<\/p>\n
Addressing the nation on Wednesday, Hill-Lewis said unemployment and weak economic growth remain the country\u2019s most pressing problems, warning against targeting vulnerable individuals.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cWe must be honest about the real crisis it is an economy that does not grow, a state that does not work, and a government that has failed to create jobs,\u201d Hill-Lewis said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
His remarks come days before June 30 protests organised by civic groups, including the March and March movement, which has called for undocumented migrants to leave the country.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The planned demonstrations follow weeks of heightened tensions, including the recent displacement and repatriation of foreign nationals in parts of the KwaZulu-Natal province.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Hill-Lewis called on authorities to ensure public safety and prevent any escalation of violence during the protests. He urged law enforcement agencies to enforce the law while protecting both communities and individuals who may be at risk. \u201cWe must stand for peace and order,\u201d Hill-Lewis said.<\/p>\n
Hill-Lewis said public frustration is rooted in broader structural challenges, including high unemployment, limited economic growth and service delivery failures.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
He argued that focusing on migrants diverts attention from systemic issues affecting the country\u2019s development. \u201cThe deepest problem is not a vulnerable person; it is the failure to create jobs and deliver services,\u201d Hill-Lewis said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
–ChannelAfrica–<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":37988,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"news-type":[78,26],"class_list":["post-37987","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-featured","news-type-general_news","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"South Africa's (SA) Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Geordin Hill-Lewis has urged South Africans to focus on the country\u2019s economic challenges and maintain peace ahead of planned demonstrations against illegal immigration.","published_date":"","news_description":"South Africa's (SA) Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Geordin Hill-Lewis has urged South Africans to focus on the country\u2019s economic challenges and maintain peace ahead of planned demonstrations against illegal immigration.","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/37987","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/37987\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":37989,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/37987\/revisions\/37989"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37988"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37987"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=37987"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}