Confederation of African Football president Dr Patrice Motsepe has broken his silence on the ongoing immigration crisis in South Africa, saying the country cannot support illegal immigration while acknowledging concerns about jobs and the impact of undocumented migration.
Motsepe made the remarks during the Confederation of African Football (CAF) press conference in Johannesburg on Wednesday.
“(The) concern about our people not getting jobs is a legitimate concern. And we’ve got a duty to do that. And of course there’s also an equally legitimate concern when some of our businesses don’t employ South Africans but employ people from outside the continent because they are prepared to accept low wages. It’s wrong,” he said.
He said South Africa needed to address illegal migration while promoting cooperation among African countries.
“But we will, you know, we have to do the right thing and educate our people and say to them that illegality will not be tolerated. And we will also, from a CAF, we will issue those statements,” Motsepe said.
“We have to say we support the cooperation, the working together of Africans of the continent. We will not tolerate, we cannot support illegality. We cannot support illegal migration.”
Motsepe said African countries needed to work together to create economic opportunities and reduce the pressure that drives migration.
“You cannot…Because all over the world you’ve got, and some of the leaders are correct when they raise issues to say that, you know, we should try and create jobs in those countries then. Forget about people from outside South Africa.”
“If you don’t create jobs in Limpopo, you don’t create jobs in KwaZulu-Natal, you don’t create jobs in the Eastern Cape, people will leave the rural areas and come to the cities because they need jobs. So we need to work together to try and create jobs in the countries, in our neighbouring countries.”
His comments come amid growing protests over illegal immigration, with some groups calling for undocumented foreign nationals to leave South Africa.
Hundreds of migrants continue to arrive at the Musina Repatriation Centre in Limpopo as authorities continue deportations and voluntary repatriations.
Some foreign nationals have returned to countries including Mozambique and Malawi, while others have reportedly been left stranded without the means to return home.
The voluntary repatriation programme has also drawn criticism from some quarters across Africa, including Ghana.
Earlier this month, Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said the government was concerned about what it described as a campaign aimed at isolating South Africa from the continent following tensions over anti-illegal immigration protests.
Magwenya said the government had observed efforts to portray South Africa as a country hostile to foreign nationals, despite official statements condemning vigilantism and reaffirming the state’s responsibility to enforce immigration laws.
“This is despite numerous official government communications condemning acts of vigilantism against foreign nationals, asserting the state’s primary role in enforcing immigration laws, and reaffirming its commitment to the supremacy of the Constitution,” he said.
Magwenya said the government was particularly concerned about the spread of misinformation by a diplomatic representative. He later confirmed that he was referring to Ghana’s High Commissioner.
“Recent evidence shows that this false campaign, concerning as it is, is faltering. South Africa is not isolated,” he said.
He added that South Africa remained committed to engagement with African countries and the international community.
