A Nigerian national, who is the husband of the Deputy Executive Mayor of the Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality, has been taken in for questioning after police allegedly discovered 28 undocumented foreign nationals at a guesthouse in Bloemfontein.

The arrest happened during a nationwide anti-illegal immigration protest on Monday, as hundreds of demonstrators marched through the Bloemfontein CBD to the Free State Premier’s Office to hand over a memorandum of demands calling for stricter border security and stronger action against undocumented immigrants and drug-related crime.

Free State Premier MaQueen Letsoha-Mathae confirmed that 28 foreign nationals, including Ethiopian and Nigerian nationals, were found during a law enforcement operation at the guesthouse. Speaking to reporters on the ground, she said the owner of the establishment, a Nigerian national and the husband of a senior Mangaung municipal politician, was taken into custody.

Police have not yet announced formal charges against the suspect, and investigations into the guesthouse, the undocumented foreign nationals and documents recovered during the operation are continuing.

ALSO READ: WATCH: Police thwart attempt to loot in KwaZulu-Natal ahead of June 30 protests

The law enforcement operation formed part of heightened security measures implemented ahead of the planned nationwide demonstrations.

Authorities also confirmed that several undocumented foreign nationals were arrested during separate operations conducted across Mangaung.

Meanwhile, protesters from the March and March movement made their way through the Bloemfontein CBD before gathering outside the Office of the Premier, where they submitted a memorandum outlining their demands.

The group said government had been given sufficient time to address concerns previously raised and was now expected to account for progress made.

Among their key demands were stronger border management, action against undocumented immigrants allegedly involved in criminal activities, and intensified efforts to combat drug trafficking.

“Our borders must be safe. Our children must be safe from substance abuse. People must come into our country legally,” one protester said.

Another protester said illegal immigration remained the movement’s primary concern, alleging that some undocumented foreign nationals were involved in drug dealing and operating businesses unlawfully.

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Most businesses in the Bloemfontein CBD remained closed as a precaution while the march was underway.

Despite the heightened tensions, authorities reported no incidents of violence and maintained a strong security presence throughout the demonstration.

The arrests come as anti-illegal immigration protests are taking place in several parts of the country, with organisers insisting that Monday’s demonstrations are only the beginning and that further action will continue until government responds to their demands.

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More than 13,000 foreign nationals have been repatriated or deported through Beitbridge and OR Tambo International Airport in the past five days, according to Border Management Authority (BMA) Commissioner Dr Michael Masiapato.

Anti-illegal immigration mobilisation continues across the country ahead of 30 June, a date declared by activist groups including March and March as a “deadline” for undocumented foreign nationals to leave South Africa.

March and March founder Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma is expected to address the media in Johannesburg on Wednesday.

Masiapato told the SABC that about 9,000 Malawian nationals and 3,000 Zimbabwean nationals had been processed through Beitbridge Border Post. At the same time, a further 900 Ghanaians and 300 Nigerians were repatriated through OR Tambo International Airport.

He said the N1 corridor leading to Beitbridge and the N4 corridor towards the Lebombo Border Post remained the primary routes being used in the operations.

“Over the past five days, we have facilitated the movement of around 9,000 Malawians through Beitbridge. These include individuals repatriated through arrangements made by their government, as well as those deported through processes facilitated by the Department of Home Affairs,” he said.

Masiapato also said authorities had intercepted about 4,300 people attempting to enter South Africa illegally since President Cyril Ramaphosa announced an enhanced migration enforcement plan on 7 June, including stronger border controls, intensified deportations and law-enforcement coordination.

The Department of Home Affairs has separately said 9,488 foreign nationals have been repatriated or deported from the Durban Drive-In site, where thousands of people had gathered seeking assistance to return to their countries, after first gathering in the Sherwood area.

According to Home Affairs, an estimated 7,000 people remain at the site, although additional individuals continue to arrive as verification and processing operations continue.

Minister of Home Affairs Leon Schreiber confirmed that Malawian nationals who had been stranded at Newlands in Johannesburg had been repatriated following government intervention.

