Aliens and AIds in Southern Africa: The Malawi-South Africa Debate

Between 1988 and 1992, about 13,000 Malawian mine migrant workers were repatriated from South Africa. The official reason given was that in the previous two years some 200 of them had tested HIV/AIDS positive. The South African Chamber of Mines requested the Malawi government to screen all the prospective migrant workers from the country for HIV/AIDS before leaving for employment in South Africa. The Malawi government refused, and the Chamber stopped recruiting labour from the country following a government ban on the employment of foreigners with HIV/AIDS. Strong arm tactics were employed in the repatriation of the Malawian workers, causing heated debates between the Chamber and the Malawi government, and the latter and its repatriated citizens. Within South Africa itself, opinion was divided. The Chamber wanted to keep its Malawian workers for their skills, work discipline and lack of militancy. Some white conservative elements in the government demanded the repatriation. They based their arguments on issues of public health, emphasizing the risks the foreign workers posed to the local-especially the urban communities. A critical analysis of the issues involved, and the way the Malawians were repatriated, suggests that HIV/AIDS was used as a smoke screen. The South African mining industry was going through a period of crisis which necessitated massive retrenchment of workers, and especially foreigners. Desultory migrants were being replaced by career miners as part of the labour stabilization process. There was also a shift towards the recruitment of local workers. Malawi was no longer an important source of labour for the industry.