Vusumuzi Sibanda, chairperson of the African Diaspora Global Network, has raised concerns regarding President Cyril Ramaphosa’s latest statements on immigration policy, emphasizing that sustainable solutions demand coordinated action with neighboring African nations to confront the underlying drivers of cross-border movement.
While welcoming the President’s pledge to intensify penalties against employers who take advantage of undocumented workers, Sibanda noted that South Africa’s Immigration Act already criminalizes such exploitation, with established sanctions ranging from monetary fines to custodial sentences. He expressed uncertainty about what additional enforcement mechanisms the President intended to introduce.
Sibanda also affirmed the importance of Ramaphosa’s clarification that only authorized law enforcement personnel may detain individuals or request proof of legal status. He referenced a recent operation in Durban where non-official actors stopped and questioned residents who held valid documentation. In one documented case, an individual whose asylum status had lapsed was incorrectly categorized as an illegal foreign national, despite the Refugees Act outlining specific procedures for such circumstances.
Although the President reiterated that South Africa “rejects the notion that we must tolerate illegal immigration” and framed migration as an inherently global issue, Sibanda contended that the address lacked substantive detail on how Pretoria would collaborate with regional partners to address root causes. He highlighted prior diplomatic concerns voiced by Ghana and Nigeria regarding push factors—including governance deficits, political volatility, and targeted threats to personal safety linked to authoritarian conduct across parts of the continent.
Responding to questions about governance challenges within South Africa itself, Sibanda clarified that the term “bad governance,” as used in migration discourse, refers to contexts where state institutions have deteriorated, economies have collapsed under cartel influence, accountability structures are non-functional, and civic freedoms—including the right to peaceful assembly—are suppressed. He cited Zimbabwe’s 2023 general elections, which a Southern African Development Community (SADC) assessment report described as neither free nor credible, as a case where regional election observation missions failed to trigger meaningful corrective action despite South Africa’s participation.
Sibanda further pointed to Nigeria, where last-minute alterations to electoral regulations occurred without subsequent accountability, illustrating the need for regional bodies to transition from symbolic monitoring to impactful engagement. He stressed that effective migration management cannot rely solely on border control or domestic enforcement but must include diplomatic efforts aimed at strengthening democratic institutions and economic resilience across source countries.
The African Diaspora Global Network maintains that a durable immigration framework for South Africa must integrate robust domestic policy with proactive, principle-based regional cooperation—addressing both the symptoms and structural causes of displacement while upholding human rights and legal protections for all individuals within the country’s borders.