This is a positive sign provided that the South African motive is not simply to secure support for applying the Aliens Control Act on a sub-continental scale. An alternative model has emerged from within SADC itself. The SADC Draft Protocol on the Free Movement of Persons in Southern Africa contains easily the most radical and even visionary model of a future regional migration regime in Southern Africa. The Protocol, initiated and promoted by the SADC Secretariat, has run aground on the opposition of South Africa and Botswana, in particular. The recent South African Labour Market Commission cited the Protocol approvingly but backed off from recommending its acceptance by South Africa following vociferous opposition from the representatives of organized labour.
Immigration is a regional issue requiring regional thinking and initiative.
The South African government has appointed a Task Group to produce a Green Paper on South African immigration policy. The Task Group is currently consulting broadly and hearing expert inputs from a variety of interested parties. SAMP is closely involved in this new policy process. The draft is scheduled to be ready by May 1997. APIC's primary objective is to widen the policy debate in the United States around African issues and the U.S. role in Africa, by providing accessible policy-relevant information and analysis usable by a wide range of groups and individuals.