Africa: The EU's 'Disappointing' Response to the Migration Crisis

Oxford — A closer look at the list ofcommitments from Europe's leaders after their hastily-arranged migrant crisis summit in Brussels reveals no substantial change in response and few measures likely to have any major impact on the flows of migrants and asylum-seekers trying to reach Europe.

The outcome had already been sketched out in a draft plan released on Monday, making Thursday's meeting seem like little more than a public relations exercise.

Leaders like British Prime Minister David Cameron addressed the cameras, promising ships and helicopters to boost search-and-rescue capacity, while the European Council pledged to triple funding for the European Union's Operation Triton.

But what new plans, if any, came out of the meeting, and are they likely to stem the growing crisis?

With the help of migration and refugee experts, IRIN has unpacked the main resolutions and analysed what effect they might have:

Ramp up search-and-rescue

Operation Mare Nostrum, Italy's search-and-rescue effort, which ran from October 2013 until November 2014, was widely seen as effective. However, it relied heavily on one member state and closed down when no more EU funds were forthcoming.

The EU's Frontex border agency took over the role late last year but its operation was heavily criticised by aid groups for its focus on border control over search-and-rescue.

Predictions that many migrant lives would be lost unless a real replacement for Mare Nostrum was found have come all too true.

The deaths of 1,750 migrants in the Mediterranean since the start of the year is 30 times higher than during the same period in 2014, according to the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).

The pledge, therefore, to substantially increase resources and expand the mandate for Operation Triton was widely welcomed.

"The positive thing is that at the highest political level, there is recognition that [search-and-rescue] is within the mandate of Frontex," said Kris Pollet, senior legal and policy officer with Brussels-based European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE).

Britain's pledge of ships and helicopters is particularly noteworthy considering that last October, the Foreign Office publicly refused to support search-and-rescue operations, arguing that they were a pull factor that encouraged more migrants to attempt sea crossings to Europe.

While ramping up search-and-rescue was largely seen as a positive step, experts are quick to point out that it does not address the root causes of the migration crisis.

Target smugglers

Tough new measures to combat migrant smugglers include: "systematic efforts to identify, capture and destroy vessels before they are used," bringing perpetrators to justice, launching a civil-military operation, and taking down online ads by smugglers attempting to drum up business.

Tuesday Reitano, head of the Geneva-based Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, argues that most of these initiatives have come too late to have any real impact on a problem that has been allowed to fester.

"It is a much more complex problem to solve now than it would have been even a year ago," she told IRIN. "Smugglers have managed to put down roots and tentacles that are very far spread. Existing networks are encouraging a lot of new migration, which is witnessed by the diversity of nationalities arriving in Europe.

"Bombing or sinking boats is going to do nothing," she added. "We have evidence that there are now containers full of rubber dinghies being bought in Asia and shipped to Libya. The dinghies are less safe, and infinitely replaceable."

A United Nations Security Council resolution that would allow a civil military operation to patrol Libyan waters might enable some low-level smugglers to be caught and arrested, "but prosecuting traffickers isn't as easy as it looks," said Reitano, who warned that the kingpins controlling the increasingly professional and adaptable smuggling networks would continue operating.

While the use of social media by smugglers has played a role in terms of finding Syrian clients, Africans have long turned to locally known recruiters when planning to migrate. The difference now, according to Reitano, is that instead of paying a smuggler a few hundred dollars to do just one leg of the journey and then working and saving for the next leg, smugglers are encouraging would-be migrants to pay a one-off sum of around $1,500 to go all the way to Italy.

"They're trying to get as much cash up-front as possible, then along the way they ask for more money and tell the family to send more. Essentially it's almost hostage taking," she told IRIN.

Targeting smugglers also does nothing to reduce the demand for their services, which is only likely to increase with growing crises in Yemen and Nigeria.

Stop them coming

Measures such as increasing cooperation with African partners by helping them to better control their land and sea borders are mainly designed to ensure that migrants never reach European shores.

Readmission agreements that allow the EU to return irregular migrants to countries at its borders such as Turkey and Tunisia are already in place, as are various initiatives to work with African countries, such as the Khartoum Process. "It's building on what's already there, but it's this one-sided approach of stemming the flow towards Europe and shifting the burden to countries on the migratory route and making them responsible for stopping them getting to Europe," said Pollet of ECRE.

