Impact of South African migration policies on the migrants’ quality of life and the role of social work

Allan Mabasa,Prudence Mafa,Enoch Rabotata,Motshidisi Kwakwa,Themba Baloyi,Frans Koketso Matlakala,Daniel Tuelo Masilo,Jabulani Calvin Makhubele

doi:10.47577/tssj.v26i1.5288

Allan Mabasa, Prudence Mafa + Show 6 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.47577/tssj.v26i1.5288

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Abstract

This paper discusses the impact of South African migration policies on the migrants’ quality of life. It does that with a particular focus on the Bill of Rights as contained in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa. This is followed by a discussion on the role of social work in addressing any shortcomings that arise as a result of the implementation of the migration policies. This paper is primarily a desk study involving rigorous literature review on migration and relevant South African policies and international instruments. Theoretically, the ecosystems perspective is adopted to support and guide discussions in this paper. The discussions in this paper reveal that the South African migration policies do contribute towards the quality of life of the migrants, however, the challenges emanate from the implementation stage. It is from this understanding that various social work roles are discussed in order to help address the identified challenges. 

Highlights

Migration is one of the defining issues of the 21st century, and is an essential, unavoidable and potentially beneficial component of the economic and social life of countries and regions (Kalitanyi & Visser, 2010)
While in South Africa, the focus of this study, for the period 2016–2021, Gauteng and Western Cape are estimated to ISSN: 2668-7798 www.techniumscience.com experience the largest inflow of migrants of approximately, 1 048 440 and 311 004 respectively (Statistics South Africa, 2018:1)
Despite policy documents that guarantee the rights of migrants to access health care services, research conducted by Chekero (2017) in the Limpopo Province reveals that migrant women from Zimbabwe were in some instances denied health care services by medical personnel in Giyani

Summary

Introduction

Migration is one of the defining issues of the 21st century, and is an essential, unavoidable and potentially beneficial component of the economic and social life of countries and regions (Kalitanyi & Visser, 2010). Murenje (2020) asserts that we live in an era in which migration is increasing globally and will remain dominant for the foreseeable future. According to Mathe (2018) people’s movement, from one country to another, needs to be acknowledged as a serious issue in South Africa and globally. According to Gumbu (2020), migrants are people who migrate from their countries to settle on new territory. The United Nations (2019), reports that the number of international migrants globally reached an estimated 272 million in 2019, an increase of 51 million since 2010. While in South Africa, the focus of this study, for the period 2016–2021, Gauteng and Western Cape are estimated to ISSN: 2668-7798 www.techniumscience.com experience the largest inflow of migrants of approximately, 1 048 440 and 311 004 respectively (Statistics South Africa, 2018:1)

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