Johannesburg Mayor Dada Morero has given an update on the city’s recent Operation Blitz in Fourways, saying certain developers are being targeted for allegedly employing undocumented migrants while overlooking South African job seekers.

Morero emphasised that the operations are part of efforts to enforce compliance with South Africa’s labour and immigration laws.

“The programme involves the labour laws of the country,” said Morero. “We’re trying to enforce the labour laws, because what we have realised is that developers are taking advantage and not respecting the laws.”

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He said the city had uncovered instances where developers allegedly employed undocumented migrants, describing the practice as exploitative.

“They then will employ illegal and undocumented migrants, and the intention there, of course, is malicious,” Morero said.

The mayor expressed concern that developers may be using undocumented workers to avoid paying fair wages and statutory contributions.

“Either they don’t want to pay them what is due to their salaries in terms of the sort of living wage,” Morero said. “And basically, it’s an exploitative type of an environment.”

Morero explained that the operations aim to protect South African citizens by ensuring employers comply with statutory obligations, including the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF), tax requirements, and basic working conditions under the Basic Conditions of Employment Act.

Officials from the Department of Home Affairs accompany the city during the raids to process individuals found to be in the country illegally.

“Home Affairs always comes with us in the operations, and they do take those who are illegal,” said Morero.

He added that those detained are processed through the police and courts before deportation is considered, in line with the Immigration Act.

“There are two things that they [Home Affairs] do: those that have to be processed through the courts and the police, so that they have a chance, because they’ve violated the laws, they’ve got illegal documents. Once that process is concluded, they normally deport them to the country of their origin.”

Morero expressed concern over the scale of undocumented employment uncovered during recent raids.

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“What is shocking is that developers are employing undocumented workers in huge numbers,” he said. “In essence, what they do in that is denying a South African citizen an opportunity for a job.”

He pointed to a recent operation where officials found more than 200 undocumented workers at a single site, compared to a smaller number of South African citizens.

“Which is an indication that we are not really investing and giving jobs to the people who should be getting those jobs, which are citizens,” Morero said.

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