The ANC record of 98years of struggle against injustice and human dignity in South Africa and the world has made it one of the foremost champions of the disadvantaged and for social justice, and informed its subscription to the noble principles of human solidarity. It is precisely for this role that the peoples of the world have always taken it for granted that the ANC would always be found on the side of the most progressive and cutting edge ideas in the world. Understandably, many people have always demanded that it be at the forward trenches of resolving the problems faced not only by South Africans, but by Africans throughout the continent and in the Africa Diaspora.

It is by no accident of history that everybody expects it to remain faithful to the global struggle for human rights, and itself to uphold the human rights of others in its day-to-day execution of the struggle, as well as in relation to both South Africans and non-South Africans.

It is this history, legacy and these noble principles that inform the policy disposition of the SA government. The greatness of the ANC derives not from how it conceives of itself as an organisation, but from its history as well as its location in the hearts and minds of both South Africans and broader international community. Indeed, the ANC is more than a mere organisation; it is a movement that unites all under a common banner and objectives and moves all our people as one person in pursuit of these objectives.

South Africa?s foreign policy affirms the progressive nature and character of the South African struggle led by the ANC as it:
mirrors their long relationship with the international community;
reflects the rich tapestry of their international heritage;
demonstrates their desire to live in harmony with their neighbours;
signals their intent to contribute creatively to Africa?s future; and
beckons them to international service so that their country may fulfil its calling as a responsible global player;
The ANC and South Africa?s international perspective was best articulated by President Mandela in late 1993 that: ?Southern Africa commands a special priority in our foreign policy. We are an inextricable part of Southern Africa and our destiny is linked to that of the region, which is much more than a mere geographical concept.?

Given the shared and similar history of colonial rule that we share with the peoples of Southern Africa, the ANC has always been of the view that our destiny is intertwined with the region and that our peoples belong with each other. Hence the pursuit of regional cooperation and economic integration towards a new order for Southern Africa and Africa as a whole.

It must therefore not come as a surprise that the ANC upholds the views it does towards the African Unity, African solutions to African problems and African solidarity.

Southern Africa faces a complex international migration phenomenon

It is because of this understanding of the commonness of the past and future of our region in Southern Africa that we should understand the current dynamics the region faces in terms of international migration.

The migration dynamics South Africa faces with its neighbours such as Lesotho, Botswana, Swaziland, Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Namibia must be understood in this context of our colonial past, the struggles we waged in common, the interdependence of our liberation and hence of our future. The complexity of the challenges we face at the borders with these countries, and how crises in any of these countries immediately spill out to affect each and everyone of them only serves to underscore the complex migration processes between these countries.

It was because of this understanding that the Department of Home Affairs resolved that its approach to international migration must be informed by the two objectives to maximize the economic, social, cultural and political benefits of this process whilst minimising the security challenges and risks, and ensuring the integrity of the state and society. Related to these two is the obvious need, inevitably, to ensure that the state and society at large also deal with the closely related issues of citizenship, national consciousness and national identity.

Since 1994, South Africa has experienced an increasing mixed flow of migrants, ranging from undocumented migrants, asylum-seekers, economic migrants as well as other forms of migrants, the majority of whom originate from the SADC region.

First Zimbabwean Special Dispensation Permit

Given the challenges that have in recent years been faced by Zimbabwe, the government decided in April 2009, to introduce a series of measures to manage the presence in South Africa of scores of Zimbabwean nationals, many of whom had no documents and whose presence could not satisfy the Immigration Act. These included:
a moratorium on the deportation of all Zimbabwean nationals, except in exceptional circumstances such as those who had committed crime;
a Special Dispensation Permit for Zimbabwe nationals that would be valid for a year only, enabling them to work and study whilst they are in South Africa; and
a 90-day visa-waiver per calendar year.
These measures were in addition to the asylum permit mechanism already available, and in terms of which we unveiled additional measures such as a new office in Tshwane and Musina and additional staff in order to deal with the high volumes of Zimbabweans that were applying for asylum in our offices. In most offices, they even designated special days for Zimbabweans only, which were Thursday and Friday.

However, the challenge was that most Zimbabwean asylum applicants were in actual fact economic migrants who, because they did not fit into the priority and specialised skills categories, and because of the non-existence of policy measures to deal with these categories of migrants, sought to regularize or legalise their stay in South Africa, and be able to work, or study or conduct business through the asylum route.

These special measures brought temporary relief to the Zimbabweans, as well as to government, but did not resolve the challenges faced at our refugee reception offices. Neither did they resolve the challenge that would be faced after the expiry in 12 months of the Special Dispensation Permit. It did not resolve the medium-to-long-term challenges that would be faced by the Zimbabweans.

Towards a more sustainable solution for economic migrants

As the April 2009 measures expired, the Ministers of Home Affairs in South Africa and Zimbabwe met to review progress in the implementation of these mechanisms. On the 1st September 2010, the Cabinet approved a decision that the Special Dispensation for Zimbabwe nationals should come to an end by 31st December 2010.

