South Africa’s history is rooted in continental solidarity. Neighbouring states and the
broader African community stood with us during apartheid. That debt of solidarity
remains. Solidarity was never a one-way street. Africa stood with the struggling
masses of South Africa, and we stood with Africa. That is the tradition we must
honour today.
Our history records the intervention by the ANC President, Mr. O.R. Tambo when
President Julius Nyerere of newly independent Tanganyika appealed for help in 1961.
THE TWENTY NIGHTINGALES
The British nurses were refusing to serve the new nation and left with their
single tickets back to Britain, a crisis in healthcare loomed.
President Tambo responded, he mobilised a group of South African professional
nurses to go and rescue Tanganyika. They came to be known as the “20
Nightingales.” They left South Africa through Bechuanaland and reached
Tanganyika. Their service helped stabilise a fledgling Tanganyika’s health system.
That is our legacy too.
President Tambo showed that same solidarity again when UNITA bandits,
sponsored by apartheid South Africa and the entire Western World, advanced to
seize Angola. Umkhonto we Sizwe combatants joined MPLA and the Cuban forces
launching counter attacks that forced UNITA Bandits to retreat for good.
MK cadres lie buried in Angola today, and as we have done in Zambia and
Zimbabwe, we will go back to Angola to repatriate the mortal remains of our heroes and heroines or conduct a symbolic cultural repatriation, we will not be going there
for mine or gold fields of Angola, but to bring our own home with dignity.
We have seen our Cuban brothers do the same for their fallen combatants.
But solidarity must also include responsibility to our own people and to those who
seek refuge here. We cannot build a just society if we ignore the strain on
communities, public services, and the rule of law. High unemployment, failing
infrastructure and weak border management, these create tensions. When that
tension is left unaddressed, it erupts into skirmishes, criminality, and division. None
of these advance the Africa we want.
THE THREE TRUTHS WE MUST UPHOLD
Three truths we must hold together:
Solidarity is not open borders without order, freedom of movement across Africa’s
borders must be accompanied by discipline, planning, and law. The same must
apply to migration, managed migration protects both South Africans and foreign
nationals. Chaos helps only exploiters, human traffickers, slumlords, and those who
undercut wages.
Our economic challenges are domestic first, unemployment and service delivery
shortfalls existed before migration reached this boiling point. Fixing our education
system, industrial policy and local government is the foundation. Migration policy
must sit inside this broader plan and not replace it.
Law must apply equally to all, no one is above the law not South Africans who
commit violence, and not foreign nationals who engage in crime. When the law is
weak, fear and rumor fill the gap. Strong, fair enforcement protects everyone.
MKLWV welcomes the outcomes of the security cluster briefings last week, it really
brought about the neccesary hope to our current challenges.
MKLWV calls for:
Managed, documented migration that aligns with labor needs and national
capacity.
Crackdown on criminal networks that profit from undocumented movement
and exploitation.
- Investment in townships and rural areas so economic opportunity reduces
competition for scraps. Probably we might wish to borrow from policies like
Emiritisation. - Diplomatic engagement with SADC and AU to share responsibility for
development and mobility across the region and the continent.
South Africa did not win freedom alone and we will not solve our challenges
alone either. - But solutions start at home with order, accountability, and a clear
vision for shared prosperity. Renewal of our institutions in and outside
government cannot be overstated. Like President Cyril Ramaphosa asserted
“Renew or Perish” what is your choice?
Media enquiries:
Mr. Eric Gaborone: 060 960 3960
Email: [email protected]
Lennox Klaas:
Spokesperson
What’s app: 071 8944 306
Email: [email protected]
Issued by:
Dan Hatto
MKLWV
National Chair
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