Hon Chairperson, hon Ministers, hon Deputy Minister, the Director-General of Home Affairs and officials, guests in the gallery, the birth of our nation in 1994 demonstrated the strength of centripetal and centrifugal forces in shaping the polity and developmental path of any nation.
While some, for fear of the unknown, hastily rush out to unknown lands, abandoning the land that had imparted to them a bogus status of Baas and Miesies and catapulted them to opulence those in their motherland could only dream of, torrents of others, for hope of an imminent better life for all, rained into our beautiful country. Those who knew and trusted the ANC knew that a true democracy was on its way, and those who understood our values of ubuntu knew that no home would be better than the one the ANC of South Africa was building.
In describing the humane spirit of South Africans, our father, O R Tambo, said:
The statement which declares that South Africa belongs to all who live in it, is a drastic concession on the part of the African people, but it is a demonstration of the willingness of the African people to live in South Africa with everybody who wants to live there on the basis of absolute equality - no racism; no racial discrimination; no superior race and no inferior race. On that basis, South Africa belongs to all who live in it.
You need to go through history to understand how this declaration has been abused by some, because they prefer and still continue to prefer only one part of the deal. Comrade Tambo made it clear that the declaration is not unconditional, but is based on absolute equality.
However, what you have termed as ANC colonialism of a special type, as the coloniser and the colonised share the same geographic space, had caused some to cherry-pick the deal. They continue to claim ownership, whilst disdaining the equality imperative that comes with the package. Shall we again remind them that equality is the basis of this tenuous co-ownership? If you keep on shunning substantive equality and work hard to deprive the vulnerable of their birthright, the co-ownership is at serious risk.
Hon Chairperson, the question is not whether people come from South Africa, or who comes through our borders; but it is why people have to come through our borders. Unfortunately, reality has it that not all who come through our borders have honourable intentions and bona fide motives. Some come into our country to help us build our developmental state - to those we say: This is our home; come, let us build a nation steeped in unity and plurality, join us on our journey to a National Democratic Society.
However, hon Chairperson, some, like a thief in the night, come with the purpose of harming our beautiful nation and country. To those we say: The time has come to turn the tide. We never had criminals in mind when building a constitutional supremacy. This land of our forefathers, as President Makgatho said, shall never under our watch become a hideout for criminals.
The Polokwane National Conference of the ANC gave us a mandate to revise the Immigration Act to ensure that it promotes development while addressing national and regional security concerns. Hon members, we stand here today proudly because we have executed that mandate and await the effect of the measures and the legitimate purpose they are meant to achieve.
We remain conscious that we cannot abdicate our international obligation and our humanist approach. It is exactly on those grounds that we assert that there must be a comfortable balance between international interest and national interest.
National interest is not only about security, but about development. It therefore behoves us, who are beset with a troika of challenges, namely growing unemployment, deepening poverty and widening inequality, to attract and accommodate skill and foreign direct investment. However, the onus of sifting the genuine from the simulated is cast on the department.
The need for economic, cultural and social development of the country must be balanced against the security needs and the integrity of our state and society. Security must include the security of the country, communities and each one of us, including the foreign and immigrant communities who are part of South Africa.
Hon Chairperson, Article 1(a) of the 1951 UN Convention on the Status of Refugees defines a refugee as:
... who owing to well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country; or who, not having a nationality and being outside the country of his former habitual residence as a result of such events, is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to return to it.
The challenge we, as South Africans, face at this juncture is that large numbers of those seeking asylum are not genuine asylum seekers but, in fact, job seekers. Some of the so-called refugees visit their countries and come back to South Africa, which begs the question of whether there really exists a fear of persecution.
South Africa continues to have a nonencampment policy, and asylum seekers are allowed to earn a living whilst awaiting adjudication of their applications. Commonly, whilst awaiting the outcome of their applications, many applicants attempt to regularise their stay through other means. These include marriages to South Africans, which are often fraudulent, fraudulent registration of birth, and being the biological parents of South African children.
We welcome the fact that under the amended Refugees Act, work and study permits with limitations will have to be applied for with specific conditions set. However, more still needs to be done to curb and circumvent the abuse of the system. One of the strengths we enjoy as a country is that no person can legally enter the Republic of South Africa without being cleared by an immigration officer and by customs, health, and other departments where required. It is therefore imperative that our borderlines and ports of entry be secured against a variety of risks and threats. At the same time, there should be facilitation of persons through ports.
The recent amendment to the Immigration Act requires that dual citizenship should only be allowed when both South Africa and the other country involved recognise dual citizenship. The issue arises about being certain of the loyalties of a person with dual citizenship, especially when such a person occupies a position of power. Our feeling is that this matter needs another round of review, because the interests of the country should always come first in all endeavours.
The SA National Defence Force, SANDF, has been mandated to secure the borderline. Home Affairs has an inspectorate, that is specifically charged with enforcing the Immigration Act, which works closely with the SAPS. The complexities that emerge, as a result, have caused us to urge government to execute the decision to establish a border management agency. We believe that it is imperative that all border management functions be led from one centre.
In conclusion, we maintain that South Africa belongs to all who live in it, on condition that they accept absolute equality. Many people come to our country with diverse motives, and it is incumbent upon the department to, amidst all the jostling for South African identity, protect South Africans and secure their identity in collaboration with other departments and ports of entry.
We are determined, through the developmental state, to build social cohesion and fight against any form of exploitation of our identity, whilst protecting those amongst us from undue harm. As the Polokwane resolution said, there must be a balance between developmental needs and security ones. The ANC supports the Budget Vote. I thank you. [Applause.]