"If this isn't combined with a clear commitment to do our share and take in more people, that's obviously not going to work."

No increase in refugee resettlement

Far from making a commitment to accept significantly higher numbers of refugees through resettlement as the UN's refugee agency, UNHCR, had urged ahead of the meeting, the EU pledged only to set up a voluntary pilot project.

An earlier draft of the statement had offered a very modest 5,000 resettlement places, but the final draft contained no figure at all.

A programme to relocate asylum-seekers from over-burdened frontline states like Italy and Greece to other member states would be on a voluntary basis and is still being considered.

"For us, that's the big disappointment," said Pollet. "We weren't expecting them to pledge to take in 500,000 people, but at the beginning of the week there was this sense of urgency."

Stefan Kessler, senior policy officer with Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) Europe, described the lack of a commitment on resettlement as particularly disappointing.

"Overall, the clear message from this meeting is: 'Keep protection-seekers far, far away from Europe so that their deaths don't make the headlines in European media,'" he told IRIN.

Send them home

A new programme "for the rapid return of illegal migrants from frontline member states" is to be coordinated by Frontex.

Pollet pointed out that organising return flights for deportees is nothing new for Frontex, and Reitano noted that Italy has also been actively returning large numbers of economic migrants in recent months.

"This is clearly there to be seen as being tough and determined; sending a signal not to come over here because we'll send you back," said Pollet.

"The reality is that the vast majority arriving are those with protection needs - Eritreans, Somalis, Syrians."

Jeff Crisp, former head of policy and evaluation at UNHCR and now an advisor with Refugees International, also noted the document's "complete failure to acknowledge that many of the asylum-seekers originating from countries such as Eritrea, Somalia and Syria have a very strong claim to refugee status."

Next steps

Pollet described the EU Council statement as the "immediate political response" to the migration crisis. A more substantial document containing longer-term measures is expected when the EU Commission releases its new EU agenda on migration in mid-May.

"It's very unclear what is going to come out of that and how much this meeting is going to influence the tone and approach taken by the Commission," he said.

What is clear is that Europe's migration crisis is not going away anytime soon.

"It's hard to say the picture looks rosy in any way," said Reitano. "Yemen is going to make it worse, Boko Haram (the Nigerian Islamist group) is going to make it worse.

"There are too many markets right now of instability and poverty and human rights abuses to dry up the supply."

Malawi Black Friday Boycott of SA Shops in Full Force

Lilongwe/Blantyre — In the wake of a boycott call by the Consumer Association of Malawi (CAMA), of South African shops and businesses, major South African outlets like Game, PEP and Shoprite closed shops in Blantyre and Lilongwe.

This despite a seemingly stuttering start in Malawi's Capital, Lilongwe earlier in the morning as Shoprite and other shops remained opened before eventually closing later.

Shoprite had only operated until 10:20 AM when the police, shop management and civil society leaders agreed to close it instantaneously for fear of sparking violence.

Before the closure, Kapito and Billy Mayaya were seen hovering inside Shoprite asking people to adhere to the boycott.

"You are a Malawian and why don't you show solidarity to our brothers and sisters who have been attacked in South Africa. This boycott is just for a day and why don't you be part of that," Kapito and Mayaya were overheard by this reporter telling one person found buying groceries in the shop.

Shoprite in Lilongwe opened in the morning of Friday before closing later - Pic by Abel Ikiloni

Kapito and Mayaya who could not talk to the media mistakenly told the Mana reporter that they were in the shop to remind those Malawians who had not heard and adhered to the call to stop buying while at the same time ensuring that there was peace.

"Actually our presence here is not to stir violence but rather make sure that there is peace and that people do not take advantage of the situation," Kapito said.

He was however bitter with the Shoprite management for not emulating from what other shops had done by closing business for the whole of Friday.

"Why should they open today when other shops here in Lilongwe as well as in Blantyre have completely closed down, we would like to urge them to do the same before Malawians get angry at them," they (Kapito and Mayaya) said.

Shoprite management could not be reached to comment but many of the staff members told Mana that their boss had briefed them that they had been encouraged by the call from Government to continue with the sales as maximum security would be provided to them.

The Game Store in Lilongwe is closed as Police tighten security - Pic by Abel Ikiloni

And in Blantyre, people in in collaboration with CAMA held peaceful Black Friday demonstrations that have seen all South African shops and other local ones closed.

