Introducing Limpopo Premier Dr Phophi Ramathuba to 702 Breakfast on Wednesday, Bongani Bingwa described her as one of South Africa’s most outspoken political figures.
He called her a leader whom some people ‘love to hate’Â and others ‘hate to love’. He added that she has built a reputation for challenging the status quo.
One of the issues that has recently placed Ramathuba at the centre of public debate has been the ongoing issue of illegal migration.
“You’ve cautioned against targeting people simply because of how dark-skinned they may be, or even because they speak a different language,” said Bingwa.
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Ramathuba has previously spoken about the problem of people targeting others based on their language or appearance.
“What could have started as an initiative by concerned citizens about the migration crisis… got to be hijacked by others who are now bringing a tribalistic tendency, beginning to target certain individuals,” she said.
Ramathuba said many of those being profiled speak languages associated with her own province, Limpopo, leaving even South Africans vulnerable to harassment.
“If somebody from Limpopo says, ‘I am an acting judge and an advocate, but I went out just to get coffee, and during that process I was asked for an ID because I did not have my ID’… what will then happen to ordinary workers from Limpopo faced with the same situation?”
She urged communities to work with police instead of taking matters into their own hands.
“We are beginning to see what is now being done by the South African government. Why don’t we work with the South African law enforcement agencies to deal with this matter decisively?”
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Bingwa also pointed to remarks that sparked national controversy in 2022, when Ramathuba herself confronted an undocumented Zimbabwean patient receiving treatment at a Limpopo hospital.
“You challenged an expectant mother who, it appeared, was from Zimbabwe about why she was giving birth at a South African hospital versus one from her country of origin. Some of the people who are doing the things you are criticising now will say, what’s the difference?” asked Bingwa.
Ramathuba defended her position, saying it still stands.
“There’s no way, Bongani, you can be in any other country anywhere in the world without your documentation. The law of every country must be respected.”
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Sara-Jayne Makwala King
www.ewn.co.za
