11/16/2023
By Farouk Chothia
BBC News
"Illegal immigrants put a heavy strain on the fiscus, with adverse effects on service delivery, the overstretched health sector, high unemployment and poverty," he said.
South Africa's latest census recorded more than 2.4 million migrants last year, with the highest percentage coming from neighbouring Zimbabwe at 45.5%, followed by Mozambique and Lesotho.
They make up only around 3% of the total population of 62 million - though officials acknowledge the difficulty in counting foreign nationals, especially those who are undocumented.
For Dr Mosoaledi, it is clear "no-one can account for all undocumented migrants" in South Africa and says the government was already trying to deal with them.
"Immigration Services deport between 15,000 and 20,000 illegal foreigners every year at a huge cost. This number is on the increase," he said, pointing out that the government was setting up a new law enforcement agency - known as the Border Management Authority (BMA) - to "significantly reduce the risk of foreigners entering the country illegally".
"New legislation must be introduced to strengthen the powers of immigration officers and inspectorate, and make continuing training compulsory," Dr Motsoaledi added.
He also called for the establishment of immigration courts, saying "the current legislative framework was untenable and leads to long delays in finalising immigration matters, including deportation".
-
Tags
#Immigrants