The black Friday demonstration started in Blantyre on the way to Limbe before making a stop over at Shoprite where big South Africans companies are located where heavy armed police was deployed.

Black Friday is aimed at telling Malawians from all regions in the country to shun South African companies and outlets in the country as a way of demonstrating against Xenophobic attacks on Malawians in South Africa.

A heavy Police presence is on standby in case of any unforeseen problems.

Shoprite being closed on command from CAMA Executive Director, John Kapito, after opening earlier on - Pic by Abel Ikiloni

A visit by Malawi News Agency (MANA) in Blantyre and Limbe has revealed that all shops originating from South Africa are closed including Shoprite, Game Stores and Pep Stores.

There was a heavy police presence all over in Blantyre, Limbe and Lilongwe ensuring that there is peace at the end of the day.

Projects Officer for CAMA, Maurice Mkawihe told reporters at Shoprite where they had a stop over that the 'Black Friday Boycotts' will go on for the next four weeks.

CAMA Executive Director, John Kapito with Billy Mayaya roam in Shoprite before the closure in Lilongwe - Pic by Abel Ikiloni

"The idea of boycotting South African companies and outlets is to register concerns and solidarity with victims of xenophobia.

"Africa is one, whenever there is disagreements let us discuss amicably but not showing anger by violence. What is happening in South Africa is evil," said Mkawihe.

However, many people in the country have expressed mixed reactions over the call by Consumer Association of Malawi (CAMA) Executive Director John Kapito to shun products produced by South African Companies as one way of showing anger over the ongoing xenophobic violence in South Africa.

While other said it is a way to go by, others said the move cannot benefit Malawians saying it is Malawians who are working and benefiting with the shops being targeted

On Tuesday, Civil Society Organizations in the country led by Billy Mayaya held demonstrations in the capital Lilongwe where they presented a petition to the South African High Commission.

Africa: Malaria Costs Africa U.S.$12 Billion a Year

In an interview with AllAfrica for World Malaria Day on April 25, Dr. Fatoumata Nafo-Traoré, executive director of the Roll Back Malaria Partnership, says while death rates have been cut radically, successes in the campaign to eradicate malaria have nevertheless been "partial and fragile."

What is the current status of global malaria control efforts?

In recent years, we've made tremendous strides against malaria. Thanks to increased financing and access to interventions, estimated malaria mortality rates decreased between 2000 and 2013 by 47 percent worldwide and by 54 percent in Africa alone - where 90 percent of all malaria-related deaths still occur - contributing to an estimated 20 percent reduction in global child mortality and helping drive progress against the United Nations Millennium Development Goal (MDG) Four [to reduce child mortality].

As a result of our efforts, 64 countries are on track to meet MDG Six - to halt and begin reversing malaria incidence by 2015 - 55 of which are also on track to reduce malaria case incidence by 75 percent.

But still, our successes are partial and fragile. Almost half of the world's population remains at risk from malaria. Despite unprecedented advances in prevention, diagnostics and treatment, the latest WHO (World Health Organization) report estimates that there were approximately 198 million cases of infection around the world in 2013, killing an estimated 584,000 people.

Globally, a child still dies from malaria every minute. Our successes need to be replicated across all regions affected by malaria, and they need to be sustained and expanded to prevent malaria from coming back in areas where we've eliminated it.

As former Minister of Health for Mali, WHO Country Representative in Ethiopia and now executive director of the Roll Back Malaria (RBM) Partnership, how have you seen the global health landscape change in recent years?

The global health landscape has seen tremendous improvements. In 2000, the world came together in agreement on the Millennium Development Goals, a set of targets aimed at reducing poverty, providing universal education, improving maternal and child health, and halting the spread of infectious diseases by 2015.

The global community rallied around these goals, helping to raise the will and the funds to improve the health and wellbeing of people in some of the most disadvantaged communities around the world as a foundation for human and economic development.

Since the adoption of the MDGs, new donors and development actors have emerged onto the scene. The Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has become an important and critical player, and the U.S. President's Malaria Initiative, the United Kingdom, Japan and numerous development banks and agencies are providing the resources necessary to scale-up innovative interventions and save lives.

Domestic resources - while low - are on the increase. More and more donors have come to see the value of investing in global health as a way to drive greater economic development, and partnerships like Roll Back Malaria have provided value for money and increased donor confidence by coordinating the actions of a wide group of actors.

