The ongoing struggle between South African citizens and foreign nationals intensifies in public spaces. In January, parents and community groups, such as March and March, protested outside Addington Primary School over the alleged prioritisation of foreign national learners over South Africans.
Image: Doctor Ngcobo / Independent Newspapers
Members of the KwaZulu-Natal legislature did not mince words this week when addressing the issue of foreign nationals and illegal immigration during a sitting of the house.
Addressing the matter through motions for the next sitting, MPLs from parties including the IFP and the MK Party raised concerns spanning national security, overwhelmed public services, rising social tensions, and the alleged negative impact on the black community and youth, as they called for urgent government intervention.
IFP MPL Petros Msimango said the house notes that illegal immigration threatens security, stability, and economic processes. Community groups are reportedly turning away foreign nationals from clinics and schools. These actions stem from claims that public services are overwhelmed, leading to rising tensions.
“This is driving a clash between South African citizens and foreign nationals over access to government services,” Msimango said.
“This has (seen a) call for an urgent parliamentary debate on the dangers of illegal immigration and urge the government to deliver concrete solutions while safeguarding the South African constitution.”
Msimango warned that delaying action will further strain communities and undermine social cohesion.
MK Party member MPL Nozipho Mazibuko said the house should deliberate and debate on the escalating tension between the parents of the South African learners and the parents of the foreign learners in the public schools.
“It is becoming the norm that at the beginning of the year, we witness this tension, and there is no clear and decisive intervention by the government to handle this,” Mazibuko said.
MPL Esau Madonsela said the house should implore the Department of Education to urgently address the issue of the prioritisation of employment of foreign educators over South Africans.
Last month, KZN Premier Thamsanqa Ntuli led a round table discussion on undocumented foreign nationals, focusing on the complex challenges associated with illegal immigration in South Africa, particularly in KZN.
Ntuli said undocumented migration creates vulnerabilities that are often exploited by criminal elements. These include the circulation of illicit goods, drug trafficking, unlicensed firearms, cross-border crime, stock theft, and the unlawful employment of undocumented individuals.
Ntuli said that the province’s campaign, #EngangeniNgesangoIyafohla, is a decisive, community-centred intervention to enforce compliance and restore order. Multidisciplinary operations targeted businesses and included community engagement. This resulted in the apprehension of hundreds of undocumented foreign nationals and legal action against employers violating labour and immigration laws.
Stakeholders also discussed the implications of court rulings that mandate education for undocumented foreign learners and healthcare for undocumented foreign nationals.
thobeka.ngema@inl.co.za