He also confirmed that 657 foreign nationals who had been staying at the Mayor’s Walk site in Pietermaritzburg had been repatriated from the condemned government building in where they continued to shelter.

“Home Affairs and the IMC continue to collaborate with colleagues across all spheres of government to ensure a well-managed process, while reaffirming that no person may engage in violence, incitement or infringe on the dignity of any other human being,” Schreiber said.

The repatriation and deportation operations come as government ramps up security preparations for 30 June.

Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia has said law enforcement agencies are prepared to respond to any violence, intimidation or unrest linked to the planned demonstrations.

Cachalia said the police operation would cost more than R600 million as police, defence and intelligence structures coordinate a nationwide response.

Speaking after meeting Defence Minister Angie Motshekga in Johannesburg on Monday, Cachalia stressed that June 30 must remain a normal working day and warned that no group would be allowed to take the law into its own hands.

Government has maintained that illegal immigration must be addressed through lawful enforcement processes and not through violence or vigilante action.

Police in the Free State have also said they are prepared for any developments arising from the planned demonstrations.

In KwaZulu-Natal, police have identified eThekwini and uMgungundlovu as areas of concern ahead of the planned action, while law-enforcement authorities have also dealt with recent unrest and looting incidents linked to anti-immigrant mobilisation in Estcourt.

KZN police are still investigating the murder of a man in Pietermaritzburg last week in the Jika Joe informal settlement, where hundreds of Malawian nationals had gathered seeking repatriation because of the xenophobic violence. A local councillor identified the victim as a 29-year-old Malawian national.

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Former African Union Commission chairperson Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma said that anger and violence directed at foreign nationals by anti-immigration protesters could seriously damage South Africa’s tourism sector.

In an interview with Inside Politics on a wide range of issues, the former minister said that while she supported government’s efforts to remove people who were in the country illegally, she abhorred the manner in which some foreign nationals were being violently treated by anti-illegal immigrants protesters.

Her warning comes as threats, intimidation and violence continue to occur ahead of the 30 June “deadline” set by anti-illegal immigration groups for foreign nationals who are in the country illegally to leave South Africa.

Police are preparing for the deadline through the deployment of officers at strategic locations. The army is also expected to be on standby should its support be required.

Dlamini-Zuma said it was important for people to enter countries legally and respect the laws of other countries, but, she added, “It is not legal to go around asking people for their IDs when you are not part of law enforcement.”

“My view is, yes, it is wrong to come into a country illegally. People must obey the laws of the country. Equally, we shouldn’t be going around beating up people,” she said.

She acknowledged the difficulty government faced in monitoring people who entered the country legally but later overstayed, thereby rendering their stay illegal.

She said about 70% of tourists who visit South Africa are from the African continent, and that scenes of Africans being violently targeted in the flare-up of xenophobia over the last few months could deter people from visiting the country.

According to tourism information, the vast majority of people who visit South Africa are from the continent, particularly from the Southern African Development Community, which accounts for more than 75%.

“If we are seen to be anti-African, some of them may decide that it is not a place to go to. We seem to think that Africans who come here, come here to take something from us. We forget that there are more Africans who come here to give something.

“Tourists come, they pay for hotels. African tourists spend more money than other tourists because they buy things that they can’t find anywhere else. Some of them carry empty suitcases to come and shop here.

“So, this (flare-up in anti-foreigner sentiment) is going to impact tourists.”

She said that South Africa could not isolate itself from the rest of the continent, and that development across Africa required countries to move forward together.

Dlamini-Zuma said that during her tenure as chairperson of the African Union Commission, heads of states agreed on a protocol for free movement of people across the continent which needed 15 countries to ratify for it to be implemented. Not enough countries did not ratify it so it was never implemented.

She said the protocol agreed to in 2018 could still be implemented if enough countries ratified it even today.

“I think we must give the government an opportunity now that the government has started to deporting those who are illegal in the country,” she said.

She appealed for there to be no violence on 30 June approached when anti-illegal immigrants protesters take to the streets.

