MINORITY Chief Whip and Member of Parliament (MP) for Asawase constituency in the Ashanti Region, Mohammed Mubarak Muntaka, has called on the West Africa bloc to start boycotting products and services of South Africa origin.
According to him, recent checks have shown that South Africa benefits more from its business in other African countries than it offers immigrants from other African country.
A visibly charged Mubarak Muntaka said this on the floor of Parliament on Friday, February 24, 2017 on recent xenophobic attacks in that country which has claimed several lives of other Africa nationals.
“Mr. Speaker, the only option left for us as a continent is to boycott all products and services from South Africa and when they start feeling the heat, is then they will realise that we all depend on each other. This singular act, I believe, will send a resounding signal to the government of South African that the behaviour of its citizens conflicts with the cordiality that is expected to exist among the people of the continent,” he said.
He recounted how other members of the Pan African which has its headquarters in South Africa called for the relocation of the headquarters when a similar hate attacks happened in 2015.
Hon. Muntaka further explained that after the call for the removal of Pan Africa headquarters by members from other African countries, the South African government came with all sorts of promises and pleaded that such unfortunate incidents were not going to occur again.
“Ever since that incident, I have never bought anything in South Africa apart from water, and food which were served us at the arrival,” he opined and rallied his colleagues to start doing same.
Meanwhile, Foreign Affairs Minister, Hon. Shirley Ayorkor Botchway, in a statement assured members that her outfit had put in measures to ensure lives and businesses of Ghanaian were affected.
She however, hinted that no Ghanaian has been affected in the recent events.
It would be recalled that immigrants in that part of the globe have been victims of discrimination and even violence in South Africa after democratisation in 1994.
Reports available indicate that at least 67 foreigners were killed between 2000 and 2007 in what was described by international media as xenophobic attacks.
Join GhanaStar.com to receive daily email alerts of breaking news in Ghana. GhanaStar.com is your source for all Ghana News. Get the latest Ghana news, breaking news, sports, politics, entertainment and more about Ghana, Africa and beyond.
