Msimanga: Foreigners streaming into Tshwane
Tshwane Mayor Solly Msimanga says around 10 000 foreigners are streaming into the capital every month - fueling clashes between South Africans and foreigners.
Last week saw a controversial anti-illegal immigrant march organised by community members of Mamelodi, east of Pretoria. The march saw several stand-offs between locals and immigrants, with police firing rubber bullets and teargas to keep the groups apart.
Locals are blaming foreign nationals for unemployment and a spike in crime.
"People who are coming from outside, find themselves living in government owned buildings - especially in Pretoria West," Msimanga says.
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He adds that old city council properties have been taken over by foreign nationals.
"If we had done enough to grow the pie, people wouldn't be fighting over scraps," he says.
Msimanga concedes that government has failed to address the needs of the people and this has contributed to the tension.
"We failed, for a very long time, to address the material needs of our people. What is coming now is just the symptoms," he says.
He calls on cabinet ministers to step in and take control of the situation by securing South Africa's borders and document all foreign nationals.
"I am hoping that the minister of home affairs, safety and security and the minister of international relations could sit around the table and discuss how we can secure our borders," Msimanga says.