SOME EFFECTS OF ILLEGAL MIGRATION AND POOR BORDERLINE CONTROL IN SOUTH AFRICA

1. SOME EFFECTS OF ILLEGAL MIGRATION AND POOR BORDERLINE CONTROL IN SOUTH AFRICA Prof Mike Hough Department of Political Sciences, University of Pretoria

2. Order of Presentation • Illegal migration: Extent and causes • Consequences of illegal migration • Regional pressures: SADC, Zimbabwe and others • Effective borderline control?

3. ILLEGAL MIGRATION

4. Deportations 4

5. Crime Deportations (2010 Majority – Zimbabwe – 1 385; Mozambique – 995; Lesotho – 400) 5

6. Estimated Extent of Illegal Immigrants in RSA From Selected Countries TOTAL: 2-8 million Mainly Zimbabweans (up to 3 million) Mozambicans (up to 1 million) Lesotho (in some estimates about one out of every three Lesotho citizens) 6

7. Causes of Illegal Migration Poor borderline control Corruption, fraud and fake documents Overstayers and returnees Economic/environmental conditions Opportunities for crime Fraudulent asylum claims South Africa’s “soft” diplomacy regarding Mugabe Political turmoil in Zimbabwe (refugees) 7

8. SOME CONSEQUENCES OF ILLEGAL MIGRATION 8

9. Disease KZN remorse for fence neglect “The Inkatha Freedom Party on Tuesday said the non-existence of the red fence line was to blame for the outbreak of foot and mouth disease. ‘The fence between Ingwavuma and the KwaZulu-Natal north coast was vandalised over the last few years and has not been reconstructed despite funds being allocated for this purpose’, said agriculture, environmental affairs and rural development spokesperson Henry Combrinck. He said the IFP had long questioned the provincial agriculture department’s failure to spend R25m allocated for the reconstruction of protective fences. ‘The broken-down fence alongside the failure to enforce border controls has resulted in a free flow of infected cattle from Mozambique’, said Combrinck. South Africa’s leaky borders with Swaziland and Mozambique were responsible for the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease, he said”. (1 March 2011)

10. Smuggling and Trafficking 10

11. 350 Illegal Immigrants Arrested “About 350 illegal immigrants were arrested in the Crown Mines area of Johannesburg on Thursday, the home affairs department said. ‘At this stage, we can also confirm that of this number, 337 were males of Bangladeshi, Pakistani and Chinese origin while 18 were Chinese females,’ deputy director-general for immigration Jackie McKay said in a statement. The group of undocumented foreigners were arrested in the veld while trying to evade home affairs, police and other authorities conducting a joint operation on Thursday morning. They were being held at the Lindela deportation centre and would be deported to their countries of origin. ‘We have reason to believe that these 355 undocumented immigrants were smuggled into the country by syndicates operating in both South Africa and their countries of origin’, McKay said. (20 January 2011) 11

12. Poaching Across Borders In 2010, 330 rhinos killed in RSA for horns of which 146 in Kruger Park. Increasing tendency in poaching in northern part of park, near Mozambique border. In some estimates foreign poachers – 20% of total. (Also stocktheft – especially on the Lesotho border) 12

13. Crime Consequences 13

14. Crime Consequences 14

15. Crime Consequences SAPS Parliamentary Briefing – 3 March 2010 “At the same parliamentary briefing, Limpopo chief police Calvin Sengani said the province which borders Zimbabwe, had to deal with foreign nationals ‘flooding our towns and cities. They cause a great number of problems with crime; we arrest them and protect them with resources that are intended for our citizens’” 15

16. Examples of Reports on Illegal Migrants and Crime Cops crack Chinese fraud syndicate “Police arrested nine members of a Chinese fraud syndicate at the Cresta office park, in Johannesburg, on Thursday. Lieutenant-Colonel Lungelo Dlamini said the syndicate recruited Chinese nationals to come to South Africa. ‘Once the foreign nationals are in the country, they are taught English and issued with … fraudulent documents’, he said Dlamini siad police went to the office part after tip-offs. There, they seized official stands from the Linden police, home affairs and the department of labour. Several false car licences were also found and 24 fake passports. The six Chinese nationals and three South Africans arrested had been charged with fraud and possession of stolen property.” 17 February 2011 16

