No. 09: Transnationalism and African Immigration to South Africa

The demise of formal apartheid has created new and as yet only partially understood opportunities for migration to South Africa. Legal migration from other Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries, for example, has increased almost ten-fold since 1990 to over four million visitors per year. South Africa’s (re)insertion into the global economy has brought new streams of legal and undocumented migrants from outside the SADC region and new ethnic constellations within. The easing of legal and unauthorized entry to South Africa has made the country a new destination for African asylum-seekers, long-distance traders, entrepreneurs, students and professionals (Bouillon 1996; Saasa 1996; Rogerson 1997; de la Hunt 1998; Peberdy and Crush 1998; Ramphele 1999). SAMP aims to explore the migration phenomenon from a variety of disciplinary and methodological perspectives and at a number of different spatial scales. At one end of the research spectrum are the project’s statistically representative, quantitative, national surveys in source and host countries (Sechaba Consultants 1997; de Vletter 1998; Frayne and Pendleton 1998; McDonald et al 1998, 1999; Mattes et al 1999; McDonald 2000). These surveys have provided important baseline data on cross-border migration at a panregional scale. They have also helped to contest the crude misrepresentations of xenophobic discourse (Croucher 1998; McDonald et al 1998; Crush 1999a). But the large sample sizes and structured questionnaire instruments necessarily sacrifice the more nuanced information that can only be gleaned from local case studies of an ethnographic, participatory and place-based nature. What is the qualitative nature of the new South African migratory mosaic? Who are the new international migrants and immigrants in South Africa? What are the conditions shaping their migratory patterns? And what is the nature of their relations with South Africans and their home countries? We are also interested in some of the broader conceptual and theoretical questions prompted by these movements. While they may be relatively new to South Africa (and that itself is an issue for debate), they are not altogether new movements. The global “age of migration” has, by virtue of the sequestering effect of apartheid, come late to the country (Castles and Miller 1993; Cohen 1995; Sassen 1999). The conceptual and analytical debates that have swirled around the issue of migration and globalization elsewhere have largely by-passed South Africa. The question, therefore, is whether the tools for understanding the age of migration have any explanatory purchase on the South African empirical material. Whether South and Southern Africa can actually be a source of theorizing, as they have been in the past, is another question. Three major themes are addressed in this paper: (a) the changing character of cross-border migration to South Africa; (b) the value of the conceptual apparatus of transnationalism to describe and research changing forms of cross-border migration into South Africa; and (c) the spatial reconfiguration and emergence of new migrant spaces in the country. Each of these themes is discussed briefly below

No. 23: Labour Migration Trends and Policies in Southern Africa

Since 1990, there have been major changes to longstanding patterns of intra-regional labour migration within the Southern African Development Community (SADC). At the same time, new channels of migration to and from the region have opened. Labour migration is now more voluminous, dynamic and complex than it has ever been. This presents policy-makers with considerable opportunities and challenges. In order to understand the exact nature of these challenges, it is important to have a good grasp of current labour migration characteristics and trends. Unfortunately, reliable, accurate and comprehensive data on labour migration is not available. The quality and currency of data varies considerably from country to country. A regional labour migration observatory would make the future writing of an overview of migration trends a much easier task. The primary objectives of this overview of labour migration trends and policy implications is fourfold: (a) to review recent characteristics and trends in labour migration within and from the SADC region. Official statistics as well as recent survey data are drawn on to generate an overall picture of current characteristics and trends in the region; (b) to highlight some of the critical and urgent issues pertaining to labour migration in the region; (c) to discuss the main features of labour migration strategies and policies and legislative and regulatory frameworks in countries covered by the Southern African Development Community (SADC); and (d) to review the prospects for the freer circulation of migrant labour in the Southern African region. This brief focuses primarily on the period since 1990 and restructuring of labour migration in the wake of the collapse of apartheid, new global migration forces, the end of the wars in Mozambique and Angola and the current economic and political situation in Zimbabwe. Although the brief provides an overview of the region as a whole, the report concentrates on the major labour migration channels in the region (from countries such as Lesotho, Swaziland, Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe to South Africa). The report also considers the nature and implications of new migrant movements to and from SADC

