Investigating the push and pull factors of international migration in South Africa; the case of Cameroonian and Congolese migrants in cape town.
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University of the Western Cape
Abstract
International migration is growing steadily and has become an inevitable phenomenon
mostly peculiar to the African continent that is characterised by economic, social
and political challenges. The study investigated the push and pull factors of
international migration in South Africa using the case of Cameroonian and Congolese
migrants in Cape Town. In this study, the researcher explored the determinants for
migration, assessed the living experiences of migrants and evaluated the effects of the
current migration policy on migrants. A qualitative approach using semi-structured
interviews with snowball sampling was used to select key informants of Cameroonian and
Congolese nationalities in Cape Town.
Findings show that, economic factors are the key factors of migration followed by
political factors as well as the influence of migrant networks. Another discovery was that
the aspirations and exposure factor that was identified by most migrants as one of the
factors influencing migration decisions, was not clearly highlighted in literature as some
of the factors influencing migration. This study found out that most migrants did not meet
their expectations for migrating and this is mainly because of the migration policy that
limits them as they are not exposed to lots of opportunities. The recent migration policy
has negatively affected migrants making them more miserable and most of them do not
prefer the option of returning because they have not attained their goals for migration. So
it is very important for the South African government and policy makers to look into the
different challenges that migrants are facing and come up with better policies that will be
beneficial not only to the migrants but the South African society as a whole.
Description
Magister Artium (Development Studies) - MA (DVS)