Migration expert argues immigration not driving high unemployment

Tensions escalated in Pretoria on Tuesday as hundreds of protesters marched against unemployment and undocumented immigrants, blaming foreign nationals for job losses and increasing crime.

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The demonstration, supported by groups including ActionSA and Operation Dudula, saw businesses shut their doors as police moved in to prevent violence.

But Professor Loren Landau of Migration and Development at the University of Oxford and Research Professor at the African Centre for Migration and Society, said the link between immigration and unemployment is largely overstated. 

"If we look at the number of people who are out of work in South Africa, which numbers in the tens of millions, and we look at the number of immigrants in the country, it's very clear that most of the problem South Africa has with unemployment is due to factors that have nothing to do with immigration."

Landau warned that political rhetoric is fuelling tensions, with immigrants being used as scapegoats amid growing public frustration. 

"I think the question of what's driving unemployment is broader economic challenges of infrastructure, water, investment, labour conditions, etc. I think what's driving the frustrations is that South Africans feel justifiably that they have not received what was promised to them in terms of prosperity, physical security, access to housing, etc., and they're looking for someone to blame, and instead of giving credit for their frustrations to politicians, whether it's local or national, the conversation has been redirected. 

"Politicians have nothing more to offer, so they're blaming an outsider, they're blaming immigrants. It's a classic part of a playbook of people who have very little left to give their citizens."

He called for stronger accountability, better migration management and an end to divisive language, cautioning that failure to act could risk further unrest.