WATCH | ‘R600m to protect illegal migrants instead of securing borders’: ActionSA councillor

Tshepo Mposula, an ActionSA councillor in the City of Johannesburg, has thrown his support behind Tuesday’s anti-illegal immigration march in Soweto, saying the campaign will continue until the government addresses what he describes as a growing crisis.

Speaking ahead of the march to the Jabulani civic centre, where the United Business Confederation (UBC) was due to hand over a memorandum calling for stronger action against undocumented foreign nationals, Mposula said undocumented immigrants could not be properly monitored because they were not captured on government systems.

“We cannot detect them because they are not in our system. We don’t know who they are,” he said.

Mposula said he supported the March and March movement’s campaign, adding organisers intended to continue staging demonstrations until government took action.

“We are going to march and march until we win. We are going to be persistent. We are are going to continue applying pressure on the government and on illegal immigrants to ensure this crisis is resolved,” he said.

The government should be addressing the issue of illegal migration instead of spending money policing South Africans

—  Tshepo Mposula, ActionSA councillor in the City of Johannesburg

He urged protesters to remain peaceful but warned some South Africans were becoming increasingly frustrated.

“We have been urging South Africans to be peaceful in everything e are doing, but it is just a matter of time before people lose patience,” he said.

Referring to businesses operated by undocumented foreign nationals, Mposula said some spaza shops owned by Pakistani nationals could be forced to close should marchers encounter them along the route to Jabulani Mall. He said undocumented foreign nationals should not continue operating businesses in the country.

Mposula also criticised the government’s security deployment for the march, questioning reports that hundreds of millions had been allocated to policing the demonstrations.

He said the government should instead prioritise border management and combating illegal immigration, saying resources should be directed towards addressing crime and strengthening border security rather than policing demonstrators.

“The government should be addressing the issue of illegal migration instead of spending money policing South Africans,” Mposula said.

Police maintained a visible presence throughout the gathering and accompanied marchers as they made their way from Thokoza Park to Jabulani Mall.

“The ANC government should be ashamed of itself for spending R600m to police South Africans instead of addressing the issue of illegal migration.”

We want to know who owns these security companies and we want an audit so we can see how the money was spent

—  Mposula

The government should prioritise securing the borders and dealing with high crime levels, he said.

“As we were driving here today, there was a heavy police presence. You don’t normally see that when communities are dealing with crime, but today there is strong police visibility because they want to protect illegal immigrants.”

He questioned the involvement of private security companies in the operation and called for transparency around the procurement process.

“We want to know who owns these security companies and we want an audit so we can see how the money was spent.”

Mposula reiterated his support for the March and March campaign, saying organisers intended to continue holding demonstrations until the government responded to their demands regarding undocumented foreign nationals.

Sowetan