Companies Shouldn't Hire Illegal Migrants but SA Citizens Should Not Be "unSouth African", Says Ramaphosa

• President Cyril Ramaphosa delivered the keynote address at the government's 2022 Human Rights Day national event in the North West
• Ramaphosa urged South African companies to refrain from employing foreign nationals who do not have the required documentation
• The president warned against attacks on migrants by locals, saying this approach served only to promote vigilantism in communities

KOSTER - Companies in South Africa should steer clear of hiring foreign nationals who do not possess the correct paperwork to be in the country.

This was the overarching theme of President Cyril Ramaphosa's Human Rights Day keynote address at the Reagile Community Centre in the small farming town of Koster in the North West on Monday, EWN reported.

In his message, the president said local companies should avoid hiring undocumented migrants to quell tensions between foreign nationals and citizens in the country.

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His warning comes on the heels of violent clashes in Alexandra, among other areas, where Operation Dudula Movement members went searching for undocumented foreign shop owners and workers in the Johannesburg township more than a fortnight ago, SABC News reported.

'Vigilantism is unSouth African'

Subsequent alleged xenophobic violence was reported in the Pietermaritzburg CBD in KwaZulu-Natal following an incident involving a foreign shop owner and a taxi driver. Ramaphosa decried the vigilante-like approach, saying it went against the values enshrined in the country's constitution.

"People from other countries should not see [our citizens] being at war with each other because it is unSouth African. The scourge of unemployment should also not spur citizens into waging war against people from across our borders.

"Doing so means the notion of xenophobia gets heightened and suggests that we now hate them and that they must go. As a country, we're saying we want foreigners to be properly documented. We want employers to ensure they employ people who have the correct documentation," said Ramaphosa.

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Labour department to scour Robertson farms for illegal immigrants in wake of violent clashes

Robertson farms to be probed for illegal migrants after clashes

Elsewhere, Briefly News recently reported that the Employment and Labour department in the Western Cape will probe farms located in Robertson for alleged illegal foreign workers following violent clashes last week.

According to information on the ground, Home Affairs officials and the South African Police Service (SAPS) met with farmworkers in the area to attempt to establish the validity of the allegations.

The Western Cape Labour Department's chief inspector, David Esau, speaking on the sidelines of the engagements, said his unit aimed to develop cooperation between municipalities, local administrations and national government concerning the issue of immigration and job creation, News24 reported.

Source: Briefly News