Joburg’s Executive Mayor, Herman Mashaba, said the City of Johannesburg will file papers in court against the Department of Home Affairs for allegedly failing to address illegal immigration in the City.
Mashaba said illegal immigration in Johannesburg has reached crisis levels.
“In the interests of inter-governmental relations as espoused in the Constitution, I have on numerous occasions sought an audience with the Department of Home Affairs, in good faith. So far, these attempts have been in vain,” he said.
“I have instructed the City’s legal team to investigate all legal options available to the City to compel the Department of Home Affairs, to address the issue of illegal immigration in the City of Johannesburg.”
Mashaba said that in an attempt to create low-cost housing in the inner city, the City has conducted numerous raids on hijacked buildings. Mashaba said a number of undocumented immigrants were discovered during the raids.
“Within the context of the City, illegal immigration compounds serious challenges for the provision of temporary emergency accommodation for residents and other basic services.
“Many people, out of desperation borne out of political, social and economic instability in their countries, seek a better life in South Africa, and the City of Johannesburg in particular. As undocumented immigrants, many of these people make it past our borders and are forced to live on the fringes of our society, in the shadows and with limited protection.”
Mashaba said it is essential that the national government cleans up its act and ensures that there are identification and processing of undocumented immigrants and that legal documentation is provided to those who qualify.
After the Cape York fire in July in the inner city, many of the residents of the said hijacked building were relocated to Webley Stadium. Home Affairs has allegedly not determined their status yet, he said.
“Despite being aware of this crisis, it would appear the department has failed to develop a proactive plan for addressing this challenge. This reflects a continued pattern of inaction by the Department of Home Affairs.”
The mayor said the City cannot remain silent ‘in the face of the breakdown of the rule of law in our city and the rising human crisis’. He said that ultimately, the causalities of this alleged inaction will be the City’s poorest residents and law-abiding foreign nationals.
The Department of Home Affairs has been contacted. The article will be updated with its comment on the matter.
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UPDATE: Inner city building raids continue, over 260 already arrested
