Ramaphosa acknowledged illegal migration was putting unfair pressure on South Africa’s public services – and that the issue needed to be addressed by his government.
He set out a five-point strategy to do so, by:
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Cracking down on immigration law violators
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Strengthening border security
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Stamping out corruption within the immigration system
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Closing loopholes in immigration law
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Working with other African countries to tackle the problem.
But he warned against vigilantism: “I must make it clear that only the authorised government officials may act against violations of the law, including violation of our immigration laws.
“No other person is allowed, for example, to confront someone in the street to demand proof of nationality.”
Some analysts have suggested the resurgence of anti-migrant sentiment in South Africa could be linked to local elections scheduled for November.
The president said the authorities would not allow groups to use legitimate concerns “to destabilise” the country by inciting violence.
“We will act against forces who are exploiting the concerns of our people about illegal immigration to further their own political, personal or criminal agendas,” he said, cautioning against social media campaigns that spread misinformation and lies about foreign nationals.
He also told South Africans there was “no space for xenophobia, racism, sexism, Afrophobia or any other forms of intolerance in South Africa”.
“Our country – like many others throughout history – is a product of migration. It is the reason for our diversity and contributes to our vibrancy,” he said.
South Africa is home to more than three million foreigners, about 5% of the population, according to official figures – but there are believed to be many more without papers.
During his 30-minute speech, the president pointed to the scale of the problem and how “illegal migration routes increasingly overlap with organised crime”.
“In the past year alone, the Border Management Authority managed to intercept and stop over 450,000 people who were attempting to enter South Africa illegally,” he said.
Ramaphosa explained how unscrupulous employers pay undocumented migrants well below the minimum wage and “merely” pay a fine if caught.
Plans had been launched to hire 10,000 inspectors to crackdown on such businesses and those found guilty would fail tougher penalties “including imprisonment”, he said.
Illegal migration was also often enabled by corruption, the president acknowledged, explaining how officials sold documents.
The authorities would discontinue green ID books “which have enabled identity theft by undocumented immigrants and criminal syndicates”, with the president adding it was part of plans towards having a digital ID for everyone in the future.
Another imminent change announced was the relocation of refugee reception centres to border posts.
Ramaphosa made reference to the anger expressed by many communities about the number of foreign nationals running small grocery stores in townships, known as spaza shops.
These have often been targeted during waves of xenophobic violence that have erupted in South Africa over the last few decades.
Ramaphosa said efforts would be made to ensure all informal shops were properly registered by the small business development department.
Quotas were also to be set for “employment of foreign nationals in any economic sector or occupational category”, he said.
South Africa has one of the highest rates of unemployment in the world at around 33% – mainly affecting young people.
Ramaphosa said he would be sending envoys to other African countries to outline these new measures – adding peace and economic growth elsewhere were important factors.
And he ended on a positive note, saying he hoped the changes would help a build a “secure, lawful, compassionate and prosperous” country.
“South Africa has overcome far greater challenges than this. We have overcome division. We have overcome conflict. We have overcome injustice. We will overcome this challenge too.”
