Outrageous: South African minister wants foreigners to reveal their trade secrets to locals.

South African Small Business Development minister Lindiwe Zulu in the wake of locals looting foreign-owned businesses last week in Soweto and neighboring townships  said that foreign business owners  must share their business secrets with locals where they operate if they wanted to live and trade without fear of violence and disturbance i.e to curb violence and looting,The Daily Vox reports.

“Black people were never part of the economy of South Africa in terms of owning anything, therefore when they see other people coming from outside being successful they feel like the space is being closed by foreigners,” Zulu said in a phone interview on Wednesday.

“It’s important for the foreigners to share with the South Africans about what it is that makes it possible for them to be successful.”

Also while speaking last week in Soweto, ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantshe said that South Africa must tighten its immigration laws in order to prevent terrorism in the country.

Zulu’s interview last year with The Mail and Guardain reveals she knows the secret of foreiegn owned business success vis-a vis that of locals. Here’s her comment:

You have said several times that South African spaza shop owners should learn from their foreign counterparts. Why?
Let me tell you why they [foreign spaza shop owners] are better at running shops than the local owners – they have a great network system. And also that’s how they live. From the moment they are born, they are introduced to trade. Their mothers, uncles – everyone trades. They start at an early age.

“They must ask themselves how can they [foreigners] be successful in the same communities [where] others [locals] claim they can’t succeed. I’m not talking about illegal immigrants or foreigners who trade without proper licences; I’m talking about legitimate foreign traders. How are they able to make it when our people can’t? It is because they know business. It is in their blood.”

In 2012, before the Mangaung conference, some ANC provinces proposed a policy that said foreigners should not be allowed to own spaza shops because their local counterparts were unable to compete. What are your thoughts on this?
I think we need a conversation as South Africans around that issue.

What are you going to do with the ones that are already here [legally]? Throw them in camps and say don’t make a living? They must make a living. The more they make a living, the more they contribute to the economy. They pay taxes and are active participants in the economy.

By allowing them to be immigrants you have given them a right to make a living. It’s a human right.

  

Now, the question is: What happened to Minister Zulu’s line of thought about foreigners and what makes them successful in business? Her comments comes as a shock. As a high ranking government officials,she should be mindful of her comments as the populace see her as the spokesperson of the government as such comments could incite xenophobic attacks. What are your thoughts?