the will to integrate:

Migrating for Work Research Consortium 1

The will to integrate:South Africa’s responses to regional migration from the SADC region

Project funded by the European Union EU-South Africa Dialogue Facility EuropeAid/132200/L/ACT/ZA. Coordinated by the African Centre for Migration & Society, University of the Witwatersrand

Department of Political Sciences, University of Pretoria, PRETORIA 0002, South Africa T: +27 12 420 4486 F: +27 12 420 3886 | www.miworc.org.za/ www.governanceinnovation.org

Chris C. NshimbiCentre for the Study of Governance Innovation (GovInn), Department of Political Sciences University of Pretoria

Migrating for Work Research Consortium (MiWORC)

African Economic Conference,

Johannesburg 28-30 October 2013


Outline

• Introduction

• Problematising labour migration in Southern Africa

• Objectives of the study

• Research Questions

• Methodology

• Discussion

• Conclusion and recommendations


Introduction

• Increasing cross-border migration with increasing globalisation• 214 million international migrants in 2010 vs 155 million in 1990.• International migrants in the Global South up by 13 million

between 1990 and 2010.• In Africa: the major destination of the 29.2 million African

international migrants in 2010, out of the total 214 million, was Africa itself

• Drivers of migration in Southern Africa: economic liberalisation, structural adjustments, quest for better economic life, clandestine migration—local herdsmen, ethnic groups.


Problematising labour migration in Southern Africa

• Level of economic development and the degree of similarity of economic

development of neighbouring countries in a region shape the ease with

which cross border labour mobility can be handled.

• Some policies within a region clearly aim at complete free movement for

citizens and others aim at managed migration of specific categories of

workers.

• Many regional labour market regimes focus on skilled migration and link this

to the recognition of qualification.

• The EU is exceptional regarding evolution of its regional migration

governance policies and system from free movement of labour; to EU

citizenship and associated benefits and rights; to work; and to establishment.


Problematising labour migration in Southern Africa

• Mercosur States have indigenised the region’s ‘reactive’ labour migration

legislation into national policies.

• ECOWAS emerges as a best practice for SADC: categorical legislation,

evident commitment to free movement of labour.

• SADC has significantly progressed towards FTA.

• However, SADC is the only REC in Africa that has “refused to endorse the

general idea of free movement of persons within the community” (Oucho

and Crush, 2001, p. 142).

• Therefore, what systems define regional labour migration in Southern

Africa?


Objectives

• Overall: Overview of migration and labour policies in Southern

Africa through a comparative analysis of a sub-set of Southern

African countries. Specifically:

• To investigate existing policies and related similar regional or

bilateral frameworks pertaining to labour migration in Southern

Africa and particularly, labour migration originating from

Namibia, Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland, Zimbabwe,

Mozambique, and Malawi and directed towards South Africa.

• To analyse South Africa’s ‘migration’ policy responses to inflows

of migrants from these 7 countries.


Research questions

• What are the prevalent form(s) of regional labour migration governance in the

SADC region?

• What is the degree of ‘regionalism’ permeating national labour migration

legislation in the SADC region?

• What labour migration pacts exist between SADC States at the bilateral level, the

level at which Betts (2011) suggested skilled labour migration progress might be

better made than at the regional level?

• How do specific bilateral agreements between South Africa and neighbouring

countries impact labour migration in Southern Africa?

• At the national level, do legislations and policies on labour and migration build on

any SADC framework or do they have any regional considerations in their

formulation?


Methodology

• Primary data: relevant global and regional legislations; interviews and focus groups; correspondence with key policy makers.

• Selection of respondents: based on policy portfolio and position within the relevant ministries.

• Secondary data: policy reports and scientific publications.• Selection of countries: based on geographical proximity and

relevance to the South African labour market. Traditional suppliers of migrant labour to South Africa.

• All except Malawi share borders with South Africa.


Regional Migration Governance:

Africa

• Abuja Treaty envisages an African Economic Community built on 8 key African RECs

• Two key policy frameworks define the AU’s approach to migration in Africa:

– Migration Policy Framework for Africa

– African Common Position on Migration and Development

• Protocol on Relations between the African Economic Community and the Regional

Economic Communities in 1998

– 2005 COMESA-EAC-SADC Tripartite Summit: strengthen and deepen eastern and

southern African economic integration. Tripartite FTA yet to be ratified.

– 2008 COMESA-ECA-SADC Tripartite Summit: expedite establishment of a larger FTA –

26 States from the 3 RECs; programme to harmonise trading arrangements amongst

the 3 RECs; free movement of people and institutional arrangements through which to

foster cooperation.

• Have African RECs progressed towards achieving free movement of persons and Africa’s

integration?


Regional Migration Governance in Africa: SADC

• Long history of international migration; organised labour migration system by

1860s

• 1995 Draft Protocol on Free Movement of Persons – shot down

• 2005 Draft Protocol on Facilitation of Movement – more acceptable, adopted

and signed but not enforced

• Currently no official regional framework governing regional migration

• National laws regulate labour migration (preoccupation: national interests

over regional)

• Other Protocols – e.g. Protocol on Education and Training; Trade, etc.


Regional governance of migration in Southern Africa: conclusion

• Cross-border movement even in the SACU is not particularly easy from an

institutional and legal point of view

• Southern Africa: porous with substantial informal cross-border movements

that carry political and economic costs.

• Bilateralism governs labour migration

• Slim prospects for regional policy on migration


Regional governance of migration in Southern Africa: recommendations

• The SACU as a policy laboratory: new innovations could be introduced before considering a

potential/incremental expansion to the SADC region. SACU members should, therefore,

establish a two-tier policy whereby they work towards free movement of labour while

maintaining a managed migration policy outside of SACU, within SADC, or within the

COMESA-EAC-SADC tripartite region. An operational and official multi-lateral migration

governance mechanism would serve the region better than the current ad-hoc measures.

• If bilateralism is the only workable practice, SADC States should emphasise forms of

bilateralism that take regional elements into account as opposed to exclusive bilateralism.

Bilateralism should be encouraged only if it is incremental and used as a stepping-stone

towards establishing a regional framework for migration (e.g. it should be compatible with

and supportive of policies and protocols being discussed at the SADC level). Where bilateral

agreements already exist, therefore, the agreements should be redesigned in order to

support regional policies rather than undermine them.


Contacts WP1

WP1 (Policy) Coordinator:

Prof. Lorenzo Fioramonti, Centre for the Study of Governance Innovation

(GovInn), University of Pretoria. [email protected]

Dr. Chris Changwe Nshimbi, Centre for the Study of Governance Innovation

(GovInn), University of Pretoria. [email protected]


Thank you for listening.Questions, Comments…?

the will to integrate:

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