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The Road Freight Association (RFA) has said that President Cyril Ramaphosa’s crackdown on employers hiring undocumented foreign nationals will have little effect in the sector unless government targets unregistered and non-compliant operators instead of repeatedly auditing companies already known to authorities.

RFA chief executive Gavin Kelly said on Tuesday that the association warned the Presidency in 2018 and 2022 about the employment of undocumented foreign nationals in the road freight and logistics industry, but very little had been done about it.  

“A Presidential Task Team (involving the then Ministers of Police, Labour and Transport) was convened – which included representatives of the afore-mentioned departments, the ATDF-SA (the prime voice for previously – now unemployed – persons / citizens from the road freight and logistics sector, union representation and the registered employer organisations within the sector),” Kelly said in a statement.

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“The result was a 14-point plan being drafted. Years later – not much (well very little) progress has been made, resulting in the ATDF-SA leaving the Task Team (with continuous complaints that ‘government is not listening to them’). We have seen increasing frustration from their followers in the past few months.”

Kelly said the task team had since focused on training drivers, which was “never the intention of the Task Team – reskilling those who had lost their employment for re-appointment, perhaps – but not the training of ‘new’ drivers to fill the ‘jobs held by foreigners”.

In a national address earlier this month, Ramaphosa said that government would recruit 10,000 labour inspectors and increase penalties, including imprisonment, for employers violating the Immigration Act.

Kelly said the “widespread” use of foreign nationals in the sector was driven by weak enforcement of company registration requirements and poor inspection coverage.  

He said there was also an absence of a requirement for freight operators to prove registration with the National Bargaining Council for the Road Freight and Logistics Industry when registering as operators.

ALSO READ: State says Mogotsi tried to intimidate witness from custody

Without that, he said, non-compliant operators would continue to evade scrutiny while legitimate companies faced more audits.

“This will, in reality, have no real effect if the current status quo of inspections is maintained i.e. inspecting registered (known) companies that are (in the main) compliant,” Kelly said.

South Africa has been experiencing increased anti-foreigner sentiment over the past months as anti-illegal immigrant groups protest against the presence of illegal foreign nationals in the country, who they claim are “taking” the jobs of locals, and using taxpayer-funded public facilities.

Protests have been occurring on a weekly basis, with some of the anti-illegal immigrant “activists” – most notably March and March — rallying groups in the thousands for marches.  

Some foreign nationals have been killed in the ensuing violence, and others have fled to what they deem safe places in cities and towns, seeking protection from police, local governments and their own governments. Scores have been repatriated since the protests flared-up.  

The anti-illegal immigrant groups have set a 30 June “deadline” for undocumented foreign nationals to leave the country, or be forcibly expelled by locals.

At a press briefing on Monday, acting police minister Firoz Cachalia said security preparations for the protest action would cost in the region of R600 million. “That is what it costs when there are efforts to destabilise the country,” he said.

KwaZulu-Natal, the epicentre of the July 2021 civil unrest, has been identified as one of the potential hotspots for the protests, along with the Eastern Cape, Gauteng and the Western Cape. Cachalia said that while the right to protest was constitutional, it must be done within the confines of the law. He said protestors must march “unarmed”.  

Kelly said legislation existed detailing when and why foreigners could be offered employment in the country, but it had to be applied “consistently” and “rigorously”.

He also cautioned against treating foreign drivers entering South Africa in foreign-registered vehicles in the same way as undocumented workers employed inside the country.

“Foreign drivers of foreign vehicles are generally not problematic (they are employed outside of the country),” he said.

He said the issue was not a call to remove all foreign nationals, but to ensure fair and lawful recruitment.

“It’s about following the rules. Applying the rules. Making the process just, fair and consistent.”

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KwaZulu-Natal Premier Thamsanqa Ntuli will this week hold talks with UN agencies and foreign diplomats ahead of a provincial summit on undocumented foreign nationals.

The meetings come ahead of the Provincial Summit on Undocumented Foreign Nationals, which KZN is expected to convene on 25 June.

