No evidence undocumented immigrants contribute massively’to crime and‘nothing’to South Africa
Many immigrants in South africa are anxious. The Zimbabwean Exemption Permit (ZEP), which allows Zimbabweans to live and work in the country under specific circumstances, expires at the end of June 2023.
around 178,000 people hold the ZEP. Without it, they become undocumented.
The South african government has decided not to renew the permit, a decision that civil society organisations are challenging in court.
The Zimbabwean Immigration Federation is also seeking an interdict to stop Zimbabweans being deported, should the permits expire.
amid this debate, a video shared online shows a police roadblock in Johannesburg – South africa’s largest city, often the epicentre of xenophobic attacks.
The roadblock was set up to arrest undocumented immigrants, and more than 50 people were reportedly held.
Unsubstantiated yet widespread narratives blame immigrants for some of South africa’s biggest social issues, such as crime and unemployment.
Social media posts in early 2023 have given us a glimpse into some of these attitudes.
In February 2023, South african human rights lawyer Richard Spoor, tried to refocus the conversation.
“Foreigners did not cause the failure of Eskom and other [state-owned enterprises” and “are not responsible for the state of our roads, rail and harbour infrastructures” or “for the failure of our municipalities”, he tweeted.
In response, someone replied that “Illegal foreigners contribute massively to our crime statistics” and “are draining our tax base while contributing absolutely nothing”. Similar sentiments have been expressed widely on and Facebook.
But somewhere beyond the rhetoric, outrage and finger pointing lie the facts. We looked at what the numbers say about these well-worn arguments.
Politicians on all sides have been accused of scapegoating immigrants to distract from governance failures and corruption.
But the idea that crime in South africa is largely committed by undocumented immigrants also seems to have become entrenched in the country’s collective belief system.
Immigrants also contribute positively to the economy in other ways. according to the World Bank, data collected between 1996 and 2011 suggested that for every immigrant working in South africa, about two jobs are created for South africans.
The study found that rather than competing for the same jobs, the tasks done by immigrants and local South africans tended to “complement” one another, which could “increase the productivity of local workers, generating positive results for their employment and wages”.
a 2018 report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) also found that immigrants made a positive contribution to the economy.
Looking at the sectors in which South african and immigrant workers were employed and the average productivity of workers in these sectors, the report calculated that immigrants contributed around 9% of South africa’s gross domestic product (GDP).