Pretoria Briefing Maps Migration Rebuild Progress and Gaps

South Africa’s migration management machinery is being rebuilt, and on Thursday in Pretoria the officials responsible for running it set out how far that work has progressed and where it still falls short.

Speaking at a media briefing, Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni framed the government’s stance in operational terms: people should enter and remain in the country through lawful channels, and those seeking refuge must use the established refugee determination process. “As government, we are anti-illegal immigration. Let’s be very clear. We want people to come into the country legally. For those who come in irregularly because they want to seek refuge in South Africa … there is a process to facilitate that. We are not, as government, in a different position,” she said.

The delivery side of that position rests on the Border Management Authority, which the Minister pointed to as a central instrument of tighter border control, alongside plans to rebuild and strengthen border infrastructure. Government is rebuilding systems to improve the management of migration and wants to prevent illegal entry, she said. In parallel, the documentation and deportation of people with no lawful basis to remain in the country is continuing.

Ntshavheni also set out how the asylum system is meant to function in practice, highlighting the principle that people seeking international protection should generally claim asylum in the first safe country they reach, particularly given South Africa’s neighbours. The country is surrounded by states generally considered safe, she said, naming Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Eswatini, Namibia, Lesotho and Botswana. That principle, she argued, underpins the position that the asylum system should protect those who genuinely meet the legal requirements for refugee status rather than serve as a route for people who do not qualify. Economic migration, she stressed, is not a recognised basis for refugee status. “There is no economic refugee under our Constitution, our laws and under the United Nations conventions. A refugee is somebody who is running away from war and persecution,” she said.

Meanwhile, the briefing surfaced a coordination gap in implementation. Justice and Constitutional Development Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi, who chairs the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Migration, acknowledged that directives issued by the Department of Home Affairs after a Constitutional Court judgment had not been shared with the committee before they were implemented. She described the IMC as a coordinating structure that becomes involved when matters require cross-government intervention, and said the committee has agreed that decisions affecting its work should in future be brought before it so their broader implications can be considered. The episode, she said, underscored the need for stronger coordination across government on migration.

Enforcement within the system itself is another workstream. Kubayi reiterated government’s efforts to tackle corruption and abuse in migration management, saying the IMC supports extending the Special Investigating Unit’s mandate so its investigations can cover the asylum system and Refugee Reception Offices. That work has already produced results: cases investigated, officials dismissed and some facing criminal proceedings.

Home Affairs Director-General Tommy Makhode detailed the mechanics. The SIU’s existing proclamation allows it to investigate maladministration, unlawful conduct and fraud within the department, including matters relating to permits and citizenship. Investigations have since been extended to Refugee Reception Offices, where the unit is examining patterns that can indicate people who did not qualify had obtained immigration or refugee-related status. Data analysis, Makhode said, has identified trends involving people who received permits despite allegedly not qualifying, and the department has begun processes to revoke or withdraw those statuses. Due process applies: affected individuals must be notified and allowed to make representations. Investigations have also led to referrals to the National Prosecuting Authority and the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation.

On the legislative front, the White Paper on Citizenship, Immigration and Refugee Protection has been adopted as government policy and is intended to close gaps and loopholes in the existing framework, Makhode said, with drafting underway to address inconsistencies between migration-related laws. Kubayi cautioned that public participation and the legislative process could take considerable time. The government’s broader response, as set out at the briefing, includes strengthening border management, tackling human smuggling and trafficking, addressing document fraud, improving migration and asylum systems, and removing people who have exhausted legal remedies and have no lawful basis to remain.

Makhode also addressed two operational files. Public consultations on the future of the Zimbabwe Exemption Permit have been completed following court directives, and government will follow due process before reaching a conclusion. The IMC, he said, is engaging the regional dimension of migration, including push and pull factors within the Southern African Development Community. On asylum appeals, the existing system allows rejected applicants to pursue appeals through the relevant refugee appeals authorities, supported by the White Paper and subsequent legislative drafting aimed at fixing challenges in the current system. Further detail on the government’s stated position is available at https://www.sanews.gov.za/south-africa/government-reiterates-position-illegal-immigration.

The picture that emerges from the briefing is one of systems under reconstruction: a border authority in place, investigations producing dismissals and prosecutions, revoked statuses in progress, and legislation in drafting. Officials themselves flagged coordination and timelines as the outstanding tests of delivery, and whether the rebuilt machinery closes the gap between policy and practice will depend on how quickly those tests are met.