The province said the summit will be “a strategic platform aimed at fostering constructive dialogue and developing coordinated responses to migration-related challenges affecting communities across the province”.

ALSO READ: Misuzulu calls for calm as anti-immigration tensions shadow DA KZN campaign visit

The summit is scheduled for five days before a 30 June protest by anti-illegal-immigrant groups, including March and March. That date has been set as a “deadline” by the “activists” for undocumented foreigners to leave the country, or be expelled.

On Thursday, Ntuli is expected to meet representatives of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, and from the International Organisation for Migration, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCR), and the United Nations Children’s Fund.

The province said the meeting, requested by UNHCR, would focus on “opportunities for collaboration in promoting social cohesion, strengthening humanitarian coordination, protecting vulnerable populations, and supporting inclusive community development”.

KZN has been among areas countrywide where anti-illegal immigration activism, intimidation, threats and violence have ramped up.

In May, hundreds of people joined a March and March demonstration in Pinetown against undocumented immigration, with other protests taking place sporadically in the province, particularly in and near city areas.

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KZN has seen deadly xenophobic violence in the past, with flare-ups starting with local grievances over jobs, crime, informal trade or labour disputes before escalating into intimidation, looting, displacement and attacks on foreign-owned businesses.

In 2015, attacks in the province killed six people and displaced more than 5,000 foreign nationals, including refugees and asylum seekers.

Violence flared again in Durban in 2019, when foreign nationals were attacked in eThekwini, with hundreds seeking shelter after homes, trucks and belongings were looted or destroyed. In 2020, there were renewed attacks in the CBD.

During a national address on Sunday, President Cyril Ramaphosa said government would strengthen immigration enforcement but warned that only the state may enforce the law.

He said government would act against groups exploiting concerns about illegal immigration “to further their own political, personal and criminal agendas”.  

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Presenting the fourth-quarter crime statistics for 2025/2026 at the Gauteng Provincial Legislature, Mthombeni said law enforcement agencies had made 36,122 arrests between January and March 2026, including 11,715 undocumented foreign nationals.

“Let me take this opportunity to highlight the successes achieved for Operation Shanela II,” Mthombeni told legislators.

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“The total number of arrests for this quarter, Honourable Chairperson, Members, Honourable Premier, is 36,122 of which 11,715 were illegal immigrants.”

He added the province was seeing between 500 and 900 arrests of illegal immigrants per week, reflecting the scale of the operation’s impact.

“We are mindful of the current situation in the country and what is happening in the province in terms of the anti-foreign national sentiment,” Mthombeni cautioned.

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“Our focus remains on enforcing the law fairly and ensuring that all persons within Gauteng are accounted for under the law.”

Operation Shanela is a high-density crime-fighting initiative led by the South African Police Service (SAPS) in partnership with the Department of Home Affairs and other agencies.

The operation targets illegal mining, drug trafficking, undocumented migration, and organized crime across Gauteng’s urban and peri-urban areas.

According to Mthombeni, the arrests of undocumented immigrants form part of a broader effort to restore law and order and reduce violent crime, which remains a major concern in the province.

“We are not targeting people based on nationality,” he said.

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Rise Mzansi leader Songezo Zibi on Monday blamed successive ANC-led governments for failing to manage South Africa’s immigration system, saying years of neglect had contributed to rising tensions over illegal migration.

His comments came a day after President Cyril Ramaphosa announced a raft of measures aimed at tightening border controls and tackling illegal migration amid growing anti-foreigner protests and public anger over high unemployment.

Zibi, who was speaking at a media briefing in Johannesburg, said frustration among South Africans over competition for jobs and public services was understandable but stressed that violence against foreign nationals could not be justified.

The party briefed journalists on developments relating to Parliament’s impeachment committee, the Johannesburg mayoral campaign, the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) and the Gauteng Government of Provincial Unity.

Zibi said South Africa’s immigration challenges had worsened over decades.

“It is clear that for decades we have had an evolving immigration crisis where government’s ability to manage and process immigration properly has been degrading over time,” he said.

