Letter to Minister Steve Tshwete from the Conselho das Comunidades Portuguesas, Conselho Permanente, Africa do Sul, 12 February 2001

12 February 2001

The Honourable Minister
Steve Tshwete

Dear Sir,

In a letter addressed to some Portuguese people, the Honourable Steve Tshwete labels the Portuguese Community, among other things, as racist and crime perpetrators.

It is a fact that Portuguese citizens have supported apartheid, which we condemn and we do apologise for what happened, as well as we think that all criminals should be brought to justice.

With your permission, Honourable Minister, we would like to disagree with some of your views.

We are certain that the Portuguese and Portuguese-speaking people living in South Africa are here to stay and to work with Our South African Government in rebuilding the nation.

One thing that we feel proud of is the fact that in the last 6 years the number of Portuguese people applying for South African citizenship has increased drastically. The day they become citizens is a day of joy in their household. This allows us to say that trust and faith in Our South African Government and Country is a reality.

We, the Conselheiros, have also requested to the Portuguese Government to establish a fund to aid South Africans from underprivileged communities in obtaining their own businesses. The loans would be interest free and 25% of the loan would be non-payable. This is a measure that could reduce unemployment, which in our view is also one of the contributing factors for crime.

We are also aware of the crime situation and we all know that it can only be solved if we join hands together. Therefore we as the Conselheiros (the only democratically elected group representing the Portuguese community) ask our South African Government what else we can do to help solve this problem.

We would like to take this opportunity to invite the Honourable Minister Steve Tshwete to schedule a meeting whenever your agenda permits, to discuss this matter and other ways in which we can assist to fight the crime.

The Conselheiros,

Tony Saramago (Fax: (011) 434 4811

Rodolfo Miranda (Fax: (011) 453 5684

Cc:	President Thabo Mbeki Deputy Minister of Comunicades Portuguesas, Dr. Rui de Almeida, H.E. The Ambassador, Embassy of Portugal