Zimbabweans still pouring into SA

The Consortium for Refugees and Migrants in South Africa (CORMSA) said in a recent report that similar levels of migration should continue for the next two to five years, and could rise if the power sharing government between President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai collapsed.

But CORMSA urged South African authorities not to restrict migration into the country, adding this would hamper the countrys development because most migrants were self-sufficient bringing in skills and resources that generated jobs.

“We will find no answers to South Africa’s problems by halting migration,” said CORMSA.

“As such, migration is not a threat to South Africans’ economic or physical security. Managed properly, it could lead to investment, job creation and a more productive economy.

“To realise this end, we need to move beyond the deceptive goal of sealing off the South African border.?

CORMSA has urged newly installed South African President Jacob Zuma to prioritise the security of all people resident in the country and work closely with civil society to avert a repeat of the suffering and deaths experienced last year.

The NGO which brings together refugee and migrant workers service providers in Africas economic powerhouse said as shown by the May 2008 xenophobia, South Africa could not protect the migrants within its borders which could make it struggle to recruit the people it needed.

South Africa the continents most prosperous country hosts millions of immigrants from other African countries among them an estimated two million Zimbabweans who have fled their home country because of political violence and hunger after a decade-long economic crisis, critics blame on Mugabes controversial policies.

The unity government is yet to convince rich Western nations that the southern African country is firmly on the path to genuine reform for them give it much needed financial support to resuscitate its shattered economy.