HORRIFYING SCENES of violence against immigrants in South African townships have brought home how much the social crisis there is related to conditions in surrounding countries. Five million immigrants, from Zimbabwe and Mozambique especially, have swelled South Africa's population by about 10 per cent in recent years. Inevitably, they compete for jobs and housing, exposing the failure of the post-apartheid government to solve basic social infrastructure shortages.
A deep xenophobia has overtaken many of the poorest South Africans exposed to such pressures. Unfortunately it has been exacerbated by the government's failure to take political action capable of addressing the political crisis in Zimbabwe with the urgency required. President Thabo Mbeki is personally responsible for this because of his complete unwillingness to bring the issue into the open political arena much earlier. Yesterday's decision to deploy troops against rioters in the Alexandra township is directly related, bringing the issue home very uncomfortably. Many South Africans are irrationally scared their country could go the way of its neighbour, notwithstanding their much higher level of development and democratic culture.
The 12 days of rioting are a vivid reminder of the leadership vacuum created by Mr Mbeki's forthcoming departure as president. Other African National Congress leaders, including his likely successor, Jacob Zuma, have been much more critical of the Mugabe regime. It remains to be seen whether they can influence the expected rerun of Zimbabwe's presidential elections so that it will be conducted fairly, or whether the vote will be captured by Mugabe so that a further round of emigration may occur. That would deepen South Africa's problems. These riots show that a limit has been reached. Political action to stem the movement of people is imperative.
South Africa is a natural magnet for immigrants from its neighbours because of its economic strengths. But they cannot just be piled into existing shanty towns completely incapable of absorbing more people. The many successes of its government in consolidating democracy, multicultural society and a stable economy do not extend to reducing social inequalities and providing basic social infrastructure. Mr Zuma comes from the social democratic wing of the ANC and if he does become president, can be expected to give these tasks a higher priority. This outbreak of violence shows how necessary that will be.