The EFF went to Chatsworth refugee camp and found it to be politicised

26 April 2015

The EFF has visited the Chatsworth refugee camp and found it very politicised. The camp is ran by ANC municipal officials and volunteers who at first refused the EFF to visit the camp. They then received the EFF delegation with hostility and even claimed that the contribution it brought was not needed.

The EFF arrived with supplies after received a call from a Burundian woman who indicated that they needed food for infants, as well as nappies. This was also after the leadership of the EFF confirmed the needs of those in the camp with the organized formations within the camp, resulting in further contribution, which included shaving material, toothpaste, toothbrush and body soap for adults.

Individuals managing the camp displayed appalling hostility and tried to turn into partisan political matter a serious issue which is purely humanitarian in nature. Some of them became verbally confrontational with the EFF delegation to a point where the refugees themselves heckled them in defense of the EFF. We suspect that these camps have been turned into yet another tendering opportunity by politically connected individuals in order to milk the state.

This hostility and appalling conduct of the ANC at the Chatsworth camp is what perpertuates the isolation that South Africa is experiencing from other African countries like Nigeria. As South Africans we should be uniting, joining hands together to rise out of this dark shadow of xenophobic violence that the country is confronted with.

The ANC must stop politicising refugee camps and trying to close them out to opposition parties. Parliament extended constituency period so that all MPs can go to the ground and deal with this problem that has befallen the country: anti-black xenophobic violence.

Statement issued by the Economic Freedom Fighters, April 27 2015