“Migration Issues Won’t Affect Our Friendship” – SA Foreign Minister Lamola After Meeting President Mahama in Accra

South Africa says its current migration challenges will not derail decades of good relations with Ghana, Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola has said following a special envoy visit to Accra.

Mr. Lamola said he delivered a special message to President John Mahama two days ago and both countries agreed that the issue should be handled without damaging bilateral ties.

“Long-Enduring Good Friendship”
The Minister said the visit was to give South Africa an opportunity to explain its position amid what he called a “continuous deluge of criticism” from Ghana and comments from the African Union Chair.

“I was in Ghana two days ago, and on behalf of President Ramaphosa as a special envoy, where I delivered a a special message,” Lamola said.

“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 Ghana-South Africa bilateral relations because South Africa and Ghana have got long-enduring good friendship and relations.”

He added that Ghana raised the matter to allow South Africa to explain itself, and that it was “in that context that President Mahama raised the matter” based on video clips and newspaper reports he had seen.

Enforcement Must Be “Regular, Orderly, and Human”
Mr. Lamola stressed that every sovereign state has the right to enforce its immigration laws, but said it must be done within AU and SADC protocols.

“All countries have got the right to enforce. It’s within the sovereign state to enforce immigration laws. Immigration must be regular, must be orderly, in line with the protocols of the AU, of our own SADC. It will not be a disordered immigration,” he stated.

“The challenges we have and face is irregular migration. But the points that they are both raising is that even when there is irregular migration, it will be dealt with in a human way.”

Condemnation of Mob Violence
The Foreign Minister directly addressed recent incidents in South Africa where private citizens took the law into their own hands.

“It will not be dealt with through people taking the law into their own hands, which is what we have seen now in the isolated incidences in our country,” he said.

“And that we have said, as a South African government, we condemn. We do not promote any private citizen taking the law into their own hands, and we call for law enforcement agencies to arrest any perpetrator who takes the law into their own hands.”

The meeting in Accra forms part of diplomatic engagements aimed at easing tensions over migration and protecting the interests of African nationals living in South Africa.

South Africa and Ghana established diplomatic relations in 1994 and have cooperated closely on trade, democracy, and AU matters.