Herman Mashaba Declares: “There Will Be No Free Accommodation or Lunch in Prison”
Action SA leader Herman Mashaba says prison should not be a place of comfort but a center for accountability.
image: Internet
by Kelebogile Matlou
Action SA leader Herman Mashaba has announced a controversial proposal to construct productive prisons, particularly for undocumented immigrants, which he presents as a question of self-sufficiency, but detractors argue is unlawful and promotes scapegoating.
Mashaba said that if his party gains power, it will establish additional labor-based detention facilities for undocumented immigrants, where they will be expected to work rather than get free food.
Mashaba explained that prisoners in facilities will work on farming, food production, and furniture manufacture rather than enjoying free meals and television. He said, “There will be no free accommodation or lunch,” and that the proceeds from their labor would cover their expenses. For certain hardened criminals, he promised a regime of hard life, hard knocks and seven-day work week.
Immigration experts have immediately criticized the proposal. Professor Loren Landau of Wits University warned that the approach could promote harmful scapegoating and would be unconstitutional.
He pointed out that facts regularly show that immigrants commit crimes at a lesser rate than South Africans and emphasized that the solution is improved policing and accountable institutions, rather than a separate legal system.
This strong position is part of Action SA’s overall policy objectives. The party has three non-negotiable prerequisites for coalition agreements, one of which is the mass deportation of illegal foreigners. Mashaba has also called for lengthy prison sentences for deported immigrants who ultimately return to South Africa.
The discussion over Mashaba’s plan reveals a broader political division in South Africa regarding immigration policy, with requests for harsher enforcement and repercussions pitted against constitutional ideals and human rights.
