Vuyo Zungula, Parliamentary Leader of the African Transformation Movement (ATM), has raised serious doubts about the feasibility of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s immigration commitments, pointing to systemic resource shortages and a longstanding lack of enforcement action as evidence that meaningful change remains unlikely.
Speaking on the implications of the President’s recent address, Zungula argued that the timing of the intervention reflects mounting public concern rather than genuine policy prioritization. He observed that several foreign governments have begun facilitating the return of their nationals from South Africa—a development he described as achieving more practical results than domestic state efforts over nearly two decades.
“Since 2008, there’s been this conflict between South Africans and foreign nationals over scarce resources, over criminality, and over lawlessness,” Zungula noted. “And from 2008 up until now, this South African government has not done anything tangible.”
He directed particular criticism at the Government of National Unity (GNU), asserting it lacks the political determination to confront immigration challenges substantively. According to Zungula, expecting resolution through a single presidential address ignores a pattern of unfulfilled commitments dating back to Ramaphosa’s assumption of office in 2018.
Operational constraints formed a core part of the ATM’s critique. Zungula highlighted that South Africa employs just 832 sworn immigration officers—the only personnel legally empowered to verify an individual’s documentation status. While the President referenced plans to onboard 10,000 labor inspectors, Zungula clarified that these officials operate under a distinct mandate focused on workplace compliance and cannot enforce immigration statutes.
“Even the 10,000 labor inspectors that he says are going to be employed… do not have a mandate to deal with immigration issues,” he explained. “It is only immigration officers. And with only 832 immigration officers for foreign nationals who are illegal in the country—above 3 million—there’s no capacity clearly there.”
Compounding personnel shortages, Zungula pointed to critical gaps in border infrastructure. He noted that certain entry points remain unfenced or unmonitored, enabling unregulated cross-border movement. This physical vulnerability, he argued, undermines any strategy centered on deportation or deterrence without parallel investment in perimeter security.
Zungula urged the public to view the President’s remarks with caution and to sustain civic pressure until measurable actions follow. “President Ramaphosa today is just trying to sanitize, silence South Africans so that they do not keep on piling the pressure,” he said. “We want to encourage South Africans: pile on the pressure up until there’s action. Do not stop simply because today he is saying nice words.”
The ATM leader concluded that lasting progress on immigration governance demands more than rhetorical reassurance—it requires concrete resource allocation, legislative clarity, and consistent enforcement mechanisms that have, to date, remained absent.