Africa Mayibuye Movement leader Floyd Shivambu has thrown his weight behind pressure group March and March, which has taken to the streets demanding that illegal foreigners leave the country.
Shivambu briefed the media in Johannesburg on Tuesday, where he hit back at those who have labelled the group’s campaign xenophobic.
Shivambu said the country has an immigration crisis and that those raising concerns about it should not be silenced.
“And our view, by the way, in relation to the protests led by Gizem Kono and the people of March and March, is that all the concerns they are raising are legitimate, and we will not join the band of those who want to delegitimise and insult people who are saying that we have a serious crisis of undocumented and illegal immigration in South Africa,” said Shivambu.
The government has, over recent months, stepped up efforts to bring immigration under control, including proposed amendments to the law that would require refugees to seek asylum in the first safe country they enter — a move expected to ease pressure on South Africa. Currently, many asylum seekers travel directly to South Africa, passing through several relatively safe countries within their regions.
“It confuses the allocation of resources. It confuses responses as to how many houses need to be allocated, how many informal settlements should be formalised, and how many jobs are going to be created for our people,” he said, highlighting the impact of uncontrolled migration on South Africa’s development agenda.
Shivambu also accused the private sector of fuelling illegal immigration to avoid paying minimum wages.
“The primary beneficiary of illegal immigration in South Africa is the private sector because they employ unprotected workers from other parts of the continent. They employ our brothers and sisters from across Africa who are undocumented, and then on payday they call the police on them.
“On payday, they remind them that they are not legally in South Africa. When they try to form a union, they are told they are not allowed to do so. That also happens in the construction sector, the mining sector and the agricultural sector, especially during harvesting season.
“In the hospitality sector, it is one of the most dominant practices to employ undocumented and illegal immigrants in South Africa. So, the issues that Ngizwa Mkunu and those he is leading are raising are legitimate,” said Shivambu.