{"id":90754,"date":"2025-09-30T15:26:36","date_gmt":"2025-09-30T15:26:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/rethink-needed-on-sa-belongs-to-all-who-live-in-it"},"modified":"2025-09-30T15:46:51","modified_gmt":"2025-09-30T15:46:51","slug":"rethink-needed-on-sa-belongs-to-all-who-live-in-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/rethink-needed-on-sa-belongs-to-all-who-live-in-it","title":{"rendered":"Rethink Needed on SA Belongs to All Who Live in It"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – South-Africa. <\/strong><\/span>Finance minister Enoch Godongwana has challenged the sustainability of the constitutional principle that South Africa \u201cbelongs to all who live in it\u201d in light of the country\u2019s growing economic challenges.<\/p>\n

Godongwana suggested that the clause was a historical mistake that was not relevant to the country\u2019s present-day reality. He argued that it should only apply to citizens of this country.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe constitution says South Africa belongs to all who live in it, which was a grave mistake,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat clause was responding to a particular period, a particular issue. Now we have got all of these people rocking up into this country and legally we can\u2019t say we cannot provide them with services.\u201d<\/p>\n

He was speaking during a meeting on the implementation of Treasury\u2019s trading services reforms in metropolitan municipalities in Durban on Monday.<\/p>\n

The clause stems from the Freedom Charter and it is now part of the constitution.<\/p>\n

Godongwana recalled that it had been the source of rifts within anti-apartheid movements from as far back as the 1980s, noting that his pro-Freedom Charter group \u2015 called charterists \u2015 had supported the notion while another known as \u201cAmaZim-Zims\u201d rejected it.<\/p>\n

\u201cAmaZim-Zims used to say, \u2018You guys are wrong, South Africa cannot belong to everybody.\u2019 Now I say the AmaZim-Zims were correct,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Godongwana\u2019s remarks come amid growing concerns about the impact of immigration on South Africa\u2019s dwindling resources and economy. He noted that the country\u2019s economy has been declining since 2014, leaving the rand struggling to accommodate the demands of citizens and foreign nationals.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur resources are limited. We\u2019ve had an economy that has been declining, per capita, since 2014. When I say per capita I mean South Africans, I\u2019m not including others. Our rand is declining compared to what we\u2019ve had. Now we have got others who are claiming the same rand.\u201d<\/p>\n

This year has seen heightening political pressure from citizen-led organisations over immigrants and their strain on public resources.<\/p>\n

This has seen the emergence of the controversial anti-immigration movement Operation Dudula and the rise of the March And March movement, which campaigns against undocumented foreign nationals in the country.<\/p>\n

These groups have been seen blocking undocumented foreign nationals from accessing public healthcare services while the former has also warned against enrolling undocumented migrant pupils in public schools. These actions have received mixed reactions from citizens and government.<\/p>\n

Godongwana added to that debate, arguing that undocumented migrants often gain access to housing and public services ahead of South African citizens at a time when the country is dealing with urbanisation.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdded to the dilemma of these people is massive internal urbanisation. We have all these squatter camps and they [foreigners] become first in the queue while there is somebody who has been in the backyard for years. They get services ahead of others.\u201d<\/p>\n

He further pointed to his recent trip to Zanzibar, where he was required to take a visitor insurance policy upon entry. He said adopting a similar model for South Africa could help ensure that non-citizens covered their own costs, rather than adding that financial burden on the country\u2019s resources.<\/p>\n

Godongwana advocated for a stricter immigration policy, including the deportation of undocumented migrants. He also called for an open discussion about the country\u2019s immigration approach and service delivery, saying that the issue should not be labeled as xenophobic.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe should not be saying the people who are debating are arguing from a xenophobic perspective. We\u2019re not,\u201d he said. \u201cPeople must come to our country legally. The ones that are sitting here illegally, surely we should be sending them home.\u201d<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About South-Africa<\/span> Follow Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – South-Africa. Finance minister Enoch Godongwana has challenged the sustainability of the constitutional principle that South Africa \u201cbelongs to all who live in it\u201d in light of the country\u2019s growing economic challenges. Godongwana suggested that the clause was a historical mistake that was not relevant to the country\u2019s present-day reality. He argued that it […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":90753,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3,12],"tags":[275],"class_list":["post-90754","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-community","category-policy","tag-south-africa-2"],"yoast_head":"\nRethink Needed on SA Belongs to All Who Live in It - South Africa<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Finance minister Enoch Godongwana has challenged the sustainability of the constitutional principle that South Africa \u201cb ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/rethink-needed-on-sa-belongs-to-all-who-live-in-it\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Rethink Needed on SA Belongs to All Who Live in It\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Finance minister Enoch Godongwana has challenged the sustainability of the constitutional principle that South Africa \u201cb ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/rethink-needed-on-sa-belongs-to-all-who-live-in-it\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"South Africa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-09-30T15:26:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-09-30T15:46:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/sites\/31\/2025\/09\/sm_1759234575.879145.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"675\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/rethink-needed-on-sa-belongs-to-all-who-live-in-it#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/rethink-needed-on-sa-belongs-to-all-who-live-in-it\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Rethink Needed on SA Belongs to All Who Live in It\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-09-30T15:26:36+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-09-30T15:46:51+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/rethink-needed-on-sa-belongs-to-all-who-live-in-it\"},\"wordCount\":626,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/rethink-needed-on-sa-belongs-to-all-who-live-in-it#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/sites\/31\/2025\/09\/sm_1759234575.879145.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"South-Africa\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"community\",\"policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/rethink-needed-on-sa-belongs-to-all-who-live-in-it#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/rethink-needed-on-sa-belongs-to-all-who-live-in-it\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/rethink-needed-on-sa-belongs-to-all-who-live-in-it\",\"name\":\"Rethink Needed on SA Belongs to All Who Live in It - 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