Migrants must play fair - Joburg mayor

Johannesburg - Migrants who come to Johannesburg with the intention of building businesses and offering services are good for the city - as long as they play fair, Mayor Parks Tau said on Wednesday.

"All of us must fight back with clearly voiced reason against toxic falsehood that economic opportunity is limited, and that migrants somehow may deprive local people by participating in our economy," he said during the state of the city address in Braamfontein.

"The reality is that the very opposite is true - the more people who actively participate in our economy, the more opportunities there are for all."

Tau told those present at the address that Johannesburg's vibrancy and diversity was based on the fact that it was a city built by migrants.

"For as long as the city has existed, this has been the case - this city's vibrancy, vigour - its very foundation - is built by migrants.

"The estimated population of the mining camp, along with the surrounding villages that would become this great city, back in 1886, was a few hundred people. So the overwhelming majority of us are first, second, third, at best, fourth generation migrants."

He said thousands of people came to the city every month from other provinces and countries to seek their own fortunes.