With South Africa counting down to a nationwide anti-illegal immigration protest, the country’s road freight industry says the government had years to tackle the employment of undocumented foreign nationals but repeatedly ignored warnings and practical solutions placed before it.
In a strongly worded statement, Road Freight Association (RFA) chief executive Gavin Kelly said President Cyril Ramaphosa’s recent pledge to crack down on employers who hire undocumented foreigners was long overdue, arguing that industry bodies had been sounding the alarm since at least 2018.
The issue has become one of the rallying cries behind the June 30 demonstrations planned across the country, where organisers say they will march against illegal immigration, porous borders and what they describe as weak enforcement of existing laws.
Peace declaration
On Wednesday, representatives of the 27 participating organisations signed a peace declaration, committing themselves to non-violent protests and rejecting looting, property damage and intimidation.
Against that backdrop, Kelly’s intervention adds the voice of one of South Africa’s most influential transport industry bodies to the increasingly heated national debate.
Ramaphosa announced earlier in June that government would recruit 10,000 labour inspectors and increase penalties, including imprisonment, for employers who violate immigration laws.
Warning issued years ago
But Kelly says government is effectively rediscovering a problem it was warned about years ago.
“The Road Freight Association reminds the President of the various urgent communications addressed to him in 2018 and 2022 regarding this very matter,” Kelly said.
According to the RFA, a presidential task team comprising government departments, labour organisations, employer groups and the All Truck Drivers Forum South Africa was established to address concerns about the growing use of undocumented foreign nationals in the trucking sector.
The result was a 14-point action plan.
Years later, Kelly says little has changed.
Instead, he argues, the task team drifted away from its original mission. Rather than dealing with illegal employment practices and enforcement failures, the focus shifted towards training new drivers.
“The task team has focussed on training drivers. That was never the intention,” Kelly said.
Weak enforcement rather than weak legislation
At the heart of the problem, according to the RFA, lies weak enforcement rather than weak legislation.
Kelly identified three major failures: the lack of proper registration and monitoring of freight operators, inadequate inspections across the industry, and the absence of strict requirements forcing operators to prove compliance with bargaining council regulations and employment rules.
The result, he said, is that authorities repeatedly inspect companies already known to regulators while non-compliant operators continue to fly beneath the radar.
Without addressing those shortcomings, the recruitment of thousands of additional inspectors is unlikely to produce meaningful results.
“This will, in reality, have no real effect if the current status quo of inspections is maintained,” Kelly warned.
Poor investigative procedures undermine value
He further argued that existing laws already provide for prosecution and penalties but that poor investigations, weak cases and ineffective enforcement have undermined their deterrent value.
Kelly was equally blunt about the growing calls in some quarters for the wholesale removal of foreigners from South Africa.
“This is not about removing all foreigners just because they are foreign,” he said.
“It’s about following the rules. Applying the rules. Making the process just, fair and consistent.”
The freight industry leader also cautioned that tougher border controls could create congestion at ports of entry, airports and border posts, although he stressed that foreign truck drivers employed outside South Africa generally do not pose the same concerns as undocumented workers employed within the country.
Solution neither mass deportation nor political grandstanding
For the RFA, the solution is neither mass deportation nor political grandstanding.
Instead, Kelly says government should simply enforce laws already on the statute books and ensure that every employer, regardless of sector, complies with the same standards.
As the political temperature rises ahead of June 30, the association’s message is likely to resonate with those demanding stricter enforcement while simultaneously challenging government over why a problem discussed for nearly a decade remains unresolved.
The question hanging over the looming protests is whether the renewed political attention will finally translate into action, or whether another task team, another plan and another round of promises will disappear into the long convoy of unimplemented solutions.
Read More: SANTACO distances itself from illegal immigration shutdown
- South Africa's Road Freight Association (RFA) criticizes the government for ignoring years of warnings and practical solutions to curb employment of undocumented foreign nationals in the trucking industry.
- President Ramaphosa pledged to recruit 10,000 labor inspectors and strengthen penalties for hiring undocumented foreigners, but the RFA says enforcement, not legislation, is the main issue.
- A presidential task team created to address illegal employment shifted focus to driver training rather than enforcement, resulting in little progress.
- RFA calls for consistent enforcement of existing laws and warns that poor investigative procedures and weak inspections undermine penalties and deterrence.
- The RFA opposes mass deportations and political grandstanding, advocating instead for fair, just, and effective law enforcement ahead of June 30 anti-illegal immigration protests.
In a strongly worded statement, Road Freight Association (RFA) chief executive Gavin Kelly said President Cyril Ramaphosa's recent pledge to crack down on employers who hire undocumented foreigners was long overdue, arguing that industry bodies had been sounding the alarm since at least 2018.
On Wednesday, representatives of the 27 participating organisations signed a peace declaration, committing themselves to non-violent protests and rejecting looting, property damage and intimidation.
Against that backdrop, Kelly's intervention adds the voice of one of
Ramaphosa announced earlier in June that government would recruit 10,000 labour inspectors and increase penalties, including imprisonment, for employers who violate immigration laws.
But Kelly says government is effectively rediscovering a problem it was warned about years ago.
"
Years later, Kelly says little has changed.
Instead, he argues, the task team drifted away from its original mission.
"
At the heart of the problem, according to the RFA, lies weak enforcement rather than weak legislation.
Kelly identified three major failures: the lack of proper registration and monitoring of freight operators, inadequate inspections across the industry, and the absence of strict requirements forcing operators to prove compliance with bargaining council regulations and employment rules.
"
He further argued that existing laws already provide for prosecution and penalties but that poor investigations, weak cases and ineffective enforcement have undermined their deterrent value.
Kelly was equally blunt about the growing calls in some quarters for the wholesale removal of foreigners from
"
"It's about following the rules.
For the RFA, the solution is neither mass deportation nor political grandstanding.
Instead, Kelly says government should simply enforce laws already on the statute books and ensure that every employer, regardless of sector, complies with the same standards.
As the political temperature rises ahead of June 30, the association's message is likely to resonate with those demanding stricter enforcement while simultaneously challenging government over why a problem discussed for nearly a decade remains unresolved.
Read More: SANTACO distances itself from illegal immigration shutdown
