President Cyril Ramaphosa has condemned opportunists who he said were exploiting legitimate grievances of the poor under the false guise of community activism.
Reacting to a recent wave of country-wide violent protests, Ramaphosa said the anti-immigration marches were not representative of South Africa’s attitude towards foreigners.
In his weekly newsletter, the president admitted, however, that undocumented migration placed a strain on healthcare, housing and municipal services in poor areas and distorted the labour market.
Ramaphosa said the recent violent protests and criminal acts directed at foreigners in parts of the country also did not reflect government policy.
“These are the acts of opportunists who are exploiting legitimate grievances, particularly those of the poor, under the false guise of ‘community activism’,” the president said.
“Some of these people are assuming functions that only state officials are permitted to perform, including stopping people to check identification and conducting searches of private property.”
He said such lawlessness would not be tolerated regardless of who the perpetrators or victims are.
Zulu cultural activists Ngizwe Mchunu, Nkosikhona Ndabandaba, popularly known as Phakelumthakathi, March and March leader Jacinta Ngobese and political parties including ActionSA recently held anti-immigration marches in Durban, KuGompo City (formerly East London), Pretoria and Johannesburg.
The issue of illegal immigration has seen frustrated South Africans taking part in marches where foreign-owned spaza shops and cars were set alight, with locals accusing foreigners of taking their jobs and having to compete with them over access to scant basic services such as healthcare and education.
Ramaphosa met Mozambican President Daniel Chapo last week and the issue featured in their talks. The meeting followed recent talks between Ramaphosa and his Zimbabwean counterpart, Emmerson Mnangagwa, in which the matter was also raised.
Ghana and Nigeria summoned the South African high commissioners to account for the marches, while international relations and co-operation minister Ronald Lamola recently spoke by phone with his Nigerian counterpart, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu. The anti-immigration demonstrations were among the issues they discussed.
On Monday, Ramaphosa said society needed to deal decisively and within the law with the challenge of illegal immigration, which he said “risks our social stability, governance and national security”.
“Undocumented migration places strain on healthcare, housing and municipal services, particularly in poor communities. It distorts the labour market in a country with high unemployment,” he said.
“Some employers are exploiting undocumented, cheaper foreign labour over hiring citizens and paying them legal wages. Not only is this fuelling social tension, it is undermining our labour protection regime and eroding the hard-won rights of workers.”
He said in tackling illegal migration, the country was balancing its constitutional and international obligations with safeguarding national security.
“The Border Management Authority (BMA) and the SA National Defence Force are strengthening border security and combating illicit cross-border activity.”
“We commend the BMA for successfully intercepting about 450,000 people trying to enter South Africa illegally in the past financial year. As we strengthen our borders, we continue to reform our migration and citizenship framework.
“We are stepping up workplace enforcement against employers who hire undocumented foreign nationals in violation of labour and immigration laws.”
The president announced in his state of the nation address that government would be hiring up to 10,000 inspectors through the department of labour and employment to ensure labour and immigration laws are adhered to.
“We continue to arrest and deport undocumented foreign nationals in accordance with the law, as we take forward the fight against corruption within the immigration system.”
The president criticised South African citizens who colluded with undocumented foreigners in fake marriages and the illegal sale of state-subsidised housing, and for accepting bribes to facilitate access to social services, saying these only deepened the problem.
Many South Africans were exploiting undocumented labour in households and in the informal sector.
“We must reject attempts to damage our country’s international reputation and to undermine the solidarity that has defined South Africa’s relations with the rest of Africa since the dawn of democracy.”
mkentanel@businessday.co.za
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