South Africa is grappling with sporadic, unsanctioned outbreaks of violence against other Africans; that is true. Tragic and unacceptable as they are, these outbreaks are not as simplistic as Mahama suggests.
ON MAY 6, the Government of Ghana formally petitioned the African Union (AU), demanding that “Xenophobic attacks in South Africa” be placed on the agenda of the Eighth Mid‑Year Coordination Meeting in El Alamein, Egypt, in June and that the AU take action against South Africa for alleged mistreatment of African migrants.
In light of this petition, it is important that as Pan-Africanists committed to truth, fairness, and genuine continental solidarity, we firmly caution the Government of Ghana that its populist decision to drag South Africa before the continental body is disingenuous, alarmist, and populist.
Edem Abotsi, a Ghanaian, serves as chief financial officer of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF). He is not alone; many Ghanaians, quietly and without fanfare, hold key leadership positions across South Africa’s public and private sectors.
What this tells us is that the conflict President John Mahama reduces to “xenophobia” is not a generic anti-Ghanaian sentiment or Afropessimism. Rather, it is an economic tangle among the poor, a struggle for scarce jobs and informal trading opportunities, while educated, professional Ghanaians and other Africans thrive in this country. Ghana's framing to the AU is not only simplistic; it is dishonest.
