The Gauteng premier said government must make a formal decision on how to manage illegal immigration in the country.
Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi said the “honeymoon period” for illegal foreigners in South Africa must come to an end.
He suggested that they are contributing to some of the ills in the country, such as strained healthcare services and crime.
The premier made these comments at the ANC Gauteng lekgotla at the Indaba Hotel, Fourways, on Saturday.
The gathering aims to solve challenges in the province and develop strategies for the upcoming local government elections.
Lesufi blames illegal foreigners
Speaking at the lekgotla, Lesufi seemed to blame illegal foreigners for many of the problems faced by the provincial government.
He used his recent visit to the Marry Me informal settlement in Soshanguve as an example. He said the majority of people living there were undocumented.
“I know it may create problems, but comrades, we must be very firm now,” Lesufi said.
“We can’t have an informal settlement where over 65% of its citizens are undocumented foreign citizens… It must come to an end.”
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‘Our ubuntu cannot be abused’
Lesufi said South Africa’s character should not be questioned over this stance. He said no other country would welcome undocumented people.
“You have people [and] you don’t know who they are, where they come from, where they sleep, what they do, and they are in our country doing as they wish.
“That period of honeymoon must come to an end… you [must] document yourself or you [must] leave us in peace.”
“Everyone knows our ubuntu, but our ubuntu cannot be abused.”
Watch: Lesufi speaks at ANC Gauteng lekgotla
He also suggested that illegal foreigners are contributing to crime in the country.
“We can’t surrender our country to criminals.”
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Lesufi said he has spoken to President Cyril Ramaphosa and some ministers about the problem of illegal immigration.
“If we can’t formally take a decision on how best we manage this situation, we must forget about everything we want to do.
“Our hospitals are overflowing. South Africans are expected to come with an ID document to identify themselves, [illegal foreigners] don’t have to identify themselves but they expect to be serviced.
The ANC Gauteng lekgotla will end on Sunday.
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