No. 02: The New South African Immigration Bill: A Legal Analysis

The Southern African Migration Project (SAMP) notes the promulgation of an Immigration Bill in Government Gazette Vol. 416 (No. 20889) on 15 February 2000 and the invitation to submit comments. SAMP supports the Department’s contention, implicit in the gazetting of a new Bill, that the Aliens Control Act is an unacceptable instrument for the sound and effective management of migration. The rescinding of the Aliens Control Act and its replacement by a new Immigration Act is therefore a matter of highest priority. However, it is equally important that such legislation is not rushed; that it is constitutionally-sound, implementable and cost-effective. SAMP’s input to the public process of revising the Bill is contained in this document. However, we note the existence of a separate process of review of the White Paper on International Migration by the Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs which is holding public hearings on the White Paper from 15-20 May 2000. The Committee is apparently not considering the Immigration Bill at this time. SAMP is unclear how these two processes inter-relate and will therefore also be making an input to the Portfolio Committee reviewing the White Paper. The Immigration Bill notes the limited list of organizations consulted by the drafter(s). There are some notable absences from this list, including the Department of Labour, COSATU and prominent NGO’s in the migration field. It is unclear why the drafters would consult Anglo American Corporation and the South African Chamber of Mines and not NUM. In addition, it is unclear why Georgetown University and the US INS were the only organizations consulted externally. The Immigration Bill does not specify what was done with the numerous public and expert submissions received by the Department on the White Paper. It is possible that these inputs informed the drafting of the Bill although that is not clear. It has been reported that the Immigration Bill has not changed substantially from an earlier Migration Bill which was prepared before 30 November (the deadline for submissions on the White paper). The intent of any Bill is to give effect to the policies laid out, and accepted by government, in a policy White Paper. Hence, there should be consistency between the principles of the White Paper and the immigration legislation which accompanies or emanates from the White Paper. In our view, the Immigration Bill is problematic in this regard. There are elements in the White Paper which are ignored in the Immigration Bill. Contrariwise, there are certain provisions in the Immigration Bill which appear to have no rationale or justification in the White Paper. This input aims to point out these inconsistencies. In its submission to the Department of Home Affairs on 30 November 1999, SAMP identified a series of problems with the White Paper on International Migration. However, many of the problematic areas in the White Paper have been carried over into the Bill. SAMP’s submission on the White Paper is therefore appended to this document for ease of reference. This input also aims to show how the Immigration Bill replicates some of the problems previously identified in the White paper. As many commentators have noted, the White Paper was unclear on numerous policy issues; sometimes making definitive recommendations and sometimes merely speculating on whether some measure might be desirable. The lack of definitiveness on key issues means that it is unclear whether many proposals are government policy or not. Some of each type of recommendation are incorporated into the Bill so the problem is not resolved by reference to the Bill. The emphasis in this input is on problem areas with the Immigration Bill. However, the Bill does contain many positive elements that are far superior to the Aliens Control Act. For example, the provisions of Section 3(6), Section 11, Section 16, Section 19, Section 21(1), Section 28(1), Section 29 (1) (a,e,f), Section 33 (1) (a to c), Section 34 (1) and (2), Section 40. In our view, these and like sections and sub-sections, should be enshrined in the finalized Immigration Act. This input begins with some general comments on the Immigration Bill’s purposes. Then it considers points of contradiction with the White Paper. Finally, on the Bill itself, our approach is to identify particular sections where the proposed process: • will not assist the government in reaching its stated goals is in conflict with its stated goals is counter to common law notions of procedural fairness potentially violates the Constitution and Bill of Rights has been tried and failed in other jurisdictions will have an effect opposite to the one intended is unimplementable for reasons of logistics, cost, etc. There are also statutory issues that need to be considered if this Bill is to be become law (e.g. interaction with the Public Service Act, the Public Finance management Act and the Administrative Justice Act)

Public Spaces and Information: How Oregon Libraries Are Helping the Homeless

This project is an in-depth feature article that investigates how public libraries in Oregon provide a public place and vital services for homeless people, especially in poorer communities with higher rates of homelessness. This is the kind of article that might be published in a publication like The Oregonian or The Atlantic. The article is 3,000 words and includes audio and photos. I plan to submit it to The Oregonian and The Atlantic for publication. I am presenting my work through Atavist – a multimedia publishing website. Through on-site observations and interviews with library directors and homeless people who use their libraries, this article illustrates how libraries provide shelter as well as access to restrooms, the Internet and other resources homeless people use. This article also addresses how libraries are part of the solution in fighting homelessness in Oregon. The project focuses on four libraries in rural and urban areas in Oregon, specifically, Clatsop, Yamhill, Multnomah, and Lane Counties. This project also takes an in-depth look at the kinds of funding libraries in those counties receive, how those funds are used, and whether they are adequate for the population each library serves

No. 08: Thinking About the Brain Drain in Southern Africa

The movement of skilled people from one country to another is one of the most hotly contested public policy questions today. Debates amongst politicians, academics and bureaucrats about the scale and character of skilled migration, and the policies required to address these movements, are taking place in countries throughout the world (Zweig and Changgui 1995; Odunsi 1996; Phillips 1996; Carrington and Detragiache 1998; Iredale 1998; Iqbal 1999). As the opportunities for skilled personnel to move increases with globalization and the shift to a service economy (Sassen 1988, 1998), as the costs of international travel decrease, and as the ability to communicate with other parts of the world becomes easier, it is likely that skilled migration itself will increase over the next few decades, magnifying its importance as a public policy issue. Compared to the volume of unskilled and forced migration, the international movement of skilled people is still relatively small (Findlay 1995), but its social and economic relevance outweighs its numerical significance for a number of reasons, some imagined, some real. The loss of a country’s ‘best and brightest’ is seen not only as a loss of human resources but also as a general indicator of whether a country is a desirable place to live. Nothing conjures up the image of a country gone wrong like the belief that skilled people are leaving in droves: a public litmus test of sorts where citizens vote with their feet. If true, a skilled exodus heralds tougher times to come, as human and financial capital moves with skilled nationals. Given the far-reaching social and economic implications of the so-called ‘brain drain’ it is not surprising that there has been much public and academic hyperbole on the matter. Political leaders declare emigrants unpatriotic and selfish, while the media make wild and unsubstantiated statements about the extent of emigration and the motivations for it. Southern Africa is no different in this respect. Skilled migration is currently a topic of hot debate in the region and it has attracted a wide range of claims and counter-claims, particularly in South Africa where the emigration of skilled nationals has generated considerable public attention during and since the demise of apartheid