South African Landlords Count Losses as Immigrant Communities Depart
In a recent piece published by GroundUp, a South African landlord captured a growing sense of unease in communities where immigrant tenants and traders have long been part of daily life. “I keep asking myself, ‘Where is Ubuntu?'” the landlord remarked, invoking the Southern African philosophy that affirms shared humanity and mutual responsibility toward others.
Across parts of South Africa, the departure of immigrant communities — many of them from elsewhere on the continent — has begun to leave visible gaps in the local economy. Landlords who once relied on a steady stream of foreign tenants now report empty rooms, while shop owners in trading districts say foot traffic has fallen as familiar faces vanish from the streets. For many small-scale property owners, the income loss has been immediate and, in some cases, severe.
A fragile economic interdependence
Immigrant communities have historically played a significant role in South Africa’s informal and small-business sectors, running neighbourhood shops, salons, tailoring businesses, and street-side stalls. Their economic activity has, in turn, sustained South African landlords, suppliers, and neighbouring traders. When those networks unravel, the ripple effects spread quickly through working-class neighbourhoods that have few other sources of income.
Ubuntu under scrutiny
The landlord’s reference to Ubuntu is not incidental. In recent years, South Africa has wrestled publicly with recurring incidents of xenophobic violence and the displacement of foreign nationals, often leaving residents of long-standing neighbourhoods — both South African and foreign-born — searching for explanations. The phrase carries an implicit challenge: whether a society that prides itself on a philosophy of shared humanity can continue to witness the marginalisation of some of its most economically active members.
Voices from the ground
GroundUp, a Cape Town-based news outlet known for its reporting from poor and working-class communities, has documented how the gradual exodus of immigrants affects not just the departing residents but the South Africans whose livelihoods are intertwined with theirs. The landlord’s question — “Where is Ubuntu?” — echoes across these accounts, framing an economic story in distinctly moral terms.
Looking ahead
As the country continues to debate migration, identity, and economic survival, the experiences of those losing income may add a pragmatic dimension to a discussion often framed in political terms. For the landlord and others in similar circumstances, the cost is being measured not only in rent owed but in a sense of communal erosion.
Source: AllAfrica — read the original report.
