Hon Chairperson, hon Ministers and Deputy Ministers present, hon members, esteemed guests in the gallery, one of the key mandates of the Department of Home Affairs is to regulate and facilitate immigration and to enforce the Immigration Act. In this regard, no person can legally enter South Africa unless cleared by an immigration official, whether they seek to enter by land, sea or air. Within this mandate resorts the regulation of the asylum seekers and the granting of refugee status in terms of international protocol, which South Africa is signatory to.
Immigration impacts strongly on our security and our economic, social and cultural development. The creation of decent work depends on trade and tourism and the flow of skills and knowledge, all of which is impossible without the movement of the people. A better and a safer life for all South Africans is only possible if we are integrated into the global community and if we develop together with our region.
The ANC and the mass of our people have always stood together against racism and embraced internationalism and a sense of belonging to humanity. However, we must be vigilant and defend our state, our people and our independence. A well-managed immigration system is therefore crucial in achieving our national objectives. Thus the second leg of the aim of the department is the regulation of immigration to ensure security and promote development.
The mandate of the Department of Home Affairs, in terms of immigration, includes the facilitation of the legal entry and departure of all persons into and out of the Republic through designated ports of entry and exit. The department must also ensure that foreigners entering the country sojourn and reside consummate to the terms and conditions of their permits.
The department has the obligation to track, trace, investigate and deport foreigners who violate the immigration legislation of the country. As the programme of the department, Immigration Affairs endeavour to maintain service delivery of enabling documents while improving the percentage of applications processed within a specific period. In this regard, it aims to increase the issuing of permanent residence permits from 50% to 70% in 2015- 16.
According to the Estimates of National Expenditure, the spending focus over the medium term will be on facilitating the importation of critical skills into South Africa, improving access to land ports of entry and the smooth facilitation of travellers' movements. This is aimed at contributing to the development of a risk-based approach to immigration which will maximise benefits and minimise risks for the country. It is also worth noting that the spending focus will also be on ensuring that the Lindela Repatriation Centre complies with the highest applicable human rights standards in line with the Constitution and the Immigration Act and that the deportation of illegal foreigners in South Africa is carried out speedily.
Our approach to immigration must ensure a balance between the promotion of security and socio-economic development, job creation and trade investment in South Africa within the SADC region, the continent and the rest of the world. No matter how pedantic, the point has to be made again that South Africa cannot survive as a small and rich enclave surrounded by a sea of poverty and severe underdevelopment. South Africa must be built in a better Africa and a better world.
The ANC-led government has the obligation to balance the need for economic, cultural and social development of the country against its security needs and the integrity of our state and society. Security has to include, but must not be limited to, the security of the country, communities and each one of us. It must also include the immigrant communities that are part of South Africa. Social cohesion includes the integration of immigrant communities into South African life.
South Africa is a signatory to the 1951 UN Refugee Convention for the protection of refugees and its 1967 Protocol, which has subsequently been indigenised in the Refugee Act of 1998. Accordingly a refugee is someone who is persecuted or has a well-founded fear of persecution that forces him or her to seek refuge in another state. South Africa continues to receive large numbers of asylum seekers mostly from the SADC region and the rest of Africa.
According to the Estimates of National Expenditure, the spending focus in the medium term will also be aimed at implementing effective and efficient asylum and refugee management strategies and systems such as the development of a framework to guide the establishment of strategically located refugee research centres. However, statistics demonstrates that more than 95% of those claiming asylum in South Africa are not genuine asylum seekers, but ...
...abantu abazozifunela amathuba emisebenzi namathuba amabhizinisi. Kuyaziwa ukuthi laba bahlobo bethu bavunyelwe ukuba baziphilise ngenkathi besalinde izimpendulo zezicelo zabo. Abanye-ke babe sebezibonela amathuba okuthi ukuze bamukeleke eNingizimu Afrika, kufanele okungenani bashade nabantu baseNingizimu Afrika okuyimishado engekho emthethweni. [Ubuwelewele.] Bazizamele nezitifiketi zokuzalwa ezingekho emthethweni. Abanye babo baze bazale izingane nabantu baseNingizimu Afrika, babe nezingane lapha eNingizimu Afrika. (Translation of isiZulu paragraph follows.)
[... are just people who come here for job and business opportunities. It is a well-known fact that these friends of ours need to make a living whilst they are waiting for a response in respect of their applications. Others think that for them to be welcomed into South Africa, they need to get married to South Africans, which make those marriages illegal. [Interjections.] They also produce fraudulent birth certificates. Some of them also bear children here in South Africa.]
The above-mentioned challenges call for new measures. South Africa must take steps to be able to refuse asylum and asylum seekers who have transited through one or more safe countries. The UN convention on asylum seekers provides for the first safe country rule, which states that an asylum seeker should seek refuge in the first safe country that he or she reaches. In this regard, South Africa should exercise its right to refuse to grant refugee status to asylum seekers who have travelled through safe countries.
Njengoba sazi ukuthi abanye basuka emazweni akude, badlule wonke lawa amanye amazwe aphephile, beze la eNingizimu Afrika, bazobhaca la. [We know that some come from far away countries and pass through many safe countries, but come here to South Africa as refugees.]
It is crucial that systems be put in place to effectively and efficiently manage economic migrants. We all should not forget that there are strong historical flows of labour between certain southern African countries and South Africa. Historically, labour from various countries on this continent contributed towards building the wealth of this country. The truth of the matter is that, nowhere in the world should a country with a stronger economy ... The ANC supports the Budget Vote. Thank you. [Time expired.]