South Africa: Ramaphosa Promises to Toughen Up On Illegal Immigration but the Streets Don't Buy It

March and March founder Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma dismissed the plan as unworkable within an hour of the speech and called a Benoni Shutdown demanding the immediate removal of undocumented foreign nationals.

President Cyril Ramaphosa went to the Union Buildings on Sunday night with a plan. Five pillars, dozens of commitments, and a message to South Africans who have spent months marching: the government has heard you.

Within an hour of the speech, March and March founder Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma called a Benoni Shutdown. She dismissed the plan as unworkable, saying the government does not have the resources to run deportation courts or deploy 10,000 additional labour inspectors in any meaningful way.

The uMkhonto weSizwe Party backed the movement. Secretary-general Sibonelo Nomvalo accused undocumented migrants of turning parts of South African towns into centres of crime. The party repeated its demand that all undocumented foreigners leave by 30 June.

Ramaphosa's plan covers five areas: cracking down on violations of immigration and labour laws, securing the borders, strengthening the immigration system, closing gaps in existing laws, and working with other African countries to address what drives migration in the first place.

The border security commitments include ground sensors, satellite monitoring and drones along South Africa's borders, as well as upgrades to the busiest ports of entry. On the immigration system, the plan proposes biometrics at all international airports, phasing out green ID books, and cracking down on corruption at Home Affairs.

One announcement will draw scrutiny. The plan includes a policy to limit the employment of documented foreign nationals, not only undocumented workers. That goes further than the Employment Services Amendment Bill currently before Parliament, which targets undocumented workers specifically.

The Congress of South African Trade Unions welcomed the speech. COSATU said Ramaphosa's address confirmed that workers' concerns had been heard.

The federation pointed to the 10,000 labour inspector commitment and the prison penalties for employers who exploit undocumented workers as the most important undertakings. COSATU also noted that the Border Management Authority stopped more than 450,000 people from entering South Africa illegally in the past year, a figure Ramaphosa referenced in his address, and said that number raised questions about how many others got through undetected.

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