This & that with Mal'phosa: Int'yenzayo, Aaron Motsoaledi siyayizonda!

There was a demonstration yesterday in Hilbrow - Zimbabweans of all tribes, colour and creed coming together to plead with the Home office to please extend their permits. Well, you might not have heard about the demo, or seen any sign of it. It was peaceful - no looting, no burning of tyres, no stone throwing, no gunshots - no chaos - just peaceful as any peaceful demo should be. But, there was a lot of singing - 'Into Oyenzayo, siyayizonda, Aaron! into oyenzayo, siyayizonda, Aaron! '

However, the (final) verdict for all Zimbabwean permit holders is out - they should all be out of the country by the 31st of December or face jail terms or deportation or both. No compromise. Very sad state of affairs. Have you seen or heard the minister of home affairs speak about foreigners, especially Zimbabweans? He is menacing. He is angry. He is frothing, like a rabid dog - like a hyena that just detected the smell of carrion. And he has taken it all too personal. One would think he, like this Dudula young man, was born of and abandoned by a Zimbabwean dad. If he had been hiding in some hole in Zimbabwe when the rest of the South African heroes were either incarcerated at Robben Island or canvassing for the fall of apartheid, I would say he was not treated well there. I guess he slept without food on some days, or had that hole flooded with water on rainy days. And now he has found a chance for revenge. Yes, revenge, like those blood thirsty vampires who decimated the Ndebele Nation in the 80s. he doesn't care what fate awaits all these peple in those god forsaken countries.

The minister's excuse, like many who are lazy to think like him, is that Zimbabweans are criminals - all of them. Really? There are foreigners of all types, shapes and sizes in South Africa. Take, for instance, the Nigerians. These guys never want to work. All they want is quick money. They commit fraud at monumental levels, and scam people of their hard earned cash and sell dangerous drugs to every Jack and Jill, and establish bogus churches.

The Malawians, Zambians and Congolese survive through the name of God - form churches and scare people about 'seed' and 'tithe', and people part with their money willingly. The Basotho concentrate on mining in disused mines - which is termed illegal mining here.

The world over, I haven't seen people who are as hard working and committed as Zimbabweans. Of course, there are criminals here and there, like all nations would have. But to say all Zimbabweans are criminals is not fair, to say the least. There were police stations, courts and prisons in South Africa even before the first Zimbabwean set foot here. These were not built for political prisoners only - but for all south Africans who committed crime - be it fraud, armed robbery, pick pocketing, rape, drunken driving, you name it.

Why is it that whenever there is a group of robbers arrested, there is always one South African and twenty Zimbabweans? Should we trust this type of computing? Or is it a deliberate way to support the minister of home affairs xenophobic agenda? People will play with numbers just to push their skewed agendas. Like in Zimbabwe elections, 14 people vote, and the ruling party gets 75 votes and the opposition 3 out of those 14 - a criminal way of doing math. Or a government that will continually harp on 'rising' corona cases, just so that the World Health Organization and nongovernmental organizations pour in more donations - which donations find their way into individual pockets of politicians.

In South Africa, Zimbabweans are the ones who make things happen - they love work and are dedicated, and this is why employers prefer them to locals. They teach in crèches and schools and in colleges, at times for very little reward. They run up and down the hospital corridors, making sure the locals regain their health. In old people's homes, they hold the fort - braving the poo, urine, vomitus, insults and swearing, and all types of curses, without a whimper. Some of them are guards at our factories and companies. They brave armed criminals just to save these companies who are happy to have them. Am sure some of you Zimbabweans have lost a relative or two, to armed robbers during a shoot-out. Most companies are still standing today because of these brave unsung heroes. Has the minister ever considered this? Has he even taken into account that high rise buildings are mainly occupied by these foreigners he hates so much, because they are not scared to pay rentals, unlike most South Africans who want to live in mansions for free, get food of several colours for free, go to school for free, and be given money just for staying at home? Is this the new South Africa that Mandela envisaged and promised his people - that they eat, drink and be merry, and hate work and their neighbours? That South Africa will be a no go area for its neighbours, citizens fleeing hardships of all kinds in their respective countries? That anyone trying to survive through blood, sweat and tears will be labeled 'criminal' or 'illegal'?

Hey guys, how many of us are affected? Over 400 thousand? This is good money. Money speaks all languages in the whole world, even the minister's language itself. Am not implying anything sinister or illegal but money can definitely save us from being forcefully shipped back to the Biblical Egypt. Asikhulumeni laye, uMinister.

Ngiyabonga mina

Mal'phosa

Live from Joburg