And the landscape will - and must - continue to evolve. Despite the great efforts made through "Sector Wide Approaches", the International Health Partnership, budget support, collaboration and intrasectoral coordination, the health arena is still fragmented.

Improving the global health architecture, streamlining financial procedures, improving accountability and striving for greater results are a must. The call for universal health coverage in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a health-in-all policy and improvements in socio-economic determinants of health are critical areas of investment moving forward.

The Ebola crisis has shown the importance of investing in health across the board and the role of strong health systems. We all stand to learn from this crisis - health professionals, decision makers, politicians, communities and donors.

What will it take to achieve the goals of the Roll Back Malaria Partnership?

At this critical stage, we must intensify our efforts to ensure adequate resources are in place so we can sustain the gains we've made under the MDGs and finish the unfinished business as we move into the post-2015 SDGs. No single organization or government can defeat malaria - success will require collaboration across all sectors to ensure we can stretch the value of our investments, increase efficiencies, maximize impact and, ultimately, leave no one behind.

There are many actors in the global fight against malaria, but we have a solid coordinating mechanism in the Roll Back Malaria Partnership and a clear roadmap in the Global Malaria Action Plan and its subsequent "Action and Investment to defeat Malaria (AIM) 2016-2030: for a Malaria-Free World", which RBM will launch later this year. Together with the technical guidance of the World Health Organization, we have the tools need to build on our successes and eliminate malaria. But additional financing and strong political commitment will be crucial.

As we approach the deadline of the MDGs, what role will innovations play in helping us achieve our malaria goals?

Innovations are crucial for us to continue improving the health and well-being of populations around the world. With malaria specifically, we know that we need new prevention and treatment tools to help that ensure all are protected from the fatal disease and we can eventually eliminate it in high-burden areas. We must continue investing in research and development so we have alternatives in the face of emerging artemisinin and insecticide resistance.

We also need to find new ways to reach affected communities with effective malaria control commodities and to ensure they are used appropriately. This will require investments in well-trained community health workers and innovative behavior change and social mobilization efforts to ensure life-saving messages and tools reach those in all communities, no matter how remote.

Last but not least, we need to continue thinking outside the box to ensure that there is sufficient funding for the fight against malaria.

This will require us to work together - within and between sectors - to help increase efficiencies and maximize impact of our efforts.

Malaria has a nasty way of bouncing back as soon as our efforts to control it start to wane. Traditional development aid will not suffice, so a number of innovative financing solutions - like UNITAID's tax on air tickets - have been created and others are being piloted, like the pay for performance tax bond just starting in Mozambique.These are both examples of the impact that is achievable when leaders think innovatively about finance and actively commit to the people of this world. The combination of national leadership, international and in country solidarities as well as partnership will be essential if we are to succeed in the fight against malaria and improve the livelihood and quality of life for countless people in developing communities around the world.

How important is political leadership to helping RBM achieve its goals?

Political leadership is crucial to our efforts against malaria. Malaria is not only a health issue, it is also an economic and security issue; and it will require a high level of political leadership and regional diplomacy to ensure effective coordination and cross-border collaboration.

The Africa Leaders Malaria Alliance, which serves to unite political leadership in Africa, has helped exemplify the power of political leadership and bolster increased commitment to overcoming challenges across borders. Other groups like the African Union and the "Elimination 8" countries - who I will join in Zambia for World Malaria Day celebrations - have also played important roles in keeping malaria high on regional development and political agendas to ensure a coordinated, cross-border effort.

How is malaria interlinked with other development issues like poverty?

Malaria has tremendous economic impact on already struggling communities around the world, costing governments and societies billions of dollars in healthcare costs and lost productivity. In Africa alone, where 80 percent of malaria cases occur, malaria costs an estimated minimum of U.S. $12 billion in lost productivity each year, and in some high-burden countries it can account for as much as 40 percent of public health expenditure.

Malaria cases and deaths are not simply numbers; they are lives lost and promise not realized. Malaria keeps parents out of work, teachers out of the classroom and children out of school. When we invest in malaria, we not only invest in health, we invest in entire communities and future generations of leaders.

Since 2001, collective efforts have helped avert more than four million malaria-related deaths globally - the large majority of which are estimated to have been children under five - and today, fewer people than ever before in Africa are becoming infected with malaria.

