The Premier of Gauteng Panyaza Lesufi has warned that the issue of undocumented foreign nationals threatens public services, law and order, and national sovereignty. He emphasised the need for firm and immediate action to address the presence of undocumented foreign nationals in the province and in informal settlements. This comes after he initiated a crackdown on all illegal and undocumented foreigners.
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Speaking at the ANC’s two-day Gauteng Legotla, Lesufi said the situation has become unsustainable. “I can tell you, comrades, it’s not Marry Me alone. There are many other similar things in Marry Me,” he said. He pointed to Marry Me informal settlements in Tshwane as one of many examples and raised alarm over the growing number of undocumented people living in South African informal settlements: “Comrades, we can’t have an informal settlement where over 65% of its citizens are undocumented foreign residents in our own country. It must come to an end. We must be very firm on these things, comrades. And no one must characterise this otherwise.”
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Lesufi said undocumented individuals must either legalise their stay or leave. ”There is no country that can agree that you have people that 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. We must be very firm,” he said. “You document yourself, or you leave us in peace. And it has nothing to do, comrades, with any characterisation of our character. Everyone knows our Ubuntu, but our Ubuntu cannot be abused.” He highlighted the strain placed on hospitals and public infrastructure, where South Africans are required to show identification, while undocumented individuals receive services without the same accountability. “Our hospitals are overflowing when South Africans are requested to come with an ID document to identify themselves. They don’t have to identify themselves but expect to be serviced. It creates problems across,” he said.
