South Africa’s Foreign Minister, Ronald Lamola, has said the recent xenophobic attacks against Ghanaian nationals will not affect the long-standing bilateral relations between South Africa and Ghana.
Mr. Lamola, who was in Ghana as a Special Envoy on behalf of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, said both countries have agreed that the migration concerns should be addressed without undermining their historic bilateral relations.
He explained that his visit was to deliver a special message from President Ramaphosa and provide clarity on South Africa’s position regarding the current migration situation.
“There was an agreement between ourselves and Ghana that the current migration-related challenges will not stand in the way of South Africa-Ghana bilateral relations. It does not impact the South Africa-Ghana bilateral relations because South Africa and Ghana have got long enduring relations and good friendship,” Mr. Lamola `stated.
According to him, Ghana’s concerns presented an opportunity for South Africa to explain the issues surrounding immigration enforcement and the measures being taken by the government.
He acknowledged that sovereign states have the right to enforce their immigration laws but stressed that such enforcement must be carried out in a regular, orderly and humane manner in line with regional and continental protocols.
The Foreign Minister said the main challenge facing South Africa is irregular migration, but emphasised that even in such cases, individuals must be treated with dignity and respect.
“Immigration must be regular and orderly in line with the protocols of the AU, of our own SADEC. It should not be a disorder immigration.
“The challenges we have and face is irregular immigration but the point that they are both raising is that even if there is irregular immigration, it should be dealt with in a human way,” he stressed.
He condemned incidents where private citizens take the law into their own hands, describing such actions as unacceptable.
“And that we have said, that as a South African government we condemn. We do not promote any private citizen taking the law into their own hands,” he added.
He called on law enforcement agencies in South Africa to arrest any perpetrator who takes the law into their own hands.
Mr. Lamola reaffirmed South Africa’s commitment to maintaining strong relations with Ghana while ensuring that migration challenges are handled through lawful and responsible processes.