More and more young children are living to see their fifth birthday and grow into productive members of their communities. Hospital beds once occupied by malaria-stricken patients are free, and as a result schools are full and markets are thriving. Our results are tangible across the board, not just in the health arena.

The RBM Partnership recently put out a call to action for malaria prevention in pregnancy?

Despite the tremendous gains we've made over the past 15 years, we continue to leave some of our most vulnerable behind - namely pregnant women and young children. Sadly, malaria infection during pregnancy is thought to be responsible for as many as 10,000 maternal and up to 200,000 infant deaths each year in Africa alone. In 2013, nearly half of the 35 million pregnant women in sub-Saharan Africa did not receive any preventive treatment during their pregnancy - meaning there were roughly 28 million live births on the continent that were not protected from malaria.

We can - and must - do better to protect these women from malaria. We know it is possible, and there are systems in place to reach these women. More than 60 percent of pregnant women have at least one antenatal visit during their pregnancy - we must do a better job integrating with these services to reach these mothers and ensure no woman is left behind.

Malaria in pregnancy represents a huge gap, and to overcome it we must sustain financing and work together to ensure comprehensive and equitable access to care. If we can do this, we can offer healthier pregnancies and a safer start to life.

What will increased financial commitments mean to the fight against malaria?

Investments in malaria prevention and control have been among the best investments in global health, resulting in a dramatic decrease in malaria deaths and illness and accelerating progress against broader development targets. Just recently, in fact, the UN Secretary-General noted that "Malaria control has proven to be one of the smartest investments in health we can make."

We've seen global investments in malaria peak as international and domestic financing for malaria has increased in recent years, most recently climbing to $2.6 billion in 2013, helping us make great progress. But this number still falls short of the $5.1 billion RBM estimates is required annually through 2020 to achieve universal access of malaria control interventions.

Domestic financing for malaria must be increased to ensure national ownership and sustainable impact. Between 2005 and 2013, domestic financing for malaria in Africa increased, but only at a rate of four percent per year, compared to a 22 percent annual increase of international aid disbursements for the region.

Increased financing - including from domestic budgets - will play a central role in our story as we move forward toward ambitious elimination targets. Investment in malaria will only foster greater economic development for us all.

In fact, experts estimate that just more than $100 billion is needed to completely eliminate malaria by 2030. But this investment could reap a huge benefit: a potential 12 million lives saved, nearly three billion cases averted worldwide and a global gain of $270 billion if the disease is eliminated in sub-Saharan Africa alone.

What is the Roll Back Malaria Partnership?

It is the global framework for coordinated action against malaria.

Founded in 1998 by UNICEF (the United Nations Children's Fund), WHO, UNDP (the UN Development Programme) and the World Bank and strengthened by the expertise, resources and commitment of more than 500 partner organizations, RBM is a public-private partnership that facilitates the incubation of new ideas, lends support to innovative approaches, promotes high-level political commitment and keeps malaria high on the global agenda by enabling, harmonizing and amplifying partner-driven advocacy initiatives.

RBM secures policy guidance and financial and technical support for control efforts in countries and monitors progress towards universal goals.

South Africans chased out of Mozambique

Komatipoort - Xenophobic violence has broken out in Mozambique, forcing South Africans to leave the neighbouring country in a hurry, while trucks exporting goods have been grounded.

Truck driver John Mashiloane, who works for Ngululu Carriers told a News24 correspondent that he was forced to return to South Africa after the truck he was driving was stoned a short distance from the border town of Ressano Garcia.

"I’m back in South Africa, we have parked our trucks in Komatipoort. When we went into Mozambique in the morning, we saw that traffic was clear and thought it was fine, but just 4km into Mozambique near the Muamba Toll Gate, we found a mob of about 300 people in bakkies who started pelting our trucks with stones and telling us that we are killing their brothers and sisters so we deserve to die too," said Mashiloane.

Ngululu’s operational manager, Jay Luvhani, said that their trucking business had come to a standstill.

“Our employees are hiding at various police stations. We had to call back our drivers who were just getting into Mozambique. Some trucks have been pelted with stones, but there's not much damage; we just fear for their lives.

“In the early hours of the day, our drivers in the harbour were attacked and police had to intervene and they have since secured our trucks. We are looking forward to the situation being calm. But as we speak, it's not business as usual in Mozambique due to the retaliation of the Mozambicans over the xenophobic attacks in South Africa,” Luvhani said.