17. Examples of Reports on Illegal Migrants and Crime Lead sold as platinum (Zimbabweans and Mozambicans) (17 February 2011) Counterfeit Mozambican passports sold to illegal immigrants on Johannesburg streets (Mainly to Zimbabweans) (21 October 2010) 17

18. Violence Aimed at Foreigners All xenophobia? Ermelo unrest – inhabitants say too many foreigners taking away jobs. In recent attacks on foreign businesses in Harare, a group of about 700 marchers were “carrying banners aimed against foreigners, including ‘No to foreigners controlling our economy’ and ‘Foreigners, sanctions have destroyed our economy so we want to control our wealth’.” (News24, 8 February 2011) 18

19. Potential for International Terrorism “You will remember that the Far East or Asia is an area where we have a lot of activities that are taking place, this is where terrorist organisations emanate from. But we need to guard against this, we need to protect our countries and region. So, we are saying, as South Africa and Zimbabwe, we have agreed we will do everything in our power to prevent these people from coming into our country. But over and above this, we want to take this issue to SADC so that our neighbours within SADC are aware of our bilateral position, and maybe to the AU so the continent is aware of our position”. (Media Release, South African Minister of Home Affairs, 22 February 2011). 19

20. Overcrowding Estimate that 70% of inhabitants in informal settlement next to Woodhill in Pretoria not South African citizens (D Theron, DA Councillor, Pretoria) 31 January 2011 20

21. RSA White Paper on International Migration : 1999 “illegal immigrants compete for scarce resources with millions of impoverished South Africans; illegal immigrants compete for land, housing, infrastructure, public services such as education and medical care as well as informal trading opportunities; illegal immigrants compete for job opportunities and serve as a source of cheap labour to employers; illegal immigrants have been and continue to be involved in criminal activities in South Africa; illegal immigrants contribute to weakening the state and its institutions by means of corrupting officials, fraudulently obtaining official documentation and undeserved rights and privileges and tarnishing South Africa’s image locally and abroad.” 21

22. REGIONAL PRESSURES

23. Regional Pressures Free Movement of people: African Economic Community Treaty (1991) Article 6(2)(f):“Sixth Stage: Within a period not exceeding five (5) years: consolidation and strengthening of the structure of the African Common Market, through including the free movement of people, goods, capital and services, as well as the provisions therein regarding the rights of residence and establishment.” Article 43: “General provisions Member States agree to adopt, individually, at bilateral or regional levels, the necessary measures, in order to achieve progressively the free movement of persons, and to ensure the enjoyment of the right of residence and the right of establishment by their nationals within the Community. For this purpose, Member States agree to conclude a Protocol on the Free Movement of Persons, Right of Residence and Right of Establishment.”

24. Regional Pressures SADC Protocol on the Facilitation of Movement of Persons Article 14: “Entry of persons State Parties agree to ensure that within a period to be stipulated in terms of Article 4 of this Protocol a citizen of a State Party who wishes to enter the territory of another State Party as a visitor shall be admitted without the requirement of a visa.”

25. Regional Pressures SADC Protocol on the Facilitation of Movement of Persons Article 17: “Residence permits Permission to reside in the territory of another State Party shall be sought through an application for a residence permit. An application for a residence permit shall be made by the applicant to the appropriate authorities of the relevant State Party in accordance with the laws of that State Party. Each State Party whose authorities are handling an application for a residence permit shall ensure that the processing of such application is not unduly delayed. A residence permit issued pursuant to this Protocol shall be in accordance with the laws of the State Party concerned.”

26. Regional Pressures SADC Protocol on the Facilitation of Movement of Persons Article 18: “Meaning of establishment Establishment shall mean permission or authority granted by a State Party in terms of its national laws, to a citizen of another State Party, for: exercise of economic activity and profession either as an employee or a self-employed person; establishing and managing a profession, trade, business or calling.”

27. Regional Pressures SADC Protocol on the Facilitation of Movement of Persons Article 19: “Granting of establishment Each State Party shall, in terms of its national laws, grant permission for the establishment to citizens of other State Parties.”

