Standard Bank Group CE Sim Tshabalala voices his condemnation of racist and xenophobic attacks in South Africa.

Standard Bank will start an initiative dealing with this humanitarian disaster as a means to contribute to the healing of all those communities involved and affected by this issue.

Statement:

To our fellow Africans

We are deeply shocked and saddened by the current wave of racist and xenophobic violence and looting in South Africa.

Standard Bank Group adds our voice to those of the government and organised business, the labour movement and civil society in utterly condemning these incidents.  We call on all South Africans to support the authorities and civil society in their efforts to restore law and order and ultimately ensure that all perpetrators answer for their actions in a court of law.

We would like to express our sincere condolences to the families of those who have been killed and our sympathy with everyone who has been hurt or lost property, and with those whose dignity has been denied.

We stand in solidarity with the vast majority of South Africans who reject racism, xenophobia and violence, and who live by our traditions of respect for the law and for the sanctity of human life. We are all bound by our Constitution, which reminds us that ‘South Africa belongs to all who live in it, united in our diversity.’

Africa is our home. Like many other South African companies, our businesses in Africa help to drive South Africa’s growth and development. South Africa’s economic ties to the rest of the continent help us to tackle unemployment, inequality and economic exclusion in South Africa.  The free and legal movement of people and goods between countries helps to create jobs.

Let us be inspired by the father of our nation, Nelson Mandela: ‘No one is born hating another person because of the colour of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.’

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