South African Opposition disappointed by President Ramaphosa’s address on illegal immigration crisis

ActionSA has expressed disappointment with President Cyril Ramaphosa’s address on illegal immigration, describing it as weak and reactionary and arguing that it fails to address what the party calls an immigration crisis created by the ANC and perpetuated by the Government of National Unity (GNU).

In a press statement issued on June 7, 2026, ActionSA President Herman Mashaba said the President failed to present a clear shift in approach. The party maintains that addressing illegal immigration requires mass deportations and the urgent strengthening of enforcement capacity.

According to ActionSA, the President merely repackaged what it described as failed and outdated talking points that have characterised the ANC’s long-standing inability to secure South Africa‘s borders and effectively tackle illegal immigration.

The party also criticised Ramaphosa for once again declining to engage with the media following his address. ActionSA said South Africans deserve answers about what, if anything, is genuinely different in the measures announced. Instead, it argued that the President avoided scrutiny and repeated policies that have failed to resolve the crisis.

ActionSA further stated that any commitment to increasing enforcement efforts would be ineffective while the Border Management Authority remains underfunded, under-equipped and under-resourced.

The party accused the government of responding to outrage from foreign governments rather than confronting the consequences of its own failures. It said some foreign governments have chosen to grandstand, deflect responsibility and misrepresent calls by South Africans for urgent and meaningful immigration reform.

Mashaba said unchecked illegal immigration places a significant social and economic burden on South Africa. He added that South Africans have every right to demand secure borders, the enforcement of immigration laws and an immigration system that serves the country’s interests.

ActionSA concluded that attempts to vilify these concerns do nothing to solve the problem.

ActionSA is a South African political party founded in August 2020 by Herman Mashaba, a prominent businessman and the former Mayor of Johannesburg.

​The party was created as an alternative to the dominant political parties in South Africa, positioning itself as a pragmatic, action-oriented movement to fix what it describes as a broken political system.