Labour department says it’s dealing with inspector’s controversial remarks

The Department of Employment and Labour says it’s internally dealing with the controversial utterances of its chief inspector, Siphokazi Macozoma, which sparked public outrage.

Macozoma raised the ire of some South Africans on social media after she revealed, during a television interview, that she had reached out to some of her Home Affairs colleagues to find out whether there was no way they could legalise the stay of some foreign workers who were nabbed during a recent raid at a restaurant in Menlyn, Pretoria.

She’s been trending ever since, with South Africans calling for her head.

Answering YNews on whether the labour inspector was speaking within her mandate and whether the department believes appealing for help for undocumented workers in a country where millions of people are without work, the department’s Teboho Thejane said: “We have noted those, and we are handling the matter internally. As the Department we enforce the legislative framework within our jurisdiction to the letter.”

Social rights activist and politician, Anele Mda, has also entered the fray.

She says Macozoma’s remarks trivilise concerns over the alleged high number of undocumented foreigner workers in the hospitality industry.

“They are people who are not deserving to have benefits according to the laws of South Africa. So, it’s very concerning having such a senior person in government who don’t know the laws of the country,” she says.

“Why should we have government officials who believe that we owe undocumented people any benefits?”

Mda says they won’t stop the fight against undocumented persons being given preference over South Africans who are buckling under the weight of unemployment.

Like other South Africans, she’s called for the Labour and Employment Minister, Nomakhosazana Meth, to take harsh action against Macozoma.

“And also, we need to clampdown on government officials who are hiding behind our government departments who are serving foreigners more than they are serving South Africans. We are not going to beg our government officials to do what is right by our country and its citizens. There’s no country that prioritises South Africans above their own citizens and South Africa will not be a guinea pig to try and see whether such things will work,” she adds.

This jollofina Siphokazi Macozoma” working in the @deptoflabour as an inspector must be removed.
We let down by our own people who work on government and don’t know the rule of law. Foreigners must be documented in their own countries before they flood in a foreign country. pic.twitter.com/FEV4tJVWqG

— PutSouthAfricansFirst 🇿🇦 (@JeffDumisani) September 23, 2024

We have no mercy for anyone who perpetuate suffering of South Africans yet occupying a position to be used to advance the cause that is about citizens than against them. Siphokazi Macozoma and whoever works with her in using dept of labour as a safe net for foreigners must go https://t.co/22hIacrKgC pic.twitter.com/ann5YFuf40

— #TheUncapturedActivist ✊🏿 (@AneleMda) September 22, 2024

Please tell us what are you going to do with one of your officers named Siphokazi Macozoma who went public in national TV advocating illegal immigrants to get documments which is an ill act according to Section 49 pic.twitter.com/dz62apRzbb

— 🇿🇦 Minister of GNU Monitoring 🇿🇦 (@OnlineScoops) September 22, 2024

Siphokazi Macozoma must be fired from @deptoflabour she clearly doesn’t know her mandate. Labor hired her to enforce the laws not be a judge. What about South Africans who are overlooked for cheap labor? South African Union Federations are amongst the most useless https://t.co/Z6YWRhUjnT

— black motsho (@b_motsho) September 22, 2024