Issued by: Ministry of Social Development
2 October 2001
"MIGRATION AND DEVELOPMENT: CHALLENGES FOR THE SOUTHERN AFRICAN REGION,"
Chairperson,
Ladies and gentlemen
Thank you for the opportunity to address this conference. I would like to begin this presentation by being forthright and emphatic.
The generation and utilisation of information on population trends in development planning is not simply a technocratic exercise as often depicted by software salespeople. The planning and delivery of services based upon scientific research and intimate knowledge of our people is an issue that goes to the heart of representative democracy. Technical expertise in demography or population studies must complement our democratic processes by providing the tools through which we can approach service delivery in a more systematic and informed manner.
In our region of Africa, migration remains an under researched demographic variable. Data on international migration in southern Africa remains fragmentary and incomplete. We still suffer from a lack of appropriate data on migration that can inform our planning and service delivery needs. What receives a lot of inflamatory attention but remains misunderstood are the broad effects of migration trends on economic, social, political and ecological life, both in sending and receiving communities.
Some of the constraints that continue to plague migration studies are the historical criminalisation of migration. Whilst data on refugees are more readily available, fear of prosecution, deportation or relocation has made many of our region's people hesitant to declare their migratory movements.
Addressing the service delivery challenges posed by migration requires an integrated approach by the governments of southern Africa and other role players. This has to be framed within the context of attention to the social dimensions of migration trends. The SADC Statement of Intent on Social Development is an important reference document that continues to guide our social development programmes in the region. It is worth re-reading.
Our work also has to be framed within the context of our history. The migrant labour system that was established in South Africa was premised upon the abuse of the human rights of our people. Similarly, the discriminatory action by the apartheid regime in 1986 to test Malawian mineworkers for HIV was a gross abuse of human rights.
The human rights culture that we are striving to entrench in our region must extend to all the people who live in it.
Migrants and single travellers are amongst the most vulnerable to HIV infection, due to their temporary and prolonged single status. We have to intensify our campaigns to protect all workers as well as all unemployed people against the epidemic. In this regard, I wish to commend the private sector and the trade union movement for the awareness and care programmes that they have established. The partnership between labour, business and government across our region to combat HIV/Aids must be intensified.
As part of this process, the Department of Social Development here in South Africa has committed itself to working with faith-based organisations and non - governmental organisation to address HIV/Aids and poverty. It is difficult to over estimate the critical role that faith based organisations and non - governmental organisation will have to continue playing in the reproduction of social capital in our region. Migrant-receiving communities tend to be already fragmented and the extended family as a mechanism of survival is being severely tested and weakened by poverty, unemployment and aids.
Social integration programmes and mutual support networks are vital long-term mechanism to combat HIV/Aids and to address the potential instability that migration causes. The existence and efficacy of these mechanism has to be determined.
The human development legacy of apartheid migration policies will not correct itself. A conscious and concerted effort by all stakeholders will be required to identify the elements of this legacy. The legacy will have to be addressed in an affirmative manner that will not only undo the injustices of the past, but will also put us on track to develop alternatives in which human development and human rights are central.
Chairperson, this conference is taking place at the beginning of Social Development Month. Amongst the many activities that we will be undertaking this month is the spearheading of a campaign focused on the rights of children that are affected and infected by HIV/AIDS.
Both internal and international migration have a significant bearing on the plight of affected and infected children. In addition, because of Aids and other re-emerging diseases, child-headed households are becoming a more frequent occurrence. Students of migration must address this issue in a holistic manner. It would be a cause for concern if our universities were producing students of migration who were not familiar with their national State of the Children Report.
I would like to conclude this address by returning to the point that I made right at the beginning.
This conference will be considered an important milestone if it enhances and promotes a strategic orientation on how to study and institutionalise the human rights of migrant populations. The opportunities offered by migration trends should be identified, and exploited as a core part of the region's growth and development strategies.
The research agenda that would emerge from such a strategic orientation would include the following:
1. The establishment by the region of its own scientifically based database on the movement of people;
2. An understanding of the implications of the movement of people for social development strategies;
3. Identification of the migration issues that are important for development planning activities in SADC member states, specifically in relation to services for women and children;
4. Participatory action research that encompasses civil society, students of migration, and governments; And
5. Integrated and holistic approaches to studying HIV/Aids trends in relation to human movements.
I am sure that the participants in this conference will add to this list. The critical factor is to use the needs of poor and vulnerable people as a key point of departure. It is vital that this conference contribute to defining and giving guidance to such a research agenda.
I believe that this sentiment is shared by our partners in organising this conference, i.e. the Gauteng provincial government, the Demographic Society of South Africa (DEMSA) and the University of Pretoria. The fact that the organised business community and COSATU are also participating in today's discussions suggests a broad acceptance of the importance of integrated population and development planning.
I thank you.