<\/p>\n
Ghana and Nigeria have urged the African Union (AU) to address what they describe as \u201cAfrophobia\u201d in SA, condemning ongoing protests against undocumented foreign nationals and calling for coordinated action to protect migrants.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The two countries’ foreign ministers recently met to discuss the unrest, which has reportedly contributed to the departure of thousands of migrants from SA.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Political Scientist and Conflict Resolution Analyst David Matsanga warned against isolating SA, arguing that African countries should seek consensus rather than condemnation. \u201cWe should not condemn South Africa. Instead, Ghana, Nigeria and other countries, Uganda, Kenya, Cameroon, Mozambique and Malawi, should sit down as Africans instead of going for other retributive justice against SA,\u201d Matsanga said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Matsanga said SA continues to face unresolved socioeconomic challenges dating back to the post-apartheid era and argued that these issues should be understood within a broader continental context. \u201cI am not in favour of the policy of total condemnation of the SA government,\u201d Matsanga said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Addressing concerns about the impact on diplomatic relations, Matsanga criticised the public exchanges between officials from SA and Ghana, urging leaders to avoid escalating tensions through social media. \u201cThe SA Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Ghanaian Foreign Minister of Foreign Affairs should stop social media exchanges that could escalate into difficulties,\u201d Matsanga said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Matsanga said African countries should focus on constructive engagement and diplomacy rather than legal or political confrontation. \u201cHow do we find a middle ground? How do we find a talking point so that SA and Ghana and other countries affected can sit down at the table to avoid isolation and condemnation that could escalate the troubles that we see in SA?\u201d Matsanga asked.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
According to Matsanga, Africa should be cautious about external actors exploiting divisions on the continent. \u201cAfrican countries, listen to me. You don’t start condemning your brother in SA. Let’s help them. This has happened by a few isolated goons. Let’s help SA to sort the mess on the international scene,\u201d Matsanga said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
On the role of the AU, Matsanga said the continent needs time to lower tensions before leaders engage in further discussions. \u201cPeople are still angered. People are angered about their nationals being killed, mistreated, beaten up and their properties taken,\u201d Matsanga said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
However, Matsanga argued that further isolation would not resolve the crisis. \u201cTwo mistakes don’t make a good thing at all. We can’t do them twice,\u201d Matsanga said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Looking beyond the immediate dispute, Matsanga said migration is a continent-wide challenge driven by economic disparities and historical factors. \u201cAfrica needs to go back to the drawing table,\u201d Matsanga said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Drawing comparisons with China’s economic transformation, Matsanga argued that African countries should focus on development, job creation and economic opportunities to reduce migration pressures. \u201cAll these migration issues will keep on coming. It’s not only SA. Every country has got rules,\u201d Matsanga said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Matsanga concluded that African leaders should work collectively to address the root causes of migration while preserving continental unity. \u201cWe must speak as Africans, clean this continent and bring it to sanity so that the generation we are leaving behind can look after a continent that is worth something,\u201d Matsanga said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
–ChannelAfrica–<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":40092,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"news-type":[26],"class_list":["post-40091","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-general_news","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"A Political Analyst has called for dialogue and African unity amid growing diplomatic tensions over the treatment of foreign nationals in South Africa (SA).","published_date":"","news_description":"A Political Analyst has called for dialogue and African unity amid growing diplomatic tensions over the treatment of foreign nationals in South Africa (SA).","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/40091","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\/40091\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40093,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/40091\/revisions\/40093"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40092"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40091"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=40091"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}