In May 2008, South Africa shamed itself ? it shattered the illusion of the Rainbow Nation and showed the world that all South Africans are capable of some degree of racism. The World Cup gave us a chance to earn the world's trust once again. It gave us a chance to earn each other's trust again.

No surprises then that the government is doing everything it can to pretend that we are not on the cusp of another outbreak of xenophobic violence. No surprises that our president is talking about "rumours" when he should be making firm statements, and that various members of the Cabinet are accusing the media of "peddling hysteria".

And, while the government once again pretends that South Africans are not likely to turn on their African brethren, the immigrants who cautiously re-inhabited our cities are packing their bags and lining the highways in the hopes of catching a truck out of the country.

Who can blame them?

Since the last outbreak of violence ? which saw 62 people killed and hundreds of thousands of people forced into refugee camps ? very little has changed.

In their latest report on xenophobia, the Human Rights Commission complained about a lack of effort on the part of the government to grapple with the problem of xenophobia.

"We compile some of the reports. We make recommendations. We bring them here. We write. But no one answers," said HRC chairperson Lawrence Mushwana.

Perhaps no one answers because no one wants to admit that the answers are unfavourable.

None of the underlying problems which sparked the initial incident have been dealt with. Service delivery is as much of a problem under Zuma as it was under Mbeki. And the fact that Zuma's government has brazenly spent more than R1.5-billion on luxuries since he took power suggests that we are not about to enter a new era of austerity.

Paired with this, there has been little effort to stem the influx of illegal immigrants into the country and, despite half-hearted attempts at mediation, the situation in Zimbabwe is only marginally better than it was two years ago.

Perhaps even more significantly, nothing has been done to change xenophobic attitudes. None of the perpetrators of the past violence have been brought to book (or, if they have, it was done very quietly), proving that when it comes to poor foreigners, South Africa's justice system is sluggish at best. More importantly, it sends out the message that those who attack foreigners will not be held accountable.

The insistence that the past atrocities were committed by "criminal elements" ? sound familiar? ? instead of ordinary South Africans demonstrates the government's refusal to accept the reality of the situation. On top of this, very few senior ANC politicians ? with the notable exception of Cosatu's Zwelinzima Vavi ? have taken a firm stand on the unacceptability of xenophobia.

Admittedly, the government's collective head cannot be completely in the sand, because troops have been deployed to hotspots and Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa has been flying all over the country to assure the public that xenophobia most certainly is not a problem. But that's like putting a plaster on a slashed carotid artery and hoping that no one notices the blood gushing out of the wound.

Sure, you might avert the crisis this time around. You may even be able to stave off a full-blown outbreak for another year. But the problem isn't simply going to go away because you pretend that it is not there.

The only way that South Africa is going to be able to shake the spectre of xenophobia is if the government tackles the problems of poor service delivery and unregulated immigration, whilst simultaneously taking active steps to change xenophobic attitudes.

And while it is admirable that a number of NGOs ? such as the Social Justice Coalition, Equal Education, and the Treatment Action Campaign ? individuals, and communities have taken it upon themselves to speak out against xenophobia, it is not enough.

A change in attitude needs to start right at the top. It needs to start with the freedom fighters who sought refuge in other African countries during apartheid. It needs to start with our leaders who are more than willing to protect fellow African leaders ? some of whom stand accused of violating human rights ? but do little to protect those who seek refuge in our country because of the political climate in their own countries.

Enough of the lip service. This time, let's mean it when we say "this time for Africa".