As Ramaphosa calls for regional integration, end to discrimination

South Africa’s March and March movement has stepped up its campaign against undocumented migration, setting September 30 as the latest date by which it wants undocumented foreigners to leave the country.

The group announced the deadline yesterday while staging a demonstration in Durban, where the Southern African Development Community (SADC) summit was taking place.

The protesters moved through parts of the city as they sought to draw the attention of regional leaders to their demands over undocumented migrants.

March and March used the protest to appeal to African governments whose nationals are living in South Africa without valid immigration documents to take responsibility for their citizens.

The latest action follows a nationwide mobilisation by the group on June 30, when it called for stronger government measures to address undocumented immigration.

The movement said its September 30 deadline would be followed by a larger protest aimed at mounting further pressure on the South African government.

It urged South Africans to cooperate with law enforcement authorities by reporting people suspected of staying in the country illegally.

The demonstration coincided with the gathering of leaders from the 16 SADC member states for the bloc’s 46th Ordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government in Durban.

The renewed anti-immigration campaign comes against the backdrop of concerns about xenophobia and attacks targeting foreign nationals in South Africa.

BUT in another development, the South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa, has apologised to his Mozambican counterpart, Daniel Chapo, for the recent violence perpetrated by South African citizens against African foreigners, including Mozambicans.

The South African President offered his apology during a lecture held at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, in which President Chapo attended, on the sidelines of the 46th Ordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), held yesterday.

Ramaphosa also called for greater regional integration while strongly condemning xenophobia and the discrimination of African nationals in South Africa, emphasising that Southern Africa cannot build a prosperous and integrated future while excluding the very people who make up the region.

Speaking at the 46th SADC Ordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, Ramaphosa said the region’s ambitions for industrialisation, economic development and energy security cannot be achieved by individual countries acting alone.

Ramaphosa placed the issue of xenophobia at the heart of his broader vision for regional integration, condemning recent discrimination and attacks against African nationals in South Africa.