It's purging season in Khutsong. The end of tolerance. Long live fear and intimidation. Who will be blamed next for the problems of Khutsong?

It's purging season in Khutsong. The end of tolerance. Long live fear and intimidation. Who will be blamed next for the problems of Khutsong?

First, the ANC councillors were stoned, then the North West government. Today it's Somali businessmen.

It's the South African version of McCarthyism: xenophobia, paranoia, hate.

Who is the real enemy? Surely not the above?

Shouldn't we focus on crime, unemployment, disease, drugs, and lack of basic services such as housing, and of skills and recreational facilities. These are the real challenges facing Khutsong.

The struggle for a democratic South Africa was not just about apartheid - it was also about the freedom to speak one's mind .

Dialogue cannot occur in a toxic atmosphere, filled with hate and intolerance. Violence only breeds violence.

The leadership in Khutsong needs to rise above narrow political interests and save the township from self-destruction.

Let's celebrate our freedom by ending this sad chapter in Khutsong. Let's cultivate a culture of tolerance and understanding.

Let's build monuments of friendship, not hate, to honour those who made these freedoms possible.

Let's stop this hate and violence.

Lucas Ntyintyane, Randburg