Statement issued by Fred Nel, Leader of the DA Tshwane Pretoria Caucus
Fred Nel, Leader of the DA’s Tshwane Caucus, today condemned the xenophobic attacks that occurred in the Moreleta Park/ Garsfontein area east of Pretoria. “We have been warning the council for a long time now that the informal settlements in the Woodlands area need to be addressed; however, they chose not to take action. We condemn the attack on foreigners in the area and request the government and security forces to step in and take control of the situation.”
Nel commented that apart from crime, the eastern side of Pretoria has always been a peaceful area and actions like this would no doubt shock the residents. “I am just scared that residents in the area, who are already fed up with violent crime, will take the law into their own hands if the police don’t step in and solve the problem. We could sit with a mini war on our hands if the situation is not calmed down immediately.”
Nel called on all political parties to play a role in educating their members in the art of tolerance in order to stem the wave of xenophobia. “I think we all have a role to play in educating communities to tolerate each other. Political parties, government and NGO’s need to step in and educate people that violence is never the solution to our problems. We already live in a violent and criminal society we don’t need to add these xenophobic attacks to our growing list of societal threats.”
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Enquiries: Cllr. Fred Nel 0832632427
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