‘It must come to an end’: Lesufi suggests South Africa is being ‘abused’ by illegal foreigners

The “honeymoon period” for illegal foreigners in South Africa must come to an end, says Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi.

He suggested that they are contributing to some of the ills in the country, such as strained health care services and crime.

The premier made these comments at the ANC Gauteng lekgotla at the Indaba Hotel in Fourways on Saturday.

The gathering aims to solve challenges in the province and develop strategies for the upcoming local government elections.

Lesufi blames illegal foreigners

Speaking at the lekgotla, Lesufi seemed to blame illegal foreigners for many of the problems faced by the provincial government.

He used his recent visit to the Marry Me informal settlement in Soshanguve as an example. He said the majority of people living there were undocumented.

“I know it may create problems, but comrades, we must be very firm now,” Lesufi said.

“We can’t have an informal settlement where over 65% of its citizens are undocumented foreign citizens. It must come to an end.”

ALSO READ: Marches against illegal immigrants spread across South Africa

‘Our ubuntu cannot be abused’

Lesufi said South Africa’s character should not be questioned over this stance. He said no other country welcomed undocumented people.

“You have people [and] you don’t know who they are, where they come from, where they sleep, what they do and they are in our country doing as they wish.

“That period of honeymoon must come to an end. You [must] document yourself or you [must] leave us in peace.”

“Everyone knows our ubuntu, but our ubuntu cannot be abused.”

Watch: Lesufi speaks at ANC Gauteng lekgotla

Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi, says, South Africa cannot have an informal settlement where over 45% of its residents are foreign national. He says "our ubuntu cannot be abused". Lesufi was speaking at the renewal talks that are being held by the ANC ahead of the 2026 elections.… pic.twitter.com/FEYZkvYppC

— eNCA (@eNCA) May 3, 2025

He also suggested that illegal foreigners were contributing to crime in the country.

“We can’t surrender our country to criminals.”

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Lesufi said he had spoken to President Cyril Ramaphosa and some ministers about the problem of illegal immigration.

“If we can’t formally take a decision on how best we manage this situation, we must forget about everything we want to do.

“Our hospitals are overflowing. South Africans are expected to come with an ID document to identify themselves, [illegal foreigners] don’t have to identify themselves but they expect to be serviced.”

The ANC Gauteng lekgotla will end on Sunday.

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