South African President Cyril Ramaphosa forcefully condemned recent anti-foreigner sentiment, tribalist slurs, and vigilante violence targeted at African migrants, declaring that intimidation will no longer be tolerated under the guise of patriotism, in a televised address to the nation.
The President’s denunciation follows an emergency media statement issued by South African Tourism, which expressed deep concern over reports of cancelled travel bookings from several African nations following the recent protests. The emerging unrest and subsequent trip cancellations present an immediate risk to South Africa’s lucrative Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions (MICE) sector and its broader visitor economy.
Addressing the country amid these escalating community and economic tensions, President Ramaphosa drew a strict line against lawlessness, warning that the state will move aggressively against individuals and organised groups seeking to exploit public anxieties for violent, personal, or political agendas. He reasserted that the enforcement of immigration policy is the sole prerogative of the state, making it clear that illegal, citizen-led identity checks on the streets must stop immediately.
“We know that South Africans are not xenophobic, as there is no space for xenophobia, for racism, for sexism, for afrophobia or any other form of intolerance in South Africa,” Ramaphosa stated. “No other person is allowed, for example, to confront someone in the street in the pathways of our country to demand proof of identity”.
Balancing Public Anxiety with Economic Reality
During his address, the President explicitly validated the underlying anxieties driving community frustration, acknowledging that millions of South Africans face persistently high levels of youth unemployment, a crushing cost of living, deep poverty, and inadequate access to economic opportunities. These severe conditions, he noted, create environments where frustration is easily misdirected at foreign nationals perceived as direct competitors for scarce jobs, resources, and public services like clinics and schools.
However, Ramaphosa noted that migration is not the sole root of the nation’s economic problems. “We must recognise that illegal immigration is not the cause of all our economic challenges,” the President explained, pointing instead to structural issues that require faster industrial expansion, infrastructure development, and major investment to create millions of new jobs.
At the same time, the President conceded that unchecked, irregular migration has severely compromised national stability. He detailed how undocumented routes increasingly overlap with highly organised criminal syndicates involved in human trafficking, extortion, illegal mining, drug smuggling, and money laundering. He further pointed out that many local businesses actively break the law by deliberately hiring undocumented immigrants to exploit their vulnerability — paying them far below the minimum wage and forcing them to work long hours under sub-standard conditions, which directly squeezes South African job seekers out of the market.
The 5-Pillar Structural Overhaul
To fix what he admitted were severe historical weaknesses, gaps, and corruption within the immigration management system, Ramaphosa unveiled a comprehensive, cabinet-approved master plan backed by all provincial premiers, metropolitan mayors, and traditional leaders. The sweeping strategy is built across five distinct pillars:
Severe Labour Penalties and Prosecution
Moving past toothless financial penalties, the state will amend the Immigration Act to introduce direct imprisonment for business owners who repeatedly employ undocumented workers. “We cannot have a situation where employers who, after being charged and found guilty of violating our laws, merely pay a fine and continue employing undocumented foreign nationals whom they exploit,” Ramaphosa warned. To enforce this, the Department of Employment and Labour has launched the recruitment of 10,000 labour inspectors for this financial year, whilst dedicated immigration courts will be established to rapidly process deportations.
Modernisation and Relocation of Border Controls
The state will continuously invest in cutting-edge surveillance technology, modernised infrastructure, and specialised personnel to secure national entry points. In a structural shift, refugee reception centres will be entirely removed from inner cities and relocated directly to border posts, starting with the Tshwane centre this year, ensuring that asylum applications are assessed and processed securely at the exact point of entry.
Total Digital Overhaul and Phasing Out Green ID Books
To permanently eliminate identity theft and deep-seated administrative corruption, South Africa will establish a biometric-driven intelligent population register to provide digital IDs for everyone. Consequently, the traditional green ID books will be progressively discontinued and stripped of their legal recognition after a specified date to be set by the Department of Home Affairs. Furthermore, the Department of Transport will issue new regulations within three months to end the systemic abuse of traffic registration numbers being used by foreign nationals as valid identity documents.
Mandatory Informal Economy Registration and Quotas
Responding directly to community anger over the dominance of foreign-run informal trading outlets and spaza shops, the Department of Small Business Development and the South African Local Government Association (SALGA) will enforce the mandatory registration of all informal businesses. Under the approved Employment Services Amendment Bill, the state will enforce strict maximum quotas for hiring foreign nationals in specific economic sectors. To protect local livelihoods, a dedicated Spaza Shop Fund will be deployed to support South African informal traders.
High-Level Continental Diplomacy
Recognising that enforcement measures alone cannot solve a global and continental phenomenon, Ramaphosa announced that South Africa’s future remains fundamentally inseparable from the rest of the African continent. The President confirmed he is immediately sending specialised envoys to multiple sister African countries to align migration strategies under the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and African Union frameworks, focusing on establishing regional peace and economic development to prevent movement driven by pure desperation.
A Call for Unity
President Ramaphosa offered a strong assurance to the public that the state can resolutely secure its borders and enforce its labour laws without compromising its deep constitutional commitment to human dignity and the spirit of Ubuntu.
“We reject the notion that we must tolerate illegal immigration,” Ramaphosa concluded. “We can protect our borders while protecting human dignity. We can enforce our laws while upholding our constitution. We can secure our communities while preserving the values of Ubuntu that define us as a people
Ramaphosa reminded the public that South Africa has historically overcome far deeper structural crises — including severe division, systemic conflict, and profound injustice — and called on the nation to reject anger, hatred, and violence in favour of legal compliance and collective determination.
