South Africa must charge countries for deportations of illegal foreigners, says ATM

The African Transformation Movement (ATM) has called on the government to address the root causes of the influx of illegal foreigners in the countries, instead of just deporting them.

This comes after Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber revealed that the country has spent more than R52 million in five months on deporting more than 19 000 illegal foreigners.

The figure has doubled since the 2019/20 financial year, when the department spent R23.3 million on the deportations.

In the 2022/23 financial year, home affairs deported about 86 Nigerians, 3 020 Malawians and 7 393 Zimbabweans.

‘Document illegal foreigners’

Some political figures including Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema, have called on the government to document the illegal foreigners instead of deporting them.

Speaking on SABC News’ Face the Nation last month, Malema said: “The solution is, let’s document these people because whether you like it or not, they’re here.

“You know what they do in December? They hand themselves over to Lindela so that they can eat Christmas at home and in January, they come back.

“That money could have been used to feed the children of the poor or in the clinics. You are in denial, xenophobic people are in denial that these people are here.

ALSO READ: Malema: ‘Let’s document foreigners because whether you like it or not, they’re here’

“We [South Africa] behave like a mad person who has a shack and a yard. He goes and puts a gate where there is no fence. When you go out, you lock the gate but don’t have a fence. When you come back, you unlock that gate and your neighbour looks at you like you’re mad.”

Others, including the ATM and Patriotic Alliance (PA), have rejected the idea.

The suggestion that we must document illegal foreigners simply because they are already here is nothing but a short cut and must be rejected. #Abahambe pic.twitter.com/r5SNcOYTC4

— Patrick Sindane (@sindane3) October 22, 2024

PA leader Gayton McKenzie has vowed to not abandon the call for mass deportations of illegal foreigners.

I will never stop fighting for mass deportation. I have been bringing this matter up using channels afforded to me as Minister. I must respect the Minister of Home Affairs and give him space to do his job. We will never abandon this fight Patriots.

— Gayton McKenzie (@GaytonMcK) October 20, 2024

The ATM has suggested several ways to deal with the issue of illegal foreigners in the country.

‘Comprehensive immigration reform’

The approach of deporting illegal foreigners is a waste of resources and does not address the root causes of the issue, says the party.

It wants the department to first address the issue of corruption by its officials. The party says this will save money and also ensure that the country’s immigration policies are implemented consistently and fairly.

Between July and September 2024, the Department of Home Affairs finalised 31 disciplinary cases against its officials.

Spokesperson Siya Qoza revealed last week that the disciplinary cases resulted in a range of sanctions. These include criminal prosecution, dismissal, suspension without pay and final written warnings.

The officials faced transgressions relating to irregular recruitment, violation of the Citizenship Act and the violation of the Immigration Act.

READ MORE: 31 Home Affairs officials bust, including for smuggling and breaking immigration laws

The ATM is also demanding that the countries from which illegal foreigners originate must be held accountable. They must pay back the money spent on deportations, it said.

It further called on the government to work closely with other countries to address the root causes of illegal immigration. These causes include poverty, political instability, and lack of opportunities.

“This can be done through regional partnerships and cooperation aimed at improving living conditions and creating job opportunities for all.

“In addition, we recommend that the government strengthens the country’s border control by investing in modern technologies and increasing the number of border patrol agents,” said the ATM.

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“The current state of our borders is alarming, with porous entry points that facilitate not only illegal immigration but also human trafficking and drug smuggling.”

‘SADC countries must pay’

The suggestion for SADC countries to pay for their citizens in South Africa was previously suggested by Limpopo Premier Dr Phophi Ramathuba.

In April last year, Ramathuba, then-health MEC, bemoaned her department’s resources which she said were being spent on illegal foreigners.

The issue of free healthcare for foreign nationals in South Africa has long been a bone of contention, with those at the forefront of the debate highlighting that the country’s healthcare system is already on its knees.

ALSO READ: ‘MOUs should have been in place’ for SA to charge SADC countries for citizens’ healthcare

Ramathuba called on SADC countries to pay medical expenses for their citizens who receive treatment in South Africa.

At the time, the MEC was responding to the backlash she received following a video of her “explaining” to a foreign national patient why she should pay for the medical procedure she had just received at a public hospital.

Illegal foreigners ‘straining’ health system

Ramathuba was commenting on the slow progress in one of the province’s initiative, in which she recruited health specialists to clear the surgical backlog in hospitals.

She was “shocked” to find the backlog of the surgical procedures had not improved.

“What we have noted, why we’re not even making a dent on this surgical backlog is because there has been abuse of this project by illegal foreign nationals. I need to give that understanding to say we’re not doing anything to our surgical backlog because people are abusing this system,” Ramathuba told SABC at the time.

“When they hear that the MEC is coming to this district with specialist care, they leave their country, enter South Africa illegally and come to our hospitals. The doctors who operate on them, for ethical reasons, even though the constitution will cover the doctors, don’t refuse to operate on them. But that specific South African citizen who we did this project for is unable to get operated on because they are still flooding our initiative.”

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