Random News

eriinfo

Africa: ZCTU Blames South Africa’s Soft Stance On Zimbabwe for Migration Crisis

eriinfo.com05 mins
Africa: ZCTU Blames South Africa’s Soft Stance On Zimbabwe for Migration Crisis


Discover moreFashion News ArticlesEpaper Access SubscriptionBusiness News AnalysisTHE Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) has blamed neighboring South Africa’s (SA) soft stance on Zimbabwe’s political crisis for the continued migration crisis.

The remarks come on the back of escalating xenophobic attacks in SA in the recent past. This week media reports indicated that more than 3,000 Malawians, including hundreds of children, are staying in an open field in South Africa’s port city of Durban, after fleeing escalating anti-immigrant threats and attacks.

Nigeria has so far repatriated the first group of 260 nationals and plans to move out more of its citizens in the coming days. Ghana, Mozambique and Malawi have carried out similar operations in recent weeks.

Zimbabweans, by virtue of constituting the largest migrant population in the country, are hardest hit by the ongoing crisis.


Keep up with the latest headlines on WhatsApp | LinkedIn

The SA government has since assured its neighbours that all measures necessary to avoid further carnage and abuse of foreign nationals.

But in statement this week, the ZCTU Acting Secretary General, Runesu Dzimiri blamed SA’s prolonged soft stance in resolving the real problems obtaining in Zimbabwe for worsening the migration crisis.

“While the ZCTU applauds the current diplomatic engagement efforts by the Zimbabwe government with South Africa, it only takes internal economic changes to address the situation. South Africa also needs to be candid with Zimbabwe on its political and economic trajectory if it is serious about arresting irregular migration.

“As long as Zimbabwe’s economic challenges persist, without meaningful jobs on the market, millions of our citizens will remain vulnerable to violence abroad, “he said.

Dzimiri said on its part, the Zimbabwean government has a constitutional and moral obligation to protect its nationals, which it can only fulfill by fixing its political and economic shortcomings that are driving away innocent citizens to make migration a choice rather than a survival necessity.

He underscored that inter-governmental diplomacy alone no longer has the capacity to stop movements like ‘Operation Dudula’ and other like-minded efforts.

“The reality is that leaders and those in power are insulated from the practical consequences of their governance, while ordinary people pay with their lives in foreign countries leaders must acknowledge, introspect and admit that the State’s monetary policies, hyperinflation, corruption and collapsing public infrastructure are the direct triggers for mass migration,” he said.