accommodation of majority and minority interests.

Lungelo Mncwabe is the municipal oversight and accountability programme manager at Auwal Socio-Economic Research Institute.