The recent incidents of violence and criminality in the country, including those affecting foreign nationals are a cause for concern.
In the wake of reported cases of xenophobia in 2008, we were outraged as a nation by the spread of violence targeted at foreign nationals. However, our outrage had a short span as everything went back to normality. Eleven years later, we are reeling from the events of 2008 without any cure. This debate, therefore, must be context-based.
The violence against foreign nationals must be condemned. Part of this condemnation must include pressurising this government to leverage the socioeconomic conditions of our people. We have taken note that this government has introduced the Border Management Authority Bill but this Bill, hon members, deals with peripheral matters such as the handling of filing applications, risk systems and proper pricing of imported goods. True to form, the Bill is not interested in the movement of persons in and out the country.
The Khampepe Commission of Inquiry made damning findings against the electoral environment under which the elections in Zimbabwe in 2002 were held. Our government, for more than 12 years, kept the report under wraps. We are seeing, in part, the manifestation of all these indecisions today.
The AU is partly to blame as well, because it has allowed despots to govern without accountability. It was only in 2002 that the AU Constitutive Act introduced the non-indifference clause, allowing nations to interfere in other states rocked by war crimes, abuse of human rights and so on.
Africa has to improve the conditions of her people to curb unwarranted migration. The scarce resources the continent has must be to the benefit of her people. Africa, unite against corrupt lumpen politicians. It can't be correct; hon Deputy Speaker that the leaders here will have their slices of bread buttered both sides while the people are starving to death. [Time expired.]