The South African opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA) has called on its government to tighten South Africa’s borders to prevent unskilled people from coming into the country. DA Shadow Minister of Home Affairs, Haniff Hoosen, bemoaned the fact that while unskilled immigrants could easily enter the country, skilled people such as doctors were finding it extremely hard to get the necessary paperwork. Said Hoosen,
We have a border with no fence that anyone can just walk across. An unknown number of mostly unskilled and undocumented immigrants are entering the country and are employed in labour-intensive industries across the country.
The employment of illegal and undocumented immigrants has a direct impact on our job creation abilities as a country and this is an area of focus that must be addressed. Far too many companies employ undocumented immigrants and simply pay a fine when they get caught. This is a clearly an insufficient response to a massive challenge.
…We MUST secure our borders and fix our fence, making it almost impossible for people to enter the country illegally
We MUST make it as easy as possible for those who wish to enter legally, with an emphasis on skilled workers.
We MUST also take stronger sanctions for people who employ immigrants illegally.
Madam Speaker, we call upon Minister Gigaba approach his job as a public servant of the people with the seriousness it deserves, rather than the apathy and contempt he has displayed in the recent past. The health and well-being of millions of South Africans depends on it.