ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba promised on Wednesday that his party will address immigration and revitalise inner cities.

Speaking during a media briefing in Johannesburg, he was flanked by the party’s Tshwane mayoral candidate Abel Tau and Ekurhuleni mayoral candidate Tlhogi Moseki, where he said effective immigration control meant that cities were able to seek the level of resources needed from government to support all residents within cities.

This comes as accusations of xenophobia continue to dog the ActionSA leader, owing to the party’s policies on immigration.

Mashaba explained that effective immigration controls also protected foreign nationals who sought to comply with the law but had been let down by the Department of Home Affairs, while also protecting those who might be victims of exploitation because they were outside the system.

“The Republic of South Africa was built by migrants from all walks of life and that history continues to positively contribute to the richness of our diversity. The effective management of migration and immigration in the cities is key to delivering services for the betterment of all our residents, foreign nationals and South Africans alike,” said Mashaba.

Sharing the key ways in which this would be achieved, Mashaba said ActionSA would ensure that it conducted inter-governmental operations to improve services rendered to foreign nationals.

Additionally, he added that his party would seek to address illegal immigration through intergovernmental relations, use data collection for accurate population growth modelling, demand that national government increase grant funding for inner city development and increase investment in local government law enforcement agencies.

Mashaba explained that resolving immigration challenges also required metros to be fixed by ensuring inner city revitalisation.