Lamola was speaking at an Inter-Ministerial Committee briefing in Pretoria after Ghanaian President John Mahama called for the AU to address violence linked to anti-immigrant protests in SA.

Mahama said migration-related violence in SA was “escalating”. The call follows heightened concern from Ghana and other African countries over the treatment of foreign nationals in SA.

Two Ghanaians have also petitioned the International Criminal Court to investigate alleged repeated xenophobic attacks in SA. Lamola dismissed the petition and related allegations as political point-scoring. “This debate that is being called by Ghana should not be a debate of finger-pointing, cheap political scoring against SA, because it will not be helpful,” Lamola said.

Lamola said the issue should be handled through constructive continental engagement rather than public blame. “It should be a constructive engagement on migration,” Lamola said.

According to Lamola, any AU discussion should focus on the root causes of migration across the continent, including weak economic growth, unemployment, governance challenges, insecurity and climate change.

“The root causes, the economic challenges that the continent faces, the challenges of lack of economic growth, unemployment and so forth happening across the continent, issues of governance, peace and security that lead people to leave their own countries, including issues of climate change,” Lamola said.

Lamola’s comments come as migration remains a sensitive political and social issue in SA, where public frustration over jobs, housing and services has increasingly intersected with concerns about undocumented foreign nationals.

Government has repeatedly said migration must be managed through lawful processes and not through vigilantism or violence against foreign nationals.

Lamola said the continental debate should help African countries develop practical responses to migration pressures while addressing conditions that force people to leave countries of origin.

–SABC/ChannelAfrica–