M Mdladlana to open immigration centre, 25 Aug

21 August 2006

The January meeting between Labour Minister Membathisi Mdladlana and his
Zimbabwean counterpart Nicholas Goche at the Beit Bridge border post and the
massive interest it generated from local and international media shows how
cross-border migration issues affect almost everyone. Even before the meeting,
the department was inundated with calls from various media about this
gathering. As it later turned out, this amazing interest was to acquire its own
momentum, both during the two-day visit of farms along the South Africa –
Zimbabwe border and beyond. In fact, Minister Goche even remarked that “I do
not remember a trip that generated so much interest from the media ahead of my
departure from my country.”

The two ministers visited the border post to inspect progress of the
reception and support centre being built by the International Organisation for
Migration (IOM) – an international body dealing with migration issues. It is
the first such kind in SADC and in the continent. The centre is due to open on
Friday, 25 August.

Among its aims are to regularise the status of Zimbabwean farm workers
employed in the border area, to ensure that those seeking employment in South
Africa have not run away from the law in Zimbabwe, seeing to it that those
crossing the border have had thorough security checks so as not to pose a
threat to South Africa, helping to repatriate Zimbabwean migrants to their
various districts and providing medical assistance and food to the needy with
the help of international donor organisations.

The centre will also serve as a recruitment area where South African farmers
interested in extra labour from Zimbabwe can get people. One key challenge for
us is to discourage xenophobic tendencies that are developing and being
exploited by farmers. We know that Africans do not generally fight each other,
Minister Mdladlana said. According to a survey recently conducted by IOM, most
farms in the area source 80 percent of their labour from Zimbabwe and 20
percent locally. The survey further showed that the size of the labour force in
those farms ranges between 1 000 and 2 000, depending on the season.

This tripartite involving the Zimbabwean government, IOM and South Africa,
dates back to the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between the two
countries in 2002. Since that MoU, we entered into a similar arrangement with
the governments of Mozambique and Lesotho, the Minister said. “Contrary to
media concerns that the MoU with the government of Zimbabwe will encourage a
flood of Zimbabweans across the border due to economic woes, we recognise this
reality and want to do it in a controlled way due to reasons stated earlier,”
Minister Mdladlana stated.

It is also necessary to remind people that the sourcing of labour from
neighbouring countries is nothing new. It actually dates back 50 years. The
former Rhodesian government had a similar agreement with the apartheid
government. Similar deals have allowed workers from Lesotho, Swaziland,
Mozambique and Botswana to work on South African soil over the years.

We are also happy to note that some farmers in the area have introduced
corporate work permits to regularise the status of Zimbabwean workers on their
farms. One such farmer is Peter Nicholson, owner of Alicedale Farm, near
Musina. In his words, “Since we introduced work permits we are able to know the
identities of our employees and ensure that they enjoy the same rights as South
African nationals on our farms.”

Addressing the status of Zimbabwean farm workers ensures that they are not
exploited by unscrupulous farmers who take advantage of their vulnerable
condition while at the same time, ensuring that farmers do not hire them over
South Africans. In the words of Minister Goche: “We do not want Zimbabweans to
replace South Africans on farms. However, where there is extra labour needed
and South Africans are not willing to work; farmers should use the offices of
the IOM to source labour. We want to encourage and promote legal routes.”

Enquiries:
Mokgadi Pela
Cell: 082 808 2168

Musa Sithole
Deputy Director: Media Liaison
Chief Directorate Communications
Department of Labour HQ
Tel: (012) 309 4882
Fax: (012) 309 4532
Cell: 084 806 2589
E-mail: musa.sithole@labour.gov.za

Issued by: Department of Labour
21 August 2006