MTN Chairman Tears Into Xenophobia: ‘South Africa Is Nothing Without Africa’

MTN Group Chairman Mcebisi Jonas has delivered a scathing rebuke of xenophobia in South Africa, warning that blaming foreign nationals for the country's economic and social problems distracts from what he described as deep failures of governance, corruption and weak state institutions.

Speaking during the funeral of Zimbabwean-born activist and public servant Thokozani Damasane, Jonas said South Africa's prosperity is inseparable from that of the African continent and insisted that anti-foreigner sentiment would not solve the country's mounting challenges.

"Foreigners can leave tomorrow – inequality will be with us. Foreigners will leave tomorrow – unemployment will be with us. Foreigners will leave tomorrow – our police will remain corrupt. Foreigners will leave tomorrow – our politicians will still be concerned with one thing: being elected and re-elected," he said.

The former South African Deputy Minister of Finance, who now chairs Africa's largest telecommunications company, argued that the country's difficulties stem primarily from institutional failures rather than immigration.

According to Jonas, successive governance failures have created an environment where citizens become vulnerable to political narratives that portray migrants as the source of South Africa's problems.

"The problem is the failure of the state. The state doesn't manage immigration. It doesn't manage its borders. It doesn't enforce law enforcement. It doesn't manage education. What are you expecting?" he asked.

He said politicians seeking electoral advantage often exploit public frustration instead of addressing the underlying causes of unemployment, poverty and insecurity.

"When people feel the burn, they become vulnerable to politicians whose sole purpose is to be elected and re-elected. Some of them have no credibility whatsoever. But they lead marches and tell our people that the problem is not us, it is foreigners."

Jonas also criticised the persistence of tribalism and ethnic politics, describing them as colonial legacies that continue to divide African societies.

He argued that ethnic identities were historically manipulated by colonial administrations to entrench indirect rule and warned that similar divisions now fuel discrimination and violence.

"It's no longer about whether you are from South Africa or not from South Africa. It's about the tribe... you are different and therefore we have to persecute you. Something fundamental has been lost in our country."

The MTN chairman urged political leaders to reject identity politics, saying ethnic nationalism undermines national unity and democratic progress.

"Identity politics, we must banish them in our country. Ethno-nationalism is something that in this country we must banish."

Jonas made the remarks while paying tribute to the late Thokozani Damasane, a Zimbabwean-born activist who settled in South Africa after apartheid and became involved in public service and community development.

He described Damasane as someone who embraced South Africa's struggles and worked for the country's progress regardless of his place of birth.

"He immersed himself deeply into the struggles, into the pains of South Africans, and he became one of us," Jonas said.

Reflecting on a past conversation with the late activist, Jonas recalled Damasane warning that young South Africans might one day feel compelled to leave their own country in search of better opportunities.

According to Jonas, that prediction now resonates amid rising inequality, corruption and economic hardship.

Jonas concluded by stressing that South Africa's long-term economic success cannot be separated from the development of the African continent.

He said regional cooperation, rather than hostility towards migrants, remains essential for shared prosperity.

"We are a nation embedded in Africa and without Africa, our growth as a country, economically our fortune is intertwined with the growth of Africa."

He added:

"South Africa is nothing without Africa. And Africa is nothing without South Africa. We cannot judge people by their origin. We cannot determine the legal status of people by their origin."

His remarks come against the backdrop of recurring anti-foreigner protests and xenophobic attacks in parts of South Africa, where migrants from other African countries have frequently been blamed for unemployment, crime and pressure on public services claims that remain the subject of intense political and public debate.