This process is part of a bigger programme of the South African government to bring about effective and sustainable policy responses to undocumented migrants within the ambit of existing legislative frameworks. It is a move away from reactive to a more proactive approach and ushering a new paradigm of managing rather than controlling migration. This intervention was and still is a more pragmatic and sustainable response to the wider problem of undocumented migration.

This project is at first a joint initiative between the South African and Zimbabwe governments to ensure that all Zimbabweans who are currently in the country without documents should be documented so that their rights are protected. In the long term, it is aimed at addressing the challenge of economic migration as it affects other undocumented African nationals in South Africa.

There have been a number of challenges faced with managing undocumented migration, and they range as follows:
failure to account for and acknowledge the contribution of economic migrants to our economy;
increased and uncalculated socio-economic costs in respect of health, labour, education, housing, social grants, social services and infrastructural support, including difficulty in planning for future spending;
challenges in respect of safety and security in the face of such factors as lack of proof of identity of individuals within the borders and lack of means to trace individuals who may be linked to crime, including organised crime and trafficking, either as victims or perpetrators;
corruption at ports of entry and within the country including access to fraudulent SA identity documents;
children of undocumented parents also do not have proper documentation, which impacts negatively on their rights; and
the presence of xenophobia, and in particular Afro-phobia.
South Africa is a constitutional state that observes the rule of law and this applies to all persons and not just to citizens. It is committed to respecting international treaties and is committed to achieving a world order that reflects its values, including that of peaceful development to meet human needs and aspirations.

This policy response to managing migration from within the SADC region is also informed by our role within SADC, our stated intention of driving economic development and integration of the region and to facilitate person-to-person contact within the region.

South Africa is host to different categories of persons who immigrate to its borders, many of whom are not covered both by the Immigration and Refugee Acts and whose presence necessitates the need for the review of the Immigration and Refugees Act.

The implementation of this policy directive is the first step towards management of the movement of economic migrants especially the low and unskilled who are currently not catered for within the Immigration Regime.

Significant proportions of Zimbabweans who have applied for asylum do not meet the definition in the Refugees Act and are most likely economic migrants. This process will assist them secure documentation to regularise their stay in South Africa to access employment, education including running their own business. The process will also assist employers to hire documented people and thus comply with the Immigration Act. In that way, it is of mutual benefit both to South Africa as well as the Zimbabwean nationals, and eventually other African nationals.

This decision further protects migrants from abuse by unscrupulous employers and by corrupt public officials. Documenting Zimbabwean immigrants will in turn assist the Government have reliable and accurate statistics for the purposes of planning and management.

Implementing the Zimbabwean Special Permit

On the 20th September 2010, the Department of Home Affairs began the implementation process of this project as per the joint agreement between the South African and Zimbabwean government. This agreement sets the guiding framework on the responsibilities and contributions of each country towards the realisation of this project which are:
Zimbabwean government: shall issue its nationals with machine-readable passports; and expedite the renewals of the expired passports; and
SA government: shall waiver some requirements of the Immigration Act to allow for amnesty for those Zimbabwean nationals residing in the country without documents, and others with fraudulent documentation. On application, processing, and adjudication of these applications, it shall provide those who comply with the necessary requirements a 4-year permit, but such permit shall expire on the same date as the date of the expiry of their national passport if the latter expires before four years.
What is special about this permit is that:
some provisions of the Immigration Act have been relaxed, such as the strict requirements for the granting of the permits which would enable even general workers to obtain work permits and that these permits are applied for within the South African borders;
there will be no penalties for having worked without permits in the past, or to employers for having employed undocumented workers in the past without permits;
each person must apply individually, including young children studying in any South African school, including those in Grade 1; and
the special amnesty awarded to those who had acquired fraudulent South African documents, but who voluntarily return them and then apply for the correct permits
To administer this project, the DHA has deployed 354 employees nationally to administer the project utilising 41 Regional offices. On demand, due to increasing volumes in certain offices capacity has been increased, and an additional office will be reopened in Johannesburg Market Street shortly.

As part of building partnerships and cooperation amongst various social partners, various Zimbabwean and South African stakeholders are consulted regularly.

Once the process involving the Zimbabwean nationals is finally completed, this same facility will then be extended to the nationals of other African countries resident in South Africa, who are also without documents.

The response from the Zimbabweans has been overwhelming. Internationally, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Antonio Gurres on the occasion of the 61st Executive Committee meeting of the UN High Commission for Refugees that was held on the 4th October 2010 in Geneva, Switzerland commended South Africa on its immigration policy in general, and the recent decision and programme to document Zimbabwean nationals in particular.

South Africa remains committed to improving its management of immigration. The solution to the complex problem of migration cannot be via quick and easy interventions but can be achieved through engaging various stakeholders both inside and outside government. The capacity is available to complete the project in due course and the Department (of Home Affairs) is committed, working in unison with the public at large, to meet the deadline as set.