The DA's Solly Malatsi, JAcques Julius and Solly Msimanga at an immigration press briefing | Image: Twitter
Tshwane mayor and Democratic Alliance (DA) premier candidate for Gauteng Solly Msimanga has confirmed that as part of their 2019 election campaign, his party is taking a tougher stance against undocumented migrants.
During a press briefing held earlier today, the DA said their government would secure the country’s borders, train immigration officials, and eradicate corruption at home affairs by enhancing the system, technology, and competency levels in an effort to reverse the conditions they believe the ANC government has caused.
DA MP Solly Malatsi stated: “It is a fact that South Africa has poor border control systems that are unable to accurately and efficiently record the movement of people and goods through our borders.”
Fellow DA MP Jacques Julius also lambasted the ANC government for not having sufficient data and a clear programme for addressing this category of immigrants.
“The DA is the only party capable of fixing immigration and border security which has crumbled under the failing ANC government,” said Julius.
While the party has taken a tough stance against undocumented migrants, Julius explained that the DA supports the idea of immigration with an emphasis on attracting immigrants with rare skills to contribute to the local economy.
“We must attract foreign nationals with scarce skills to South Africa to help us grow our economy and create jobs,” added Julius.
The party also suggested educating communities on the benefits of integration and social cohesion so as to combat xenophobia.
Chief among Msimanga’s concerns as the premier candidate for Gauteng is the lack of data and how this hampers planning by the province to be able to cater to and care for the province’s residents.
“We would also not allow the scapegoating of foreign nationals for poor service delivery in communities,” said Msimanga.
He believes that undocumented foreigners should be assisted with a safe return back to their countries of origin and stated that the DA has plans of reaching out to embassies in order to make this process smoother.
As a result, the party has called on the ANC government to find solutions to the current problems and have vowed to pick up the mantle after the 2019 elections if the ANC cannot do so.
Watch the entire address below:
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