Ghana summons South Africa’s envoy over ‘xenophobic incidents’

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Republic of Ghana’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa (Photo by Tetiana DZHAFAROVA / AFP)

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Ghana summoned South Africa’s envoy over several “xenophobic incidents”, including one in which a legal Ghanaian migrant was asked to return home and “fix his country”.

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South Africa, the continent’s most industrialised economy, has long been a destination for both legal and undocumented African workers.

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But now saddled with an unemployment rate of over 30 percent, it has seen repeated spurts of xenophobic and anti-migrant protests, and occasionally violence.

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Videos online have circulated in recent days showing Ghanaians being harassed.

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Foreign Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa spoke of an incident in KwaZulu-Natal province in which a Ghanaian, “a legal resident was confronted… (and) instructed to leave South Africa and ‘fix his country,'” the foreign ministry said in a statement late Thursday.

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It also further warned of “escalating tensions, with foreign nationals, including Ghanaians, being advised to remain indoors for their safety”.

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In his meeting with South Africa’s acting high commissioner Thando Dalamba, Ablakwa “underscored… Ghana’s support for the anti-apartheid struggle” and “emphasised that the unprovoked harassment and attacks on law-abiding individuals are contrary to the principles of African solidarity”.

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There are around 2.4 million foreign-born people in South Africa, according to official statistics from 2022, or about four percent of the population.

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AFP

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