28. EFFECTIVE BORDERLINE CONTROL? 28

29. Effective Borderline Control? Admin, fence hamper border control “Musina – Administrative problems and a massive fence riddled with holes are hampering monitoring of the Zimbabwean border, the SA National Defence Force (SANDF) said on Wednesday. The fence had not been repaired since December because the company responsible for this had been liquidated, Lieutenant-Colonel Johan Herbst told Parliament’s defence committee. During an inspection of the fence, the committee found dozens of holes cut into the fence. Some holes were within metres of each other, others every few kilometres. ‘This is not a fence anymore, it is a walk-through’, said SANDF spokesperson Major Ronnie Maseko. Herbst said the tendering process for a new contractor was still underway.” (28 April 2010) 29

30. RSA Border Management Agency “Addressing journalists yesterday at a briefing on the activities of Cabinet’s Justice, Crime Prevention and Security Cluster for the next year, Radebe said the agency ‘will improve the security of our borders and ports of entry and promote cooperation of security agencies in the region and meanwhile boosting the economic trade relations. It shall also bring about improved management of population registers in Southern Africa.’ Radebe’s is the first word on the agency since State Security Minister Siyabonga Cwele referred to it in his budget vote last July. Cwele said ‘deficiences in the control and security of our borders have been … a challenge for some time now. These emanate mainly from lack integration departments at our ports of entry. They are facilitated by corrupt officials; they are exploited by trans-national crime and people smuggling syndicates’. (4 March 2010) Effective Borderline Control? 30

31. BMA now set for 2014 “Government says the establishment of a Border Management Agency (BMA) ‘is receiving due consideration and will be finalised by 2014’. … Regarding the South African National Defence Force, Radebe noted it will ‘continue to safeguard our borders, through a four-phase deployment plan. The 1st and 2nd phases involving borders with Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Swaziland have been finalised. Phases 3 and 4 which involve borders with Lesotho, Namibia and Botswana will be rolled out soon. The cluster will also be looking at alternative ways, including the use of technology, to safeguard our borders’.” (22 February 2011) Effective Borderline Control? 31

32. RSA 2011 BUDGET SANDF members on borderline: 1 168 in 2011/12 2 158 in 2013/14 R347,721 million for borderline control and R943,833 million for peace support in Africa (In 1994 ±28 companies deployed) Effective Borderline Control? 32

33. Effective Borderline Control? Move to close immigration loopholes “Mr Apleni also said there were too many ports of entry to SA and they were poorly managed, with some having only a single police officer on duty at the time. He said there was a need to rationalise points of entry so that foreign nationals seeking to enter to SA were adequately screened. The department also noted problems with current legislation which allowed foreign nationals to change their status while in SA. ‘This leads to them entering the country under false pretences, for example as tourists, instead of stating their true intentions’. In response to a question, Mr Apleni said the number of people who had entered SA as tourists and then disappeared could not be estimated. A report on the success of the new movement control system, implemented at major points of entry for the World Cup, would be available in September, he said.” (Director-General of Home Affairs, 11 August 2010) 33

34. Effective Borderline Control? Zimbabwe – special dispensation Undocumented could apply to legalise their stay up to end December 2010. 280,000 applied with 60,000 still waiting for Zimbabwe passports. Envisaged completion date – end July 2011. A total of 17,000 had no documents at all. Deportations to commence again later in 2011. 34

35. Effective Borderline Control? RSA Minister of Defence: “‛The SANDF has made noticeable achievements since its deployment to the borders. Farmers and business people along the borders have reported a drop in cross-border crime, and a number of arrests have been made which have impacted heavily on syndicates trading in illegal goods and vehicle thefts,’ Sisulu said at a media briefing by Cabinet’s International Cooperation, Trade and Security cluster.” (February 2011) 35

36. Effective Borderline Control? RSA Minister of Defence: “‘The SANDF, in partnership with the South African Police Service (SAPS), are working with law enforcement agencies of the region to investigate and stop cross border crimes,’ she added. The SANDF currently has four companies deployed along the Zimbabwean and Mozambican borders, with bases at Pontdrift and Musina in Limpopo, Macadamia in Mpumalanga and Ndumo in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN). ‘To ensure safe and secure tourism we have now started deploying on our border along the Kruger National Park. We will also deploy inside the Park to support the internal security of the Kruger Park and to assist the SAPS with combating rhino poaching. We seek to create a crime free environment that guarantees safe tourism. We also seek to stop the illegal movements of people and goods and related criminal activities’.” (Feb 2011) 36

37. Thank You Questions?