By Lesedi Sibiya-Diplomatic Insider
Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Ronald Lamola, has dismissed attempts to single out South Africa regarding migration and xenophobia concerns at a press briefing conducted in Pretoria on Wednesday.
Lamola briefed the media regarding preparations for South Africa hosting the 46th SADC Summit of Heads of State and government in Durban from the 16th-17 August 2026. He stated that Ghana’s proposal to discuss xenophobia at the African Union’s mid-term meeting in October is not yet approved by the AU executive council.
“We raised our view that any discussion on this matter must be comprehensive, deal with the push and pull factors, the root causes of illegal migration, all of them-climate change, economic peace and stability, and democracy in a comprehensive manner,”said Lamola.
“There is no discussion that will be helpful that will just focus on South Africa because we are not the only country facing a migration challenge” he continued. He also emphasised that 45% of the African continent lives outside their countries, not by choice but out of necessity.
He also stressed that the isolation of South Africa would create an unproductive forum at SADC. “If we just want to put it on the agenda and say xenophobia in South Africa, what will happen is that South Africa will be almost like in some kind of court or inquiry, where we must go there and defend ourselves” , Lamola explained.
The minister also referenced the 2015 AU decision calling for a continent wide conference on migration. “We don’t have a complex task. It’s already there. It’s just to dust it off from the shelves and put it on the table for implementation.” said Lamola.
Lamola also stated that in order to address migration the government needs to tackle the underlying issues that have caused this problem. “You cannot treat the symptom of the problem. You must treat the root cause of the problem to come up with a solution,” he said.
He alluded to problems regarding climate change, unemployment, peace and security as root causes. Lamola also emphasised that the upcoming summit represents a significant moment for Southern African regional integration.
“South Africa is honoured to be the host of the 46th Ordinary State Summit of Heads of State and government, at a significant moment for the region, with South Africa serving as its interim chair of SADC following developments after the 45th Ordinary summit in Madagascar” said the minister.