Mozambican national Sabelo Benito, who works at the Fish Market in Maputo, said he and his colleagues had received an SMS saying they should not travel to Mbombela because it was too dangerous.

“We got this SMS from some people around; it’s circulating and they are saying it’s very dangerous to travel to Mbombela as South Africans are killing our brothers and sisters. They said we must also retaliate and hurt them. This is not good for us here because our visitors are now scared. Some have since said they are going back to South Africa,” said Benito.

Border gates closed

Constable Lawrence Ntuli, who is stationed at the Lebombo border post, said the gate was closed for some time in the morning following the incidents outside Ressano Garcia, but they had since received confirmation from Mozambican police and motorists that the roads had been cleared.

“We just got information now from the police that the situation in Mozambique is fine and motorists are now travelling to Mozambique. The situation looks calm at the moment and traffic is flowing as normal. We cannot easily say it's all fine, but we are getting reports on the situation,” said Ntuli.

The Mozambican consul attached to Limpopo and Mpumalanga, Esperanca Cuna, said things were "okay" as far as they were concerned.

“Our people travelling to Nelspruit [Mbombela] are safe [according to] the police of South Africa, but we have not yet heard of things in Mozambique. We hope all will be fine soon," he said.

He rejected reports of an SMS inciting Mozambican's to retaliate against South Africans.

"The issue of an SMS which has been going around is a rumour; we don’t have the SMS. What is said there is lies,” said Cuna.

In a Facebook video, South African employees in Inhambane, Mozambique, are seen being asked to leave by a peaceful group of Mozambicans and colleagues. 

Why other Africans are declaring South Africa 'xenophobic'

Thousands across Africa have gone online to label South Africa "xenophobic" - a trend that actually began before the recent murders of immigrants and widespread violence.

Foreign-owned shops were looted overnight in eastern Johannesburg and at least five people died in attacks against immigrants in Durban this week - just the latest events in a two-week spate of violence directed at migrants from other African countries. Millions of Africans from other countries work in South Africa -perhaps 1m from Zimbabwe alone - and the violence against some of them has been met by anger and solidarity online from across the African continent. Especially in Nigeria, Ghana and Kenya as well as inside South Africa itself, thousands of people on social media used a hashtag, #XenophobicSA, to condemn attitudes in the country.

The attacks began after alleged comments by a ceremonial leader, Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini, telling migrants to go home - although he says his remarks were mistranslated. Although hashtags highlighting the violence have spiked in the past few days, the treatment of foreigners has long been a discussion point on social media. In distant Kenya, prominent blogger Robert Alai started using the hashtag #XenophobicSA in late March - only to see a huge spike when news of the attacks broke.

"Kenyans in South Africa were contacting me with stories about beatings and mistreatment of foreigners," Alai tells BBC Trending. "I sought more information and more pictures and it was very interesting to pick up on the things that were going on there but weren't in the news."

A trickle of messages came after Alai first tweeted. The number of tweets under that hashtag remained very low however until the recent violence. More than 80,000 tweets have used #XenophobicSA in the last week.

There have also been other spiking hashtags condemning the violence. More than 10,000 people used the hashtag #PeaceMarch in reference to an anti-violence rally in Durban. Related terms trended, including #SayNoToXenophobia and "JHB CBD" - for "Johannesburg Central Business District", where foreign-owned shops shut in anticipation of further violence.

"These people who are being attacked are only trying to provide for their families by working in a neighbouring nation," says Wadzanai Thembani, a Zimbabwe native currently living in the United States who tweeted #SayNoToXenophobia. "They have not stolen from anyone: they are only working hard so their families have something to eat, somewhere to sleep, but now their being treated worse than criminals."

Alai blames uneven economic development for the violence.

"There's a lot of unemployment in South Africa and still a gap between blacks and whites," he says. "Foreigners are doing the jobs that South Africans won't do ... they get blamed, but that's wrong."

It's a sentiment that was echoed by two of the country's most prominent NGOs. "This is the latest manifestation of a phenomenon which has been troubling our democracy for a long time," the Nelson Mandela and Ahmed Kathrada foundations said in a joint statement earlier in the week.

South Africa Mulls Mixed Legacy of Cecil John Rhodes

Only a figure as intriguing as Cecil John Rhodes could still manage to stir controversy more than a century after his death. The British industrialist and colonialist is under fire in 2015 by young South Africans, who say his image is unfairly glorified and needs to be scrubbed from institutions like the venerable University of Cape Town.

