Post-apartheid South Africa has been marked by a wave of social unrest; from service delivery protests to xenophobic violence targeted towards foreign nationals. Immigrants from across the African soil are victims of this barbaric behavior (xenophobia). A derogatory name such as “makwerekwere” is given to foreign nationals to make them feel inferior and less human. In 2008 these attacks worsened almost in every black township throughout the country. The victims are mostly Somalis and Zimbabweans shop or spaza owners. There are quite a number of explanations that prompted these attacks and they include the following; competition for scarce resources, lack of economic and business opportunities. Foreigners are easily employable because they accept cheap labour, thus making it hard for South Africans to find jobs. Therefore, the main purpose of this study is to explore economic discontent against foreign nationals into xenophobic attacks. This study highlights the relationship that co-exists between economic discontent and xenophobic attacks in Port Elizabeth, Walmer Township and the research methods that were used and how these methods were used in the study.

published_or_final_version / Business / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / Business Administration / Master / Master of Business Administration

M.Comm. / The general conclusion arrived at in this dissertation is that the quality of infrastructure in South Africa has resulted in a large and increasing inflow of students from the other African countries. The ensuing influx of international students has been sustained through the activities of networks based on kin, acquaintance and the support of the source country governments. This has resulted in a large inflow of foreign revenue and growth of employment opportunities and income for South Africa. Although the revenue from the inflow of international students in South Africa is impressive, it is still trivial in comparison to what other countries such as the USA, the UK, Australia and China receive. Another advantage is that the presence of international students offers a potential boost to the skills shortage in South Africa. The direct benefits from international students to South Africa have the capacity to be further enhanced but a proper policy for facilitating such inflow is lacking. Certain administrative processes and practices in South Africa aggravate the situation. These procedures include visa application difficulties, university registration bureaucracy, and police behaviour. Worse still, crime and xenophobia in South Africa are common and they present some of the greatest threats to the continued inflow of international students.