By Own Correspondent  

THE African National Congress (ANC) 0f South Africa has come out guns blazing, castigating bad economic management back home for the strain in jobs demand in the  neighboring country.

The remarks come on the back of massive demonstrations penciled for June 30 2026 in which anti-immigrants forces in SA are planning an aggressive sendoff of foreigners.

Despite taking a softer stance against the ruling Zanu-PG government over the years, The ANC secretary general ,Fikile Mbaula  this week engaged in a major climb down, calling for the urgent need for political reforms back home.  

He explicitly laid the blame for a significant portion of South Africa’s immigration challenges at the feet of the Zanu PF government led by Emmerson Mnangagwa. He asserted that the economic collapse in Zimbabwe during the late President Robert Mugabe’s era had driven an unprecedented number of people across the Limpopo River into South Africa in search of survival. This is a notable shift in rhetoric, as the ANC and Zanu PF have historically maintained close ties, often referring to each other as “sister parties”.

The economic turmoil in neighbouring Zimbabwe has long been a significant factor in regional migration patterns. Mbalula highlighted this, stating, “When Zimbabwe’s economy collapsed, we saw unprecedented numbers of people crossing the Limpopo River, often risking their lives, to come to South Africa in search of survival.”

 He directly linked this migration to the economic crisis that followed Zimbabwe’s land redistribution programme and the subsequent withdrawal of international investment and support.

This influx has placed considerable strain on South Africa’s resources and social services, contributing to the anti-immigrant sentiment that the March and March movement now capitalises on. Mbalula pointed out that the ANC government had even introduced exemption permits for Zimbabweans due to the scale of the challenge, acknowledging the deep-seated nature of the issue.

He explicitly named the Zanu PF government of Emmerson Mnangagwa as the “cause” of the immigration crisis, linking it to the economic collapse and the “withdrawal of international investment” after the land redistribution programme.