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The silence of South Africa’s immigration policy : lived experiences of Zimbabwean women accessing maternal healthcare

South Africa’s migration policy : the case of Zimbabwean migrants, 1994-2017

  • Authors: Phiri, Ngqabutho
  • Date: 2018
  • Subjects: South Africa - Emigration and immigration - Government policy , Emigration and immigration law - South Africa - History , Zimbabwe - Emigration and immigration
  • Language: English
  • Type: Masters (Thesis)
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/400333 , uj:33406
  • Description: Abstract : This study examines the policies on migration of successive governments in South Africa since 1994, that is, Mandela (1994-1999), Mbeki (1999-2008) and Zuma (2009-2017). Particular attention was paid to Zimbabwean migrants in South Africa. The policy circle or policy stages approach to policy-making, that is, problem identification, agenda setting, policy formulation, policy adoption, policy implementation and policy evaluation, together with the various theories/models which explain the specific stages of the policy-making process served as the analytical framework. The study acknowledged that policies, and in this case the migration policies and legislation, do not occur in a vacuum, but that they emerge from a particular environment. In this case, the political and socio-economic environments in particular, played an important role in formulating policies and legislation on international migration to South Africa. The Mandela government inherited a migration policy that was characterised by a twogate system. The Aliens Control Act of 1991 allowed citizens from neighbouring countries to visit South Africa on a temporary basis such as holiday visits, while workers entered the country by means of bilateral agreements. Pressing issues such as illegal migration and high levels of unemployment and poverty, contributed to the move by the Minister of Home Affairs to amend the Aliens Control Act, which resulted in the Aliens Control Amendment Act of 1995, which ‘controlled’ rather than managed immigration. The Mandela government’s response to migration from Zimbabwe was premised on restrictive measures reflected in the 1996 visa regulations that targeted cross-border traders, mainly women, who had no interest to settle in South Africa. This resulted in clandestine migration, which the government responded to by means of deportations. The Mbeki government had the responsibility to introduce a new Immigration Act based on the White Paper on International Migration of 1999. The embattled process of drafting the new Immigration Act was driven by two conflicting ideas, that is, those who believed in an open policy premised on attracting foreign skilled labour (like Mbeki) and those who believed in a closed policy premised on restrictive measures while in favour of the local labour-driven economy. The Immigration Act of 2002 and its amendments in 2004 ... , M.A. (Politics and International Relations)
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