Border crossings drop to a third amid virus pandemic

The advent of Covid-19 has seen a drastic drop in movement through South Africa’s borders, compared to the same period last year, the department of home affairs said yesterday.

According to its spokesman, Siya Qoza, the figures represented about a third of normal traffic during the festive season.

With most movement recorded at OR Tambo International Airport, Beitbridge, Lebombo, Maseru and Ficksburg, Qoza said the top five nationalities to move through SA borders were from Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Mozambique, Swaziland and Botswana.

The December period also saw 79 526 returning South Africans, while another 79 101 left. In the same period, 163 346 foreign nationals entered the country, while 158 387 departed.

The United Nations has estimated the number of foreign nationals living in SA to be 4.3 million.

According to the International Journal for Equity in Health: “An estimated two million foreign-born migrants of working age 15 to 64 lived in SA in 2017 – representing 5.3% of the country’s labour force. Between 2012 and 2017, there was a 1.4% increase.”

It cited SA’s commitment to upholding human rights and rights of asylum seekers and refugees as making the country “an attractive destination for people fleeing their home countries in the quest for a more dignifying and humane existence”.

However, “the unprecedented flow of asylum seekers and refugees … has compromised the government’s … commitment towards upholding human rights, while delivering its promise to uplift the socio-economic welfare of its citizens.

“While there is the political will to accommodate and cater for asylum seekers, refugees and undocumented migrants, the increasing economic and financial woes of the country has led to the government … frequently changing laws that have impacted negatively on the lives of migrants.”

The Refugees Act provided the right for asylum seekers and refugees to work and study, access medical services, life-saving treatment and freedom of movement.

“The difficulty in obtaining or renewing documents on time, makes it challenging … to gain any meaningful and long-term employment,” said the journal.

– brians@citizen.co.za

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