ActionSA calls on the Government of National Unity (GNU) and the Department of Home Affairs to urgently strengthen border security and law enforcement following the revelation that the Border Management Authority (BMA) has processed 72,906 repatriations across all ports of entry.
The figures, announced by Justice Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi at an Interministerial Committee (IMC) on Migration media briefing in Pretoria, raise serious questions about the effectiveness of the government’s approach to illegal immigration and the sustainability of the current repatriation system.
While repatriations are necessary where individuals are found to be in the country illegally, the reality on the ground is that South Africans continue to see undocumented migrants living and working in communities across our townships, villages, towns and cities. This is evidence that the government’s approach remains reactive rather than preventative.
ActionSA is asking a fundamental question: How much is the state spending on this revolving-door system, and how much longer can South African taxpayers afford it?
The reported R80 million cost associated with these efforts must be subjected to serious scrutiny. South Africans deserve transparency on how this money is being spent and whether the current approach is delivering sustainable results.
For Limpopo, a province facing severe infrastructure and service delivery challenges, R80 million represents a significant amount of money that could make a meaningful difference in the lives of residents.
That money could be invested in repairing Limpopo’s failing water infrastructure, ensuring that residents do not go for weeks without reliable access to basic water services. It could contribute towards repairing the province’s deteriorating roads, many of which have become a danger to motorists and a barrier to local economic activity.
It could also assist in properly equipping understaffed public clinics, supporting schools that face shortages of essential resources, and improving safety and lighting in communities where residents live with the daily fear of crime.
This is not an argument against enforcing the law. It is an argument for smarter, more effective and preventative law enforcement.
The Department of Home Affairs must understand that prevention is cheaper than cure. If the government fails to secure our borders, prevent illegal entry and enforce immigration laws consistently, South African taxpayers will continue to carry the financial burden of a system that repeatedly fails to address the root cause of the problem.
ActionSA therefore calls for:
- A transparent breakdown of the R80 million expenditure associated with repatriation operations, including the cost per repatriation and the departments and entities responsible for the expenditure.
- A comprehensive audit of border security, particularly at vulnerable and porous border points in Limpopo, to determine how individuals enter the country illegally.
- Stronger cooperation between the Border Management Authority, South African Police Service and other law enforcement agencies to ensure that immigration enforcement does not stop at the border but continues throughout the country in accordance with the law.
- A sustained crackdown on illegal employment, with employers who knowingly employ undocumented individuals held accountable.
- Regular enforcement operations in communities, including townships, villages, towns and cities, conducted within the framework of the law and with respect for human rights.
- Greater investment in border infrastructure and technology to prevent illegal crossings rather than repeatedly spending public money to repatriate people who have entered the country illegally.
- A clear and measurable national migration enforcement strategy that addresses both illegal entry and the enforcement of immigration laws once individuals are inside the country.
- Limpopo cannot be allowed to become the country’s contingency plan while the GNU fails to build secure borders and implement meaningful border management.
Our province shares a long and vulnerable border with neighbouring countries and carries a disproportionate burden when national border controls fail. Communities in Limpopo should not be expected to absorb the consequences of a broken immigration enforcement system while their own basic needs remain unmet.
We need real law enforcement, not grandstanding. We need secure borders, effective immigration enforcement and consequences for those who break the law. At the same time, we need government to ensure that South Africans are not forced to sacrifice access to water, healthcare, education, roads and safety because of systemic failures that could have been prevented.
ActionSA will continue to demand accountability from the GNU and the Department of Home Affairs. The people of Limpopo deserve a government that protects its borders, enforces its laws and puts the basic needs of South African citizens first.
ActionSA Calls for Urgent Law Enforcement and Border Security as 72,906 Repatriations Expose Failure of Migration Management
ActionSA calls on the Government of National Unity (GNU) and the Department of Home Affairs to urgently strengthen border security and law enforcement following the revelation that the Border Management Authority (BMA) has processed 72,906 repatriations across all ports of entry.
The figures, announced by Justice Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi at an Interministerial Committee (IMC) on Migration media briefing in Pretoria, raise serious questions about the effectiveness of the government’s approach to illegal immigration and the sustainability of the current repatriation system.
While repatriations are necessary where individuals are found to be in the country illegally, the reality on the ground is that South Africans continue to see undocumented migrants living and working in communities across our townships, villages, towns and cities. This is evidence that the government’s approach remains reactive rather than preventative.
ActionSA is asking a fundamental question: How much is the state spending on this revolving-door system, and how much longer can South African taxpayers afford it?
The reported R80 million cost associated with these efforts must be subjected to serious scrutiny. South Africans deserve transparency on how this money is being spent and whether the current approach is delivering sustainable results.
For Limpopo, a province facing severe infrastructure and service delivery challenges, R80 million represents a significant amount of money that could make a meaningful difference in the lives of residents.
That money could be invested in repairing Limpopo’s failing water infrastructure, ensuring that residents do not go for weeks without reliable access to basic water services. It could contribute towards repairing the province’s deteriorating roads, many of which have become a danger to motorists and a barrier to local economic activity.
It could also assist in properly equipping understaffed public clinics, supporting schools that face shortages of essential resources, and improving safety and lighting in communities where residents live with the daily fear of crime.
This is not an argument against enforcing the law. It is an argument for smarter, more effective and preventative law enforcement.
The Department of Home Affairs must understand that prevention is cheaper than cure. If the government fails to secure our borders, prevent illegal entry and enforce immigration laws consistently, South African taxpayers will continue to carry the financial burden of a system that repeatedly fails to address the root cause of the problem.
ActionSA therefore calls for:
Our province shares a long and vulnerable border with neighbouring countries and carries a disproportionate burden when national border controls fail. Communities in Limpopo should not be expected to absorb the consequences of a broken immigration enforcement system while their own basic needs remain unmet.
We need real law enforcement, not grandstanding. We need secure borders, effective immigration enforcement and consequences for those who break the law. At the same time, we need government to ensure that South Africans are not forced to sacrifice access to water, healthcare, education, roads and safety because of systemic failures that could have been prevented.
ActionSA will continue to demand accountability from the GNU and the Department of Home Affairs. The people of Limpopo deserve a government that protects its borders, enforces its laws and puts the basic needs of South African citizens first.