He linked weak border controls to South Africa’s greylisting by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), saying porous borders created opportunities for organised crime and other illicit activities.

“You’ve got people setting up in South Africa to run criminal syndicates, to finance terrorism in other parts of the continent, and so on,” Zibi said.

He said effective border management was essential for national and regional security, adding that asylum applications should be processed efficiently to prevent people from remaining in the country unlawfully due to administrative backlogs.

“It also does not help when you’ve got corruption in the system. We need a systematic response to the immigration problem. When borders are not secure, you deport people and they are back the following week because the problem has not been solved systematically,” he said.

Zibi said South Africa’s immigration challenges stemmed largely from poor enforcement of existing laws rather than a lack of legislation.

Zibi also addressed other political issues facing the party, including Parliament’s impeachment committee and questions surrounding Rise Mzansi’s funding arrangements.

On issues relating to the Impeachment Committee that is being chaired by one of their own Makashule Gana, Zibi said the party had the full confidence in him and believed he was the right man for the job.

Gana told the briefing that the committee would hold its first meeting later this month and would announce its terms of reference after appointing evidence leaders and identifying witnesses.

Gana said he was aware of Ramaphosa’s legal challenge seeking to set aside the findings of an independent panel that concluded there was a case for the president to answer regarding his handling of the theft of foreign currency from his Phala Phala farm.

In court papers filed in the Western Cape High Court, Ramaphosa argued that the panel had applied the wrong legal test and failed to provide sufficient evidence that he had violated the law.

Gana said the committee would continue with its work unless a court ordered otherwise.

“Only a competent court can stop the committee from proceeding,” he said.

Ramaphosa has indicated that he may seek an interdict preventing the committee from continuing until the court has ruled on the legality of the panel’s report.

Zibi also dismissed speculation about the party’s funding arrangements, saying Rise Mzansi was among the few political parties that publicly disclosed their donors.

He said questions had been raised about the party’s relationship with We Are The People, an organisation that provided financial support to the party.

“We took legal advice before the election on the kind of fundraising methods and support that would be acceptable in terms of the Political Party Funding Act,” Zibi said.

“The Act does not prohibit such donations. It allows juristic persons to donate to political parties within the prescribed limits.”

He said Rise Mzansi had entered into a loan agreement with the organisation before the election and that the debt was subsequently written off in a manner that complied with the law.

“As a matter of principle, We Are The People is a juristic person that is permitted to donate within the limits of the Political Party Funding Act,” he said.

On the party’s electoral prospects, Zibi said Rise Mzansi had attracted support across racial and ethnic groups.

“We have support across all communities in South Africa,” he said.

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eThekwini Mayor Cyril Xaba says authorities have begun processing hundreds of foreign nationals sheltering at the Diakonia Centre in Durban’s CBD, as anti-immigration protests escalate across KwaZulu-Natal and spill into other parts of the country, including Thokoza in Ekurhuleni.

Addressing the media on Thursday, Xaba said government departments, police and representatives of the foreign nationals had agreed on a coordinated plan to transport occupants to a refugee processing centre in Albert Park, where their documentation and legal status would be verified.

“We’ve organised buses and the first group will be transported to the centre in Moore Road [Albert Park] to be processed, because they must be processed. During that process, those without documentation may not be able to proceed through the court process,” Xaba said.

He said the operation involves the Department of Home Affairs, police and the courts, with undocumented migrants expected to face arrest, prosecution and eventual deportation.

“Those who do not qualify to be in the country, who lack the necessary documents, the police will arrest them because that is the procedure,” he said.

The Diakonia Centre remained under heavy police guard on Thursday, with an estimated 350 to 400 foreign nationals still sheltering there after fleeing alleged intimidation, assaults and threats linked to anti-immigration protests in Durban.

Earlier, some occupants were seen urgently organising asylum and refugee documentation as verification got under way.

