South Africa’s African National Congress (ANC) government, which has over the years used ‘quiet diplomacy’ policy with its revolutionary counterpart, the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF), is not happy with the prolonged economic and political crisis in the neighbouring country to the north. The latest point of contention has been over both documented and undocumented migrants in South Africa.
As South Africa, one of the biggest economies on the continent, grapples with high unemployment, locals have been blaming migrants – particularly Zimbabweans – for grabbing job opportunities.
The unemployment rate in South Africa rose to 34.9% in the third quarter of 2021, up from 34.4% in the second quarter, according to Statistics South Africa data released in November last year.
The unemployment rate was the highest since 2008, when the Quarterly Labour Force Survey was
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