ActionSA has submitted a suite of proposed constitutional amendments aimed at overhauling key provisions, that it believes have been misused to fuel illegal immigration in South Africa, provisions that it says continue to enable the exploitation of the country’s hospitality and limited resources.

ActionSA Parliamentary leader Athol Trollip argued that the country’s constitution is a living document, and as such, the amendments should clarify and safeguard important rights against “misapplication and abuse, particularly where individuals who have entered the country illegally seek to exploit them.”

He pointed to clinics in Johannesburg, which he said are recording over 70% of patient files belonging to foreign nationals, and to schools that he says are struggling to meet placement demands owing to court-ordered enrolment of illegal immigrants.

He said South Africa‘s already limited resources are under severe strain and has resulted in the diversion of essential services away from South African citizens, which he said undermine their access to critical healthcare and education.

ActionSA wants to begin with the amendment of the Preamble of the Constitution, specifically the text ‘South Africa belongs to all who live in it.

Trollip argued that it is persistently misinterpreted and has been used to extend constitutional protections to those residing in the country illegally.

“In practice, this deliberate misreading has placed undue pressure on limited public resources and compromised the government’s responsibility to prioritise the needs of South Africans.

“A carefully considered revision is required to reaffirm the original intent of this principle and prevent its continued misappropriation, without undermining the inclusive spirit of the Constitution,” he argued.

Further, ActionSA said it believes amending Section 26 of the Constitution would clarify the scope of the State’s housing obligations by introducing a lawful presence requirement in relation to emergency housing support.

The party noted that the current universal application of Section 26 has led to “unintended consequences,” where municipalities are compelled to divert scarce housing and emergency accommodation resources to individuals who are neither citizens nor lawfully present in the country.

Trollip explained this places undue pressure on municipal resources and undermines the constitutional obligation to progressively realise the housing rights of South African citizens.

He highlighted that in amending Section 26 of the Constitution, government must remove the universal nature of the right to housing, by clarifying that the obligation to provide Temporary Emergency Accommodation (TEA) in instances of illegal land or property occupation is limited to South African citizens and persons lawfully present in the country.

He noted that the proposed amendment would reaffirm South Africa’s commitment to human rights while ensuring that the State’s limited housing resources are allocated “lawfully and equitably.”

ActionSA believes that these revisions to the country’s Constitution must acknowledge South Africa’s limited capacity to bear the socio-economic burden of illegal immigration and strike a practical balance between primarily protecting the rights and wellbeing of South Africans and upholding humanitarian principles.

“Similarly, in recognition of the interconnected challenges stemming from South Africa’s severe resource pressures affecting the realisation of Section 27 (the right to access healthcare) and Section 29 (the right to education), it is clear that these rights are also being compromised through misappropriation and misuse,” he said.