A spokesperson for the group, youth leader “Ms Mbate,” told SABC News most of those sheltering were legally documented refugees and asylum seekers. She dismissed claims they had been ordered to vacate the facility by 11:00, saying discussions with authorities were ongoing.

Tensions later flared outside the centre when members linked to the March and March movement and the uMkhonto weSizwe Party arrived, prompting clashes between protesters and foreign nationals before SAPS and eThekwini metro police intervened.

The National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure (NATJOINTS), an inter-agency security coordination body, said the verification process is being led by an integrated team including police, Home Affairs, Social Development and Transport departments, as well as provincial law enforcement.

KwaZulu-Natal police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda said the operation aims to establish the legal status of those at the centre and is not intended to legitimise undocumented migration.

“South Africa is committed to a rules-based approach to immigration, anchored in the Constitution and the rule of law, balancing national security with human rights obligations,” he said.

He added that undocumented migrants would be processed for deportation, while police investigate allegations of assault, intimidation and malicious damage to property linked to the unrest.

Netshiunda said 29,731 undocumented foreign nationals have been arrested nationwide since January under Operation Shanela II and related enforcement actions, while 59,814 were deported in the previous financial year.

Former president Thabo Mbeki condemned rising anti-migrant sentiment, warning against scapegoating African migrants for South Africa’s socio-economic challenges.

He said African countries had played a critical role in supporting the anti-apartheid struggle and warned that the spirit of African solidarity had weakened.

“You are not going to solve unemployment by shouting against undocumented Africans. We are pointing fingers at the wrong people,” Mbeki said.

Deputy President Paul Mashatile also condemned xenophobic violence during a NEPAD business breakfast in Cape Town, calling for law enforcement action against perpetrators rather than mob justice.

The protests also spread to Gauteng, where residents marched through Thokoza and the Alrode industrial area in Ekurhuleni, demanding the dismissal of undocumented foreign workers and prioritisation of South African employment.

The demonstrations were led by the Thokoza Abahambe Forum, with activist Nkosikhona “Phakelumthakathi” Ndabandaba joining the march.

Protesters blocked roads and targeted factories, accusing businesses of employing undocumented foreign nationals over unemployed locals.

Meanwhile, ActionSA Ekurhuleni mayoral candidate Xolani Khumalo intensified criticism of foreign-owned spaza shops and accused police of “legitimising” undocumented operators.

He said the party plans to escalate its campaign targeting the spaza shop sector in the metro.

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Deputy President Paul Mashatile has said that violent protests targeting foreign nationals undermine South Africa’s constitutional order.

Mashatile condemned the recent wave of anti-migrant demonstrations linked to anti-illegal-immigration groups, including March and March, which have taken place in several cities and were continuing in Durban on Thursday.

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He called for calm and respect for the rule of law, while urging closer cooperation between government, traditional leaders, civil society and migrant communities in addressing rising tensions and criminality linked to the protests.

“While acknowledging concerns about illegal foreign nationals involved in crime, we strongly condemn the anti-migrant protest and xenophobic violence. We urge law enforcement to address these issues through legal means, not mob violence,” he said.

“These violent acts, as mentioned by President Cyril Ramaphosa, are shameful and do not reflect the views of South Africans or government policy.”

Mashatile was speaking at the NEPAD @25 Business Breakfast in Century City, Cape Town, on Thursday, where policymakers, leaders of continental institutions and representatives of African countries gathered to reflect on NEPAD’s contribution to African development and to strengthen intra-African trade.

The deputy president said Africa’s unity was becoming a strategic necessity in a world increasingly defined by new poles of power.

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He outlined three focus areas to accelerate the continent’s development: regional integration, economic collaboration and African ownership. He said these would help ensure Africa’s development is driven from within, rather than imposed by external forces.

“Africa cannot afford fragmentation and isolation. Our strength lies in solidarity, in speaking with one voice and in pursuing shared objectives that transcend boarders,” said Mashatile.

Mashatile said energy insecurity and infrastructure deficits remained among the continent’s most persistent challenges and required urgent intervention.

