Cabinet has condemned the viral circulation of fake videos and images claiming to be of attacks on foreign nationals in South Africa.
“The fake videos and images… are intended to undermine the good reputation of South Africa internationally and undermine South Africa’s pursuit of a better Africa agenda.
“South Africans are within their right to protest against the spiralling illegal immigration challenge, but violence linked to those protests in the past is not acceptable and law enforcement must deal with the instigators of such violence,” said Minister in The Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni on Thursday at a post Cabinet briefing in Cape Town.
This as demonstrations against undocumented immigrants have spread across several major cities in South Africa.
Cabinet, Ntshavheni said, condemned the opportunistic attempts to “hijack the genuine concerns of South Africans about high unemployment and limited economic opportunities by mobilising South Africans to destabilise the country, including mobilising attacks on foreign nationals and tribal mobilisation”.
The Minister reiterated that there is ongoing work to address the problem of illegal immigration, which includes strengthening border management through the work of the Border Management Agency (BMA), speeding up deportations, dealing with criminality within the émigré communities, and protecting jobs and opportunities for South Africans.
Cabinet has directed the Department of Employment and Labour to intensify inspections of workplaces to ensure compliance with employment laws across vulnerable sectors such as hospitality, farms, trucking and construction, amongst others.
“Cabinet further directed municipalities to ensure the enforcement of municipal by-laws, with priority on trading by-laws. South Africans must also play their part by refraining from sub-leasing their business licences.
“On a policy level, the Revised White Paper on Immigration addresses constraints with current immigration laws by introducing provisions of ‘first country of safety’ principle, moving refugee reception centres nearest to the border, and a clause to enable relevant departments to designate certain trades, professions, and businesses only for South Africans and refugees,” Ntshavheni said. – SAnews.gov.za
