by Ntandoyenkosi Ncube
JOHANNESBURG, Aug. 14 (Xinhua) -- As Southern African leaders prepare to meet in South Africa's coastal city Durban, residents and migrants in Gauteng Province are calling for greater regional economic integration, saying more jobs, trade and investment opportunities could help ease pressures driving migration across the region.
The Southern African Development Community (SADC) will hold its 46th Ordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government on Aug. 17.
In interviews with Xinhua in South Africa's economic hub Johannesburg, the administrative capital Pretoria, Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality and the surrounding areas, people said the summit should focus not only on border management but also on addressing the economic factors behind migration.
"People leave home because they are looking for something better. If there are jobs and businesses doing well back home, fewer people will have to leave their families to look for work elsewhere," said Jorasimo Musanjeya, a Zimbabwean national living in Johannesburg.
He expected easier cross-border movement of goods, workers and businesses, saying regional integration should bring tangible benefits to ordinary people.
South African business owner Thabo Mokoena said stronger regional trade could help businesses expand and create jobs, particularly if barriers facing small enterprises were reduced.
"We need to see more business within the regional countries. If companies can buy, sell and invest more easily across the region, that creates opportunities," Mokoena, who is based in Pretoria, told Xinhua.
For migrants, clearer and more affordable legal pathways were also seen as important. Claudia Nhantumbo, a Mozambican migrant in Ekurhuleni, said SADC should make it easier for people to understand and comply with immigration requirements when moving for work.
"People will continue moving. That is a reality. What leaders can do is make the process clear and affordable so that people can come here legally," she said.
Fiston Kalala, a migrant from the Democratic Republic of the Congo living in Johannesburg, said migrants who meet legal requirements should be able to contribute to their host economies.
Better coordination among SADC countries could allow governments to manage migration while benefiting from the movement of workers and skills, he said.
For those interviewed by Xinhua, the expectation is that the summit will produce practical measures on jobs, trade, investment, skills mobility and legal migration, turning regional integration from a policy concept into tangible opportunities for ordinary people.
Kagiso Maseko, a community leader in Johannesburg, said the summit should result in practical commitments rather than broad statements.
"People want to see something that changes their lives. We hear a lot about regional integration, but ordinary people want jobs and better services. That is what leaders should be talking about," he said.
Echoing Maseko, Palesa Ndlovu, a migrant-rights advocate in Johannesburg, said regional integration needed to become more meaningful to ordinary citizens.
"SADC must make regional integration something people can feel in their daily lives. It should be easier to travel, trade, work and do business legally across the region," she said. ■