Cape Town – EFF leader Julius Malema has urged South Africa to document foreigners rather than deport them.
Speaking during an interview on SABC News’ Face the Nation, Malema argued that South Africans must accept the reality that many foreigners are already in the country, and efforts to control borders are ineffective.
“Whether you like it or not, there are no borders in South Africa. That is just something written for formality on the founding manifesto of the EFF. There are no borders.
“We [South Africa] behave like a mad person who has a shack and a yard. He goes and puts a gate where there is no fence. When you go out, you lock the gate but don’t have a fence. When you come back, you unlock that gate and your neighbour looks at you like you’re mad,” Malema said.
He clarified the EFF’s stance, emphasising that while his party supports open borders, they do not advocate for undocumented foreigners. He highlighted the need to document migrants to track their whereabouts in case of wrongdoing.
“The EFF agrees that we don’t want undocumented people in South Africa. How can we say South Africans must get IDs and then welcome people who are undocumented? Everybody has to be documented so that if any wrongdoing happens, we can find your location,” said Malema.
He added: “The solution is, let’s document these people because whether you like it or not, they’re here. You know what they do in December? They hand themselves over to Lindela so that they can eat Christmas at home and in January, they come back.
“That money could have been used on some feeding scheme, to feed the children of the poor or in the clinics. You are in denial, xenophobic people are in denial that these people are here.”
Malema also dismissed the notion that foreigners are taking jobs from South Africans, saying that many perform labour-intensive jobs that locals refuse.
He warned that deporting foreigners would harm sectors like plumbing and electricity, where South Africa lacks sufficient skilled workers.
Malema also stressed the importance of prioritising South Africans for qualified jobs but insisted that foreign labour remains crucial to the country’s economy.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