The nation's ruling party agrees, though for the moment Rhodes' legacy remains part of the educational landscape.

Judging from his own words, Cecil John Rhodes would have a hard time in today’s multicultural South Africa. The British-born mining magnate, industrialist and politician came to the African continent as a teen in the 1870s, and had this to say about his adopted home:

“Africa is still lying ready for us,” he wrote in 1877. “It is our duty to take it. It is our duty to seize every opportunity of acquiring more territory and we should keep this one idea steadily before our eyes: that more territory simply means more of the Anglo-Saxon race: more of the best the most human, most honorable race the world possesses.”

It is for pronouncements like that that students at the University of Cape Town, South Africa's top academic institution that was built on land donated by Rhodes, want his image removed.  In the past month, students have pelted his prominent statue with excrement, amid claims he is the very embodiment of “white arrogance.”

Late last month, the university senate voted 181 to one to remove the statue from campus to an undecided location.  The move has also prompted discussion at South Africa’s Rhodes University, which is considering changing its name.

The ruling African National Congress, which has dominated South African politics since the end of apartheid in 1994, has also given its support to the student movement.

“Rhodes’s name is synonymous with the darkest era of our country’s history, in which black people were subjected to a murderous, unjust, inhumane, criminal and oppressive system on the basis of the color of their skin,” the ANC said in a statement.  “… Having monuments glorifying the legacy of such individuals who embody such an evil system, particularly at a university, which is still struggling with racial transformation more 20 years into democracy, undermines our on-going endeavour for national reconciliation and unity.”

Rhodes may be dead, but the protesters say the problem is that his legacy of white supremacy is alive and well in the Rainbow Nation.  For example, they say, UCT’s academic staff is overwhelmingly white, and there still exist deep divisions between black and white students.

South Africa, wrote UCT Constitutional law professor Pierre De Vos, is “entangled with the past because everything all of us assumed, everything we believed, everything drummed into our collective consciousness over 350 years of colonial conquest and racial domination did not evaporate into thin air in 1994.”

The nation may have ended the racist apartheid system that year, but economic inequality has not kept pace with that social transformation.  For example, the last census found the average white family earns six times more than the average black family.  In a country where just less than 80 percent of the population is black, nine out of 10 South Africans below the poverty line are black.

That’s why some South Africans on both sides of the issue argue the Rhodes statue is simply a symbol.

“The statue is a symbolic form of discrimination and if it stays, UCT will remain untransformed,” UCT researcher Zethu Matebeni argued in local media.  “It contributes to the institutional culture that makes UCT untransformed.”

But the federal chairman of the opposition Democratic Alliance, Wilmot James, argued in a statement the university should acknowledge its history by keeping the statue.

“Why not build a statue of another figure that engages Rhodes in perpetual conversation?” he wrote. “This would symbolize the dialogue and reflection that must happen in each generation, not in the absence of the past, but precisely because of it.  Righteousness is not the sole preserve of some; neither is morality the possession of the victors or rulers of the day.”

He also voiced a rare note of support for Rhodes, who founded the well-known Rhodes Scholarship at the University of Oxford, a program enjoyed by many African luminaries and former U.S. president Bill Clinton.

"Cecil John Rhodes did awful things as part of his colonial project.  But through forward thinking by later generations good was able to come, specifically in the area of education," he said.

What would Rhodes think of his rejection by modern South Africans?

One wonders if he would care; after all, this is the man who famously said, “Remember that you are an Englishman, and have consequently won first prize in the lottery of life."

Do you think the University of Cape Town should remove the statue of Cecil John Rhodes?  Chime in in the comments, below.

An audience with Julius Malema - the man who would tear down South Africa

Julius Malema is unequivocal about what he and his political party want to do with the statues of Cecil Rhodes and other imperialists dotted across South Africa.

“Those statues have to be removed; we’ve asked the state to remove them,” he tells The Independent. “If the state continues to be reluctant on this we will remove them.”

His forthright view marks him out as the one decisive leader in what is fast becoming an explosive subject in South Africa. Protesters across the country have called for the statue at the University of Cape Town to be removed, spawning the hashtag #RhodesMustFall.

