PRETORIA - President Cyril Ramaphosa has identified the Departments of Home Affairs, Transport and Labour as key to tackling the country’s undocumented migrant issue.
Ramaphosa detailed the state’s stance following months of demonstrations, unrest and instability.
In addition to the departments’ roles in dealing with the crisis, Ramaphosa outlined the following:
- Crack down on immigration and labour law violations.
- Prevent people from entering the country illegally.
- Continue to stamp out corruption in our immigration system.
- Strengthen immigration laws and policies.
- Continue to engage other African countries to forge a broader response to migration challenges across our region and the continent.
He said while South Africans have the right to protest and expect better, no one is allowed to confront people in the street to confirm their status.
“The responsibility of enforcing immigration laws rests with the state – and the state alone”.
He said the Home Affairs Department has a responsibility to ensure that those who enter the country do so legally.
“We are continuing the crackdown on corruption and inefficiencies in the Department of Home Affairs. We must recognise that illegal immigration is often enabled by corruption”.
“Officials who sell documents, facilitate unlawful entry, or abuse public office for personal gain betray the trust of the South African people. We will pursue these cases relentlessly.
Those responsible are facing dismissal, criminal prosecution and the full consequences of the law”.
Ramaphosa said illegal migration, if unchecked, poses a risk to South Africa’s security, stability and economic progress.
“We know that illegal migration affects service delivery and places additional burdens on essential services such as healthcare and education. Illegal migration routes increasingly overlap with organised crime.
Criminal syndicates involved in trafficking, extortion, illegal mining, drugs and money laundering often use undocumented migration for recruitment and concealment of goods. We know that illegal immigration undermines our efforts to create decent work for our people”.
READ: LIVESTREAM | President Ramaphosa addresses the nation on immigration policy
The President says the Transport Department has the responsibility to ensure that new regulations are in place.
“We will end the abuse of the Traffic Registration Number, which foreign nationals require to register or buy vehicles, but which is being used as a form of identification”.
“The Department of Transport will issue new regulations to align with the identification laws of our country within the next 3 months”.
He said part of government’s response to the crisis is to close the gaps in our laws and policies.
“The laws that regulate immigration in South Africa are fragmented and often contradictory. They allow legal loopholes that are exploited by undocumented migrants. We are addressing these loopholes”.
Some of these loopholes are in the labour sector, where Ramaphosa said employers are choosing to employ undocumented migrants to exploit them.
“Employers who knowingly hire undocumented workers and exploit their vulnerability are breaking the law.
They undermine labour standards. They undermine fair competition. And they undermine opportunities for South Africans.
Such conduct will attract far stronger penalties and far stricter enforcement”.
Ramaphosa said fines alone are not enough.
“We are going to increase the penalties, including imprisonment, for employers who violate the Immigration Act.
We cannot have a situation where employers who, after being charged and found guilty of violating our laws, merely pay a fine and continue employing undocumented foreign nationals whom they exploit.
To address violations of immigration and labour laws in the transport sector, we are implementing a plan that has been developed with the logistics and freight industry and labour organisations."
Ramaphosa added that secure borders are non-negotiable.
“Every sovereign nation has a responsibility to know who enters its territory, why they are entering and how long they are permitted to stay. Secure borders are not a sign of hostility towards other countries.
They are a fundamental requirement of a sovereign and well-governed state. Accordingly, we are taking further measures to secure our borders.
"We can secure our communities while preserving the values of Ubuntu that define us as a people.
Like many challenges that we have faced before, we can overcome the problem of illegal immigration."