The wave of xenophobic violence that prompted Ghana to airlift its citizens from South Africa has exposed critical weaknesses in the continent’s economic integration model, analysts have warned, as two expert voices appearing on Thursday called for structural reform rather than reactive diplomacy.
International relations analyst Dr. Ishmael Hlover, speaking on the Asaase Breakfast Show, said the recurring anti-migrant violence in South Africa is rooted in the unresolved legacy of apartheid, which left large segments of the population without adequate skills and pushed them into direct competition with migrants for low-wage work. Political actors have since exploited that structural gap, converting economic frustration into anti-foreigner campaigning.
“When economies don’t perform well, migrants become easy targets,” he said.
Dr. Hlover pointed specifically at the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) as a framework ill-equipped to address the realities on the ground. He argued that in its current form, the agreement primarily serves formal businesses and participants with capital, effectively sidelining the informal workers and low-income migrants who form the backbone of everyday economic activity across the continent. Unless integration frameworks are redesigned to reach this majority, he warned, continental unity will remain a structural promise that bypasses the people who need it most.
He called for a continent-wide conversation on migration and economic opportunity, cautioning that the cost of inaction is not merely diplomatic but existential for African solidarity.
Also appearing on the programme, Dr. Nkululeko Sibiya, a lecturer at the University of South Africa, addressed a separate but pressing question arising from the evacuation: whether the presence of undocumented migrants among returning Ghanaians damages Ghana’s international standing. He was emphatic that it does not, arguing that individual immigration violations must not be conflated with national character or image.
Dr. Sibiya pointed out that migration challenges are global and frequently tied to administrative delays in visa processing and documentation systems rather than deliberate non-compliance. He noted that some of those caught up in the repatriation had lived in South Africa for decades, a fact that complicates any straightforward reading of their status and reflects deep social ties that long-term migrants build over time. He affirmed Ghana’s decision to act, saying it is natural for governments to protect citizens who feel unsafe, while stressing that reactive evacuations need to give way to structured continental dialogue on migration policy.
The first repatriation flight carrying evacuated Ghanaians landed in Accra on Wednesday. Ghana’s High Commissioner to South Africa, Benjamin Quashie, confirmed that 826 Ghanaians had registered for evacuation from a total population of more than 16,000 Ghanaians living in South Africa, the overwhelming majority of them legally. A second flight is expected to follow.
