Thabo Mbeki warns on blaming foreign nationals

Thabo Mbeki said on May 21 that South Africans were “pointing fingers at the wrong people” by blaming foreign nationals for unemployment, crime and economic decline. The former South African president made the remarks in Cape Town during an Africa Day lecture, according to multiple local reports and a video of the event posted online. He said the country’s problems were rooted in leadership failures, not migration. The comments circulated widely on social media over the weekend, where users linked them to a broader debate over xenophobia, jobs and crime in South Africa. ### Where did Mbeki make the remarks? Cape Town was the setting for Mbeki’s May 21 appearance, which local outlets identified as an Africa Day lecture and, in other reports, as an AUDA-NEPAD @25 high-level business breakfast. A YouTube video titled “President Thabo Mbeki speaking at the Africa Day Lecture 21 May 2026” was posted within days of the event. Reports citing the speech said Mbeki addressed rising anti-immigrant sentiment as South Africa faces renewed arguments over undocumented migration and public safety. (kaya959.co.za) ### What exactly did he say about migrants and South Africa’s economy? Mbeki said South Africa’s economic decline “wasn’t caused by undocumented immigrants,” according to reports quoting his speech. Kaya 959 reported that he said South Africans were “pointing fingers at the wrong people,” while TVC News quoted him saying the people responsible for the decline were “laughing in the corner” because blame was being directed elsewhere. He also said Africans would continue coming to South Africa because the anti-apartheid struggle had been embraced across the continent, not only inside South Africa. (kaya959.co.za) A second line in Mbeki’s argument was economic history. TVC News reported that he said South Africa reached a growth rate of 6% between 1994 and 2008 or 2009, before moving “in the opposite direction” afterward. Kaya 959 reported that he tied that earlier period to the administrations of Nelson Mandela and himself, and said the later decline should be attributed to leadership rather than migrants. (kaya959.co.za) ### Why did the comments resonate this week? Social media posts over the last 48 hours framed Mbeki’s remarks as a direct rebuttal to claims that foreign nationals are responsible for joblessness and crime. Search results and follow-on coverage show the comments landed amid fresh reporting on anti-migrant tensions and attacks on African migrants in South Africa. Ethiopian officials said this week that Ethiopia and South Africa had agreed to deploy a joint follow-up team after attacks targeting Ethiopian and other African migrants. (kaya959.co.za) ### What is the economic backdrop to this debate? Statistics South Africa said on May 12 that the official unemployment rate rose to 32.7% in the first quarter of 2026. The agency said the number of employed people fell by 345,000 to 16.8 million, while the number of unemployed people rose by 301,000 to 8.1 million from the previous quarter. Those figures help explain why migration has remained a flashpoint in public debate, even as Mbeki argued that migrants are being used as scapegoats. (thereporterethiopia.com) ### Who else did Mbeki blame? Jacob Zuma and Cyril Ramaphosa were named in local coverage of the speech as leaders Mbeki said had contributed to South Africa’s decline. Kaya 959 reported that he accused both the former president and the current president of contributing to rising unemployment and crime levels. That framing turned the speech into more than a comment on migration, placing it inside a broader argument over governance and economic performance after 2008. (statssa.gov.za) May 12 is the most recent official labor-market benchmark in this story, with Statistics South Africa’s Q1 2026 release putting unemployment at 32.7%. Mbeki’s May 21 remarks are likely to remain part of the public debate as South Africa moves toward its next Quarterly Labour Force Survey update and as officials continue responding to tensions involving foreign nationals. (statssa.gov.za) (kaya959.co.za)