South Africa: SADC Zimbabwe Democratic Backsliding Fuels Migration Crisis

• South Africa faces diplomatic embarrassment and domestic xenophobia, with over 178,000 migrants having fled recent campaigns.
• Ghana formally requested that South Africa's xenophobic violence be discussed at an AU summit, but Pretoria successfully shifted the focus to a broader migration conference focusing on 'push factors'.
• President Ramaphosa maintains that governance issues in neighboring countries are for their citizens to resolve, emphasizing sovereignty and SADC's role.
• Critics argue South Africa's failure to address 'brutal dictatorships' in the region contributes to mass migration.
• SADC's 'timid, consensus-based approach' is cited as ineffective in addressing democratic backsliding in member states like Zimbabwe, where ZANU-PF maintains a de facto one-party state and President Mnangagwa recently secured two extra years in power via a 'constitutional coup'.

SADC's 'timid, consensus-based approach' consistently hinders its ability to address democratic regression in member states.

South Africa is currently facing significant domestic and international pressure due to a recent surge in xenophobic sentiment and organized campaigns targeting migrants. This situation has been exacerbated by the country's perceived reluctance to address governance issues in neighboring states, which are seen as primary drivers of migration. A recent campaign, notably organized and timed ahead of November's local elections, led to the exodus of over 178,000 migrants, predominantly from Southern African nations like Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and Malawi.

The lawlessness and threats associated with these vigilante actions have caused considerable diplomatic embarrassment for South Africa. Ghana formally requested that the issue of xenophobic violence be placed on the agenda for an African Union (AU) summit, a proposal that AU Commission Chairperson Mahamoud Ali Youssouf reportedly agreed to. However, South Africa successfully resisted this specific focus, instead advocating for and securing a broader continental discussion on migration. South Africa's proposed migration conference aims to highlight the 'push and pull factors' of migration, specifically focusing on the political and economic conditions in other countries that compel citizens to seek opportunities elsewhere. However, by emphasizing these external factors, Pretoria has inadvertently drawn attention to its own role, or lack thereof, in mitigating these very conditions. The nation has long faced criticism for not doing enough to promote democracy and good governance in its immediate neighborhood, contributing to the ongoing challenges.

The South African government's approach to regional democratic backsliding has come under sharp criticism domestically. During a parliamentary session, Democratic Alliance Member of Parliament Ryan Smith directly challenged President Cyril Ramaphosa, asserting that South Africa's failure to confront 'brutal dictatorships next door' had led to current difficulties. Smith questioned when the government would seriously and actively address the 'backslide of democracy' and the 'growing threat of authoritarianism and state collapse' that places a substantial burden of mass migration on South Africa's borders.

President Ramaphosa, in his response, maintained that governance issues in other countries are primarily the responsibility of their own citizens, emphasizing South Africa's respect for national sovereignty. He further stated that South Africa does not act as a 'lone ranger' and that regional bodies, specifically the Southern African Development Community (SADC), would 'take a firm view of what needs to be done' when challenges arise in member states. This stance, however, has been met with skepticism given SADC's historical track record.

The Southern African Development Community (SADC) has frequently been criticized for its largely ineffective interventions in member states, particularly concerning democratic regression. While South African diplomacy, operating under the SADC banner, did facilitate a unity government in Zimbabwe from 2009 to 2013, this arrangement was largely seen as a temporary reprieve for former President Robert Mugabe and his Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF). This followed ZANU-PF's loss to Morgan Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change in the 2008 elections, a period marked by extreme economic collapse.

Prior to the unity government, Zimbabwe experienced hyperinflation reaching a monthly rate of 79.6 billion percent, with the Zimbabwean dollar plummeting to one trillion against the US dollar by early 2009. This economic devastation, coupled with widespread political violence, drove hundreds of thousands of Zimbabweans across the border into South Africa. Although the unity government provided some stability to both the economy and the political landscape, Zimbabwe has since reverted to its previous state of economic and political fragility. ZANU-PF continues to operate a de facto one-party state, having systematically repressed and undermined opposition movements.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa now appears intent on securing a lifetime presidency, having enacted what the opposition termed a 'constitutional coup' in July through an amendment granting him an additional two years in power. Priyal Singh, a Senior Research Consultant at the Institute for Security Studies and Geopolitical Analyst at Signal Risk, highlights that SADC's 'timid, consensus-based approach' consistently hinders its ability to address democratic regression in member states, citing examples such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Eswatini, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and Madagascar. Singh further notes that ambitious regional economic integration plans, articulated at SADC's recent Durban summit, cannot materialize without significant improvements in governance across the region.

Source: Original reporting via Africa Is A Country