Lovemore Chipungu

Crisis, Identity and (Be)longing: A Thematic Introduction of the Vestiges of Migration in Post-independent Southern Africa

Whilst the notion of migration in the Southern African region underscores the permeability of borders, its historiography has been compartmentalised in academic circles and, as a result, has failed to capture the complexity of human mobility in its various forms. Here, we must consider the often neglected relations between multiple communities (e.g. different migrant groups) in the process of (un)settlement but also bear in mind that people co-exist and interact with a myriad of other elements themselves in circulation, from objects and merchandise to non-human actors. Building on these premises, this introduction introduces important themes of the vestiges of migration in post-independence Southern Africa. Drawing on numerous debates around the political economy of migration as crisis, identity formations, citizen and belonging, this introduction addresses how critical border-making and border-crossing processes have been, and still are, shaping trajectories of movements in Southern Africa.

Regeneration and Integration in Southern Africa: Concluding Comments on Contemporary Challenges and Possibilities

The Southern African region provides the backdrop that informs much of the complexities of mobility, border making and border crossing that the world is currently grappling with. With the global migration crisis intensifying, the movement of men, women and children in search of better opportunities will deepen and host countries will be challenged to integrate and revitalise new societies that will emerge as a result. It summarises seminal arguments around the possibilities of regional integration in Southern Africa as a regenerative mechanism. It further builds an ambitious imagining framework and reflects how the region can re-imagine borderless citizenship moving forward.

Migrant Labour and Social Construction of Citizenship in Lesotho and Swaziland

South Africa has always been the economic power of the southern region of Africa. It is therefore not surprising that some countries such as Lesotho and Swaziland (amongst others) have been integrated into the South African economy as mere labour appendages. This practice, whose origin dates back to colonial times, also witnessed the integration of citizens of these countries into the South African social ranks. It is from this perspective that this chapter interrogates the impact of migrant labour in Lesotho and Swaziland. It questions the implications of this practice on the development and construction of citizenship in these countries. In pursuing this line of diagnosis, the author largely depended on desktop research and used documented evidence to provide insight into these developments. Centring its arguments on the dependency theory, observations from this evidence show that migrant labour has positive and negative connotations on countries that ‘export’ labour. Whilst it can economically empower migrants, it can also destroy social ties amongst communities, thus resulting in identity crisis. It concludes by arguing that migrant labour practices can be beneficial to both countries if concerted effort is undertaken by both countries to regularise and harmonise the whole practice.