Policy vacuum fuels xenophobia as leaders dodge immigration crisis
· Citizen
Since 1994, our politicians have consistently fumbled the issue of undocumented immigrants, turning what could have been a manageable policy challenge into a festering crisis.
From Nelson Mandela to Cyril Ramaphosa, successive leaders have failed to confront the problem, leaving citizens to bear the brunt of joblessness and strained public services, which they have to share with illegal foreigners.
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Mandela’s legacy is instinctively forgiven, yet his government never touched the immigration question. His successor, Thabo Mbeki, skirted the issue while championing the African Renaissance, forgetting that continental revival required a coherent immigration framework.
Jacob Zuma and Ramaphosa followed suit, each presiding over a state that opened its borders without a plan, assuming that South Africa’s liberation meant Africa’s liberation.
The result has been predictable: South Africa alone carries the burden of undocumented migrants, providing services and jobs without reciprocal support from the rest of the continent.
If Africa were to unite under one flag and government, the logic of open borders would be clear. But until then, South Africa’s unilateral generosity has become unsustainable.
Condemning xenophobia and violence is correct – such acts can never be justified. Yet politicians compound the crisis with statements that reveal how out of touch they are.
They rarely acknowledge that the mess stems from their own misgovernance and failure to promulgate and enforce an immigration policy for 32 years.
Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, one of the longest-serving Cabinet ministers, recently asked how deporting illegal immigrants would create jobs or solve unemployment.
But this misses the point. Once undocumented migrants are gone, employers in sectors such as hospitality, construction, retail, fuel stations, domestic work and second-hand vehicle sales would have no choice but to hire locals.
Even in cases where documented migrants are employed, notably in education, they have become an excuse to sideline qualified black South African teachers.
For more than three decades, South Africa had no immigration policy at all. It was only under former home affairs minister Aaron Motsoaledi that a draft policy was initiated, despite resistance from within the ANC.
That draft is still circulating, yet to be passed into law, leaving the country without a coherent framework. In the meantime, ordinary citizens must share scarce public services with undocumented migrants, while struggling with unemployment. That’s the source of anger for them.
The absence of policy has created fertile ground for resentment. Citizens see migrants filling jobs in low-income sectors and consuming limited resources, while politicians dismiss their concerns as xenophobic. This disconnect between lived reality and political rhetoric fuels anger and protest.
The immigration dilemma is not about rejecting Africa or denying solidarity. It is about recognising that sovereignty matters, borders exist and policies must be enforced. Politicians who romanticised open borders in 1994, failed to anticipate the consequences.
Today, their successors continue to evade responsibility, condemning protests without addressing the root causes.
South Africa’s leaders must stop pretending the problem does not exist. Each politician must start by acknowledging the mistake and apologising to the masses for the mess.
They must acknowledge that undocumented migration undermines employment, strains services and erodes social cohesion. The solution lies not in rhetoric but in a clear, enforceable immigration policy that balances solidarity with responsibility.
Until then, citizens will continue to suffer the consequences of political neglect, rising up to protect their rights where leaders have failed.
The immigration crisis is not the fault of ordinary people; it is the direct result of decades of misgovernance.