South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has stated that the influx of Zimbabwean economic refugees fleeing poverty at home is putting a strain on southern African countries, and he has called for an end to the Western sanctions imposed on Harare.
During a joint media conference with visiting Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Neto, President Ramaphosa said this in response to a question about the challenges of migration.
“The one issue we have frequently raised, which is another dynamic to this situation (of migration), is the use of sanctions, particularly on our continent,” he said.
“Sanctions imposed, for example, on Zimbabwe have a negative impact not only on the Zimbabwean economy, but also on a number of SADC (Southern African Development Community) member countries.” Proceeded the president.
They are also having a negative impact on us (South Africa), because as the sanctions weaken Zimbabwe’s economy, Zimbabweans are forced to migrate to our country and other sub-regional countries. “They flock to Botswana, they flock to South Africa, they flock to Namibia, and they exert enormous pressure on us.”
President Ramaphosa stated that South Africa is already dealing with geopolitical challenges, rising unemployment, and inequalities, and cannot bear the additional burden of caring for Zimbabwean immigrants.
President Felix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, who also serves as SADC chairperson, issued a statement this week calling for the lifting of sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe.
This year, South Africa announced the end of a special permit system that had been used to legalize the stay of nearly 200,000 Zimbabwean economic refugees in the country.
The number of undocumented Zimbabwean refugees in South Africa is unknown, but some estimates put it at over three million.
Zimbabwe blames the embargo imposed nearly two decades ago for the country’s economic collapse, but the US and the UK said this week that the country’s problems were caused by years of corruption, poor policies, and mismanagement, not sanctions.
Apart from the United States and the United Kingdom, the European Union, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand have all imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe.
