Johannesburg - The ANC wants far-reaching changes to the country’s immigration laws as the government it leads is embroiled in a legal battle with several NGOs over its plans to terminate the Zimbabwe Exemption Permit (ZEP) programme.
Among the proposals the ANC hopes will be adopted at its national conference in December are an end to foreign nationals marrying South Africans to obtain citizenship by naturalisation.
“Owing to a well-documented practice of marriages of convenience and the abuse of women, the acquisition of citizenship through marriage should be done away with in the new policy framework,” says the ANC’s draft resolution.
In addition, if a South African citizen marries a foreign national, their rights and consequences thereof should be governed by other laws such as the Marriages Act and the Children Act.
The governing party wants marriage not to be linked to immigration law.
It has also backed the government’s proposed National Labour Migration Policy and wants it to be effectively implemented.
In terms of the policy, quotas on the employment of foreign nationals will be introduced and the ANC believes this could go a long way in defusing the violence between South African citizens and foreign nationals over employment.
The ANC also proposes that refugee reception centres be moved from inside the country to the border areas to avoid undocumented foreign nationals having to present themselves when they are already in South Africa.
According to the ANC, the government should consider establishing Immigration Courts or a special mechanism to ensure a speedy decision-making process.
It believes the current legislative arrangement is untenable and leads to long delays in finalising immigration matters including deportations.
The ANC has expressed its displeasure with what it calls the sad state of affairs that has resulted in the management of migration in South Africa becoming unworkable and unfavourable as well as court judgments on immigration matters against the state becoming the order of the day.
“In the midst of all this, certain groupings, taking advantage of the policy gaps and misinterpreting the spirit of the Constitution are fuelling strife and adding more confusion for their nefarious gains.
“As a result, we have witnessed violent clashes between citizen groups and foreign national groups,” the party said.
The ANC’s concerns come as Home Affairs Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi and director-general Livhuwani Makhode go off against the Helen Suzman Foundation (HSF), Zimbabwe Permit Holders Association and African Amity over plans to scrap the ZEP programme.
In his answering affidavit filed at the North Gauteng High Court, Makhode said other options available to Zimbabweans include applying for and obtaining visas entitling them to remain in the country in terms of those visas, seeking waivers and making representations which could result in their permits being extended.
“I submit that an objective assessment of the publicly available evidence demonstrates that the economic situation in Zimbabwe has improved since 2010 and Zimbabwe no longer faces the hyperinflation crisis that precipitated the mass migration of Zimbabweans to South Africa in 2008/2009,” he said.
He said there is a need in Zimbabwe for its nationals to build a new and prosperous Zimbabwe.
Makhode denied that the discontinuance of the ZEP programme was influenced by a xenophobic attitude within the department.
In her replying affidavit, HSF executive director Nicole Fritz told the court that there was no dispute that Zimbabwe remained politically unstable, political opposition was suppressed and rates of extreme poverty increased since 2009.
“The director-general’s attempts to compare Zimbabwe’s economic conditions favourably with South Africa are also specious.
“While both countries are undoubtedly facing difficulties, it cannot be seriously suggested that Zimbabwe is faring better than South Africa,” she said.
Fritz said Makhode’s oblique suggestion that the decline in economic conditions in South Africa somehow justifies the termination of the ZEP programme was entirely unsubstantiated.
She said there was no dispute that the department was plagued by systemic backlogs and delays that stood in the way of the speedy determination of applications for visas and permits, which it suggested as an alternative.