Cross-border Migration in the Southern African Development Community (SADC): Benefits, Problems and Future prospects

Abstract

With rapid globalization sweeping through the globe, the movement of people throughout the world has increased significantly over the last 20 years. Motivated by the thrill of earning better salaries and living in countries characterised by better standards of living, people have travelled long distances in search of such opportunities. Undoubtedly, the economic buoyancy of countries like South Africa and Botswana has attracted thousands of migrants from the SADC who are seeking job opportunities, further straining government resources and impeding the effective functioning of border immigration services. The unequal rate of economic development in the region has further created an increasing gap between fast-developing and slow developing nations, hence the unequal rate of migration. Skills transfer and collaborations have been the major benefits of cross border-migration for SADC, although crime and xenophobia have also been identified as problems associated with cross-border migration in Southern Africa. The flow of remittances from South Africa has played a crucial role in fighting poverty and hunger in the migrant’s home country and contributed significantly to government finances. However, the absence of a regionally accepted policy aimed at regulating migration means that illegal cross-border migration will carry on being a problem in the region and unfortunately the absence of policies aiming at spurring collective regional economic growth means illegal cross-border migration will increase in the years to come.