Following initial calls from students to take down the statues, the current indecision over what to do with the symbols of colonialism – and, for many, apartheid – is pushing the country into a collective angst about its future after Nelson Mandela. Into this political quagmire enters Mr Malema, who advocates the seizure of white-owned farms as happened in Zimbabwe under Robert Mugabe.

Mention his name to a South African and almost certainly they will offer a quick-fire view of the charismatic, firebrand leader of the EFF (Economic Freedom Fighters) party.

Many fear him, believing he is a dangerous revolutionary hell-bent on ruining the country’s democratic settlement, in place since 1994, while others says he is the only politician capable of delivering where the ANC has failed. Mr Malema, the former leader of the ANC’s Youth League who launched his party after being cast out of the ANC, has many sides to his enigmatic character. Many of those who dismissed him when he launched the EFF two years ago now realise he is on to something, especially since the party became South Africa’s third largest in last year’s general election.

Key to the party’s success is its ability to appeal to poor black South Africans who feel let down by 20 years of ANC rule that has not delivered on its 1955 Freedom Charter. On nationalising mines and banks, he appears to be on a collision with some of the world’s biggest companies when he invokes the Charter’s demands that “the mineral wealth beneath the soil, the banks and monopoly industry shall be transferred to the ownership of the people as a whole”.

He speaks of a democratic process in parliament where legislation will be passed, “whether we freeze them [banks, mines and industries]  or take them by force”. He adds: “We will not be tolerant of any foreign investor who wants to tell us how to conduct the affairs of our country.”

Similarly, with his “expropriation without compensation” position on farmland, Mr Malema is both pragmatic and incendiary. Taking literally the Charter’s calls for “land to be re-divided amongst those who work it” and that “all shall have the right to occupy land wherever they choose”, he says that he offers a fair system for farmers to reapply for land.

But he then says he agrees with the agenda of grabbing white farmers’ land in Zimbabwe, stopping short of admiring Robert Mugabe and his violent methods. He says Zimbabwe will be remembered as the “first example in the history of this continent of Africans owning their own economy and land”.

Mr Malema’s challenge may fizzle out like that of other leftist parties that have splintered from the ANC, which he concedes has a remarkable ability to find its feet at election time. But a combination of factors may boost the EFF’s chances in next year’s municipal elections.

For one thing, outrage over President Jacob Zuma’s personal accumulation of wealth at a time of massive inequality in housing, education and jobs is playing into the hands of the EFF, especially when its MPs were forcibly ejected from parliament in February when confronting Mr Zuma over corruption.

Mr Malema promises follow-ups to the chaotic scene viewed around the world. “That’s what parliament is about – to push hard for truth and accountability,” he says.

Mr Malema declares the ANC “even worse than the apartheid government”. He says: “At least the apartheid government confessed in parliament how many people it had killed.”

But opposing corruption has its difficulties, given Mr Malema’s complicated and high-profile tax dispute, which he says may be resolved by bringing the row to court and releasing details of his finances to the public. He offers The Independent no explanation of how he made significant wealth early on in his political career.

The ANC’s other vulnerability is growing violence within the party that, it is claimed, has led to murders. It is another area that Mr Malema will seek to capitalise on, although his own violent rhetoric has at times inspired supporters aggressively to confront police. “We’re not a violent organisation,” he insists.

Mr Malema reveals the EFF will mount a countrywide campaign preceded by the launching of a student wing. “We are going to contest everywhere in South Africa,” he says, adding that the financial backing will be available to mount a serious challenge.

After years of loyalty to the post-apartheid project in South Africa, increasing dejection about the lack of progress, especially empowering black people, is palpable. Many feel betrayed by an ANC they believe has lost its revolutionary zeal. Without the guiding presence of Nelson Mandela, there is a feeling that change is needed.

South Africa suffers daily imposed power cuts, the result of a creaking energy industry. And most people’s lives are blighted by some form of ineptitude or corruption. It is, Mr Malema says, the right of anyone with a fresh agenda to step forward.

The 34-year-old may be a flash in the pan or he could be a future South African president. A man of many characters, the challenge for him is whether he can be all things to all people.

That involves winning over millions of traditional ANC voters with a new agenda for change while calming other South Africans, nervously eyeing the backlash from capital markets at any hint of political risk in their country.

Mr Malema may still be a long way from holding the reins of power, but his voice is being heard and his thoughts and actions may start influencing decision-making, even from a distance.