Our Viewpoint | Undocumented migrants

This newspaper has repeatedly expressed its condemnation of protests and vigilante-style actions targeting foreign nationals. Given the gravity of the situation, its escalation and the threat it poses to the country, it is necessary to restate that position — particularly against the backdrop of Africa Month and the start of Africa’s Travel Indaba in Durban. South Africa is using the indaba to position tourism as a key economic driver.

Tourism Minister Patricia de Lille said the sector “directly supports job creation, stimulates GDP growth and uplifts communities”. The event is intended to attract investment, grow markets and strengthen partnerships across Africa. At the same time, President Cyril Ramaphosa marked Africa Month by reinforcing a message of unity.

“We are one people,” he said, stressing a shared identity that transcends borders and calling for a collective future for the continent. These are the messages being presented to the world. Running alongside them is another reality.

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What is unfolding reveals the danger of scapegoating. How do self-styled protest groups distinguish between a tourist, a business visitor, a documented migrant and someone without papers? Are people judged on how they look, how they speak or where they are found?

South Africa has constitutional avenues for protest. The target of protest cannot be people based on nationality or ethnicity. South Africa faces sustained pressure from undocumented migration.

It places strain on already stretched public resources, from healthcare to housing and basic services, and allows parts of the economy to operate in an unregulated space. In a country confronting deep economic hardship, high unemployment and slow growth, these pressures are real. They are also easily misdirected.

South Africans understand that the root causes lie as much in weak enforcement, poor regulation and governance gaps as they do in migration itself. In a democracy, these are political questions. They belong in party manifestos, public debate and elections.

Which party has the will to act decisively through lawful enforcement and proper regulation, and which pays lip service, must be tested. With local government elections approaching, the focus should be on delivery — on municipalities enforcing by-laws and working with provincial and national authorities to address lawlessness within the law.

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