from ARMANDO DOMINGOS in Maputo & AKANI CHAUKE in Johannesburg
Southern Africa Bureau
MAPUTO, (CAJ News) – SOUTH Africa will struggle to address its immigration crisis and the resultant xenophobic violence if it does not hold some neighbouring countries accountable for violating human rights.
This is according to opposition figures locally and in Zimbabwe after President Cyril Ramaphosa announced a number of measures to tackle these crises in a key address to the nation on Sunday.
His address came amid a fallout with some countries, which reported that their citizens in South Africa had been targeted during anti-migrant protests, while others continued evacuating their nationals.
Critics of the South African government pointed out that the problems would continue if the human rights violations in neighbouring Mozambique and Zimbabwe, which are the two biggest contributors to mass immigration into South Africa, were not addressed.
Mmusi Maimane, leader of Build One South Africa (BOSA), cited data by Statistics South Africa showing that Zimbabwe had more than 1 million nationals in South Africa, the highest number of foreign nationals, with Mozambique second at more than 416 500.
The data is for 2022.
“You can’t solve the immigration crisis in South Africa without directly calling out ZANU-PF and FRELIMO. They are the root cause of undocumented mass immigration into South Africa,” Maimane argued.
He was referring to the Front for the Liberation of Mozambique (FRELIMO) and the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF), both ruling parties in their respective countries.
The two parties are accused of vote rigging, violence against opponents, corruption and economic mismanagement, resulting in multitudes fleeing.
The African National Congress (ANC), an ally of the two parties in South Africa, is accused of complicity for failing to address these issues with FRELIMO and ZANU-PF.
“They have been enabled to stay in power by the ANC, which has ignored rigged elections and developed relationships with these corrupt regimes and their crony capitalist crooks,” Maimane said.
David Coltart, a leading opposition figure and the mayor of Zimbabwe’s second largest city, Bulawayo, concurred.
He said that if a faction within ZANU-PF succeeded in pushing for an amendment to the Constitution to extend President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s stay in power beyond 2028, Zimbabwe would be further destabilised and this would drive even more Zimbabweans into economic and political exile in South Africa.
“The time has come for the South African government to speak out firmly, publicly and unequivocally that the destruction of Zimbabwe’s Constitution (and the consolidation of power by and into a tiny, corrupt elite) is unacceptable,” Coltart said.
He said historical facts showed that the overwhelming majority of migrants to South Africa came from Zimbabwe.
“All South Africa’s internal measures to deal with this crisis will come to naught if the push factor coming from Zimbabwe is not dealt with,” Coltart said.
– CAJ News