Ramaphosa says penalties await employers using undocumented labour while outlining intelligence-led policing to tackle gang violence.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has sent a stern warning to South African employers who hire illegal immigrants, saying they could face jail time.
Speaking during a question-and-answer session in Parliament on Thursday, Ramaphosa said the Immigration Act prohibits anyone from employing illegal foreigners who are not documented.
He said the law contained in the act deems it as an offence punishable through prison, a fine or both.
“I want to state it very clearly that employers who continue to employ people who are not documented are committing an offence. And we are going to make sure that those employers stop what they are doing,” the president said.
Illegal immigration crisis
Ramaphosa was responding to IFP MP and chief whip Nhlanhla Hadebe’s question about interventions to curb the country’s illegal immigration crisis and to secure the borders.
He said South Africans are unhappy about employers hiring illegal immigrants because they are cheap labour.
The president acknowledged that illegal immigration placed “a great deal of strain” on South Africa’s social services and undermined national security.
Referencing the tragic Limpopo bus crash that claimed the lives of 43 Zimbabwean and Malawian nationals and the bottles of anti-retroviral drugs found at the scene on 13 October, Ramaphosa said South Africans are justifiably concerned about the issue of undocumented migrants.
However, he cautioned against acts of vigilantism, as they don’t solve the problem and undermine the rule of law.
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Ramaphosa said more than 51 000 illegal immigrants were deported in the past financial year.
“[One] area of work is to detect, apprehend, and deport illegal migrants in our country. This is mainly done through intelligence-driven joint operations, planned and executed by the Department of Home Affairs, the inland inspectorate and other structures,” he told parliament.
“The newly established Border Management Authority has deployed 600 border guards in vulnerable segments of our country’s border, just to prevent illegal migrants that are undocumented and inadmissible from entering the country.”
He said Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber also related to him how effective the use of drones was.
“They are also using body cameras and creating a more secure and digital border environment.”
‘Intelligence-led’ strategy against gang violence
Ramaphosa was also asked about the spate of gangster-related killings, particularly in the Western Cape.
In absentia, EFF leader Julius Malema asked the president whether he knew about the October mass killing of seven men at the Better Life informal settlement in Philippi, Cape Town.
Malema also asked whether he was concerned about the “daily killings and mass murders in Cape Town,” and the policing policy interventions he intended to put in place to “guarantee the safety” of people living in the city’s townships.
Ramaphosa said the Philippi case remained under active investigation, with five suspects arrested to date.
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He told parliament that the South African Police Service, in collaboration with the Western Cape provincial government and the City of Cape Town, is implementing an integrated, intelligence-led, multidisciplinary approach.
This is aimed at countering organised criminal networks and restoring stability in affected areas.
“As part of this broader framework, Operation Lockdown – implemented as a national intervention operation – was launched to stabilise, identified high crime precincts through the deployment of specialised national resources and technical units,” Ramaphosa said.
“Immediate and medium-term policing interventions currently being implemented include enhanced intelligence capability. This involves strengthening intelligence collection, analysis, and dissemination to proactively identify and disrupt gang operations.”
He added that interventions also include Operation Shanela and Project Combat, which focus on recovering illegal firearms, dismantling drug distribution networks and apprehending wanted gang affiliates.
Dealing with ‘the root cause’
The president said dealing with incidents of criminality should not be superficial.
The root cause should be dealt with, he said.
“And clearly, the root cause is the economic situation that we find ourselves in as a country. Low economic growth results in our people becoming desperate, looking for short-term solutions to advance their own livelihoods,” Ramaphosa said.
“So we need to, therefore, be comprehensive and look at ways in which we can increase economic growth and instil more and more confidence for investors who come in and invest. Investors will never come into a situation where there is gang violence, where there’s a lack of service delivery.”
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