Speaker, on 23 and 24 May this year, hooligans and rogue elements attacked businesses owned by Pakistani, Somali and Bangladeshi nationals in Sedibeng and Orange Farm. The cause was the shooting of a local resident who stole from a Pakistani-owned shop in Sedibeng. This triggered a violent reaction by gangster elements, which quickly spread to Orange Farm. A wide range of reasons for such a backlash has been raised by residents, such as unfair competition by businesses owned by foreigners due to their markedly lower prices; allegations of sham marriages entered into by the foreigners; outright thuggery, anarchism and hooliganism by local residents and the manipulation of anarchists and hooligans into attacking shops owned by foreigners; alleged resentment felt by locals towards foreigners; suspected drug trafficking, especially of nyaope; insular behaviour by the foreigners, who have no propensity to integrate socially with locals; and vulnerability of local residents due to hunger and poverty.
Since the Polokwane conference resolved that the ANC had to work on improving the relationship between South African communities and foreign nationals, we have to work very hard to realise this noble goal. The enhancement of diplomatic relations with foreign nationals' countries of origin would go a long way to help stabilise and even pre-empt such unfortunate incidents in future. [Applause.]