He said Africa required large-scale annual infrastructure investment, estimated at up to about R3.16 trillion a year, while expressing concern that the continent continued to attract only a small share of global renewable energy investment, recorded at 2.3% in 2023.

Mashatile said unlocking continental growth required “coherent policies” that drive skills development, investment, technology expansion and global competitiveness. He said these were necessary to move Africa closer to the goals set out in Agenda 2063.

“The next phase of Africa’s growth must, therefore, be driven by productive transformation, stronger regional value chains and deeper continental integration that keeps wealth, production, innovation, and investment circulating within Africa,” he said.

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The recent violent protests and criminal acts directed at foreign nationals in parts of our country do not represent the views of South Africa’s people nor reflect our government’s policy.

These are the acts of opportunists who are exploiting the legitimate grievances, particularly those of the poor, under the false guise of “community activism”.

Some of these people are assuming functions that only state officials are permitted to perform, including stopping people to check identification and conducting searches of private property. Such lawlessness will not be tolerated, regardless of who the perpetrators or victims are.

At the same time, as a society, we need to deal decisively – and within the law – with the challenge of illegal immigration, which risks our social stability, governance and national security.

Undocumented migration places strain on healthcare, housing and municipal services, particularly in poor communities.

It distorts the labour market. In a country with high unemployment, some employers are exploiting undocumented, cheaper foreign labour over hiring citizens and paying them legal wages.

Not only is this fuelling social tension, it is actively undermining our labour protection regime and eroding the hard-won rights of workers.

In tackling illegal migration, we are balancing our constitutional and international obligations with safeguarding national security.

The Border Management Authority (BMA) and the Defence Force are strengthening border security and combating illicit cross-border activity.

We commend the BMA for successfully intercepting some 450,000 people trying to enter South Africa illegally in the past financial year. As we strengthen our borders, we continue to reform our migration and citizenship framework.

We are stepping up workplace enforcement against employers who hire undocumented foreign nationals in violation of labour and immigration laws.

We announced in the State of the Nation Address that we would be hiring up to 10,000 inspectors through the Department of Labour and Employment to ensure that our labour and immigration laws are adhered to.

We continue to arrest and deport undocumented foreign nationals in accordance with the law, as we take forward the fight against corruption within the immigration system.

This is a society-wide challenge in which the private sector and government should all play a constructive part.

South African citizens who collude with undocumented foreign nationals in fake marriages, the illegal sale of state-subsidised housing or accepting bribes to facilitate access to social services only deepen the problem. Many South Africans are exploiting undocumented labour in households and in the informal sector.

As a country, we must reject attempts to damage our country’s international reputation and to undermine the solidarity that has defined South Africa’s relations with the rest of Africa since the dawn of democracy.

Since 1994 we have actively advanced a culture of human rights, all the while deepening the cause of African integration, cooperation and solidarity. We have a strong refugee protection framework that prioritises integration of persons displaced by conflict, war and persecution.

Refugees are not confined to camps, as happens in some other countries. In South Africa, they are able to live in communities, participate in the economy and access services like healthcare and education.

South Africa continues to play its part in deepening regional economic integration and travel. Last year alone, visitors from African countries accounted for just over 8 million of a total of 10.5 million tourist arrivals.

South Africa invests significantly in strengthening academic, cultural and institutional ties with the rest of Africa through hosting students and academics from Africa in our universities, through people-to-people exchanges and though our hosting of the Pan-African Parliament.

Our demonstrated commitment to deepening African integration and solidarity should not be undermined by isolated acts of criminality.

South Africa is not unique in confronting the pressures associated with undocumented migration. Many countries across the world, including in Africa, are themselves grappling with similar tensions. This calls for cooperation and understanding between countries on the continent and further afield.

Like every other country in the world, we will continue asserting our sovereign right to regulate migration, secure our borders and enforce our laws. We must make it clear that there is no place in South Africa for xenophobia, ethnic mobilisation, intolerance or violence.

Everyone in South Africa is bound by the same laws and we are committed to ensure that they are respected and upheld by citizen and foreign national alike.

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