Rendering South Africa Undesirable

To understand the policy environment within
which refugees establish and operate their enterprises in South Africa’s
informal sector, this report brings together two streams of policy
analysis. The first concerns the changing refugee policies and the
erosion of the progressive approach that characterized the immediate
post-apartheid period. The second concerns the informal sector policy,
which oscillates between tolerance and attempted destruction at national
and municipal levels. While there have  been  longstanding  tensions 
between  foreign  and  South  African  informal sector operators, an
overtly anti-foreign migrant sentiment has increasingly been expressed
in official policy and practice.

This report describes the
strategies being used to turn South Africa into an undesirable
destination for refugees, including the setting up of additional
procedural, administrative and logistical hurdles; the undercutting of
court judgments affirming the right of asylum-seekers and refugees to
employment and self-employment; ensuring that protection is always
temporary by making it extremely difficult for refugees to progress to
permanent residence and eventual citizenship; and restricting
opportunities to pursue a livelihood in the informal sector. The authors
conclude that the protection of refugee rights is likely to continue to
depend on a cohort of non-governmental organizations prioritizing
migrant livelihood rights and being willing and able to pursue
time-consuming and costly litigation on their behalf.