The Global Compact for Migration will be useless as long as there are still areas of conflict in Africa. Credit: Jared Ferrie/IPS

By Danielle Engolo
MARRAKECH, Morocco, Dec 12 2018 (IPS)

The recently adopted Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration continues to generate enormous debate as to its pros and cons. Evans Tekenge Manuika, head of Association des Travailleurs Immigrés au Maroc, who spoke to IPS at the  conference, warned that the Compact will remain a dead letter without peace in Africa.

Inter Press Service (IPS): As an association working with migrants, what do you think of the recently adopted Global Compact on Migration?

Evans Tekenge Manuika (ETM): The Global Compact for Migration will be useless as long as there are still areas of conflict in Africa. We came here as part of civil society to take concrete action instead of just talking. We talked a lot. It is high time to make migration safe, orderly and regular. We have brought ideas for the great powers to campaign for peace in conflict zones in Africa. We must also give hope to the people, acting upstream at the level of the countries of departure.

IPS: How should the Compact be implemented?

ETM: We ask the United Nations to take concrete action, instead of just denouncing. We must campaign for peace in areas where there is conflict of interest between great powers. We must promote development and think also about the future of Africa’s youth. What we also ask for as a solution to the question of migration, is to act at the level of the countries of origin and departure and not at the countries of arrival.

If we address the issue of migration at the host country level, it will be a waste of time. It must be treated at the source. If in the country of departure there are still wars, there will always be people who will immigrate. African youth is sacrificed; their future is unclear—that’s why people keep immigrating.

IPS: Do you think that African States, that are generally criticised for not respecting their national legislation, will be able to respect the provisions of the Compact?

ETM: It is true that Africa’s Heads of State are often criticised in that regard, but let’s try to give them a chance this time with this compact and sit at the same table to find adequate solutions for migration. Let us give them the opportunity to make efforts for the implementation of the provisions of this Compact, so as to better manage migration on our continent. So, wait and see to judge.

• This story was brought to you by IPS with support from the United Nations Foundation . IPS organized capacity building workshops for media in Marrakech.

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Last year, global diaspora remittances totalled 650 billion dollars, three times the amount of foreign aid given to developing countries. Credit: Kristin Palitza/IPS

By Danielle Engolo
MARRAKECH, Morocco, Dec 10 2018 (IPS)

Morocco may be hosting the United Nation’s historic Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM) conference. But when it comes to remittances—migrant employees, entrepreneurs and business owners all face the same challenge in Morocco: sending money legally to their home countries.

Remittances is an all-important issue for migrants and their families left in the land of their origin, and one of the compact’s 23 objectives. However, Moroccan legislation limits money transfers abroad, in effect preventing migrant workers supporting their families or investing in their home countries.

“I have been working for more than 4 years now in Morocco, but I have never been able to invest in my home country,” says Esther, a Congolese migrant working as a journalist in Morocco. “I cannot help my family, because Moroccan money cannot be sent abroad.”

Last year, global diaspora remittances totalled 650 billion dollars, three times the amount of foreign aid given to developing countries. This continual familial fiscal flow significantly helps reduce poverty, by providing funds for health, education, and the launching of businesses.

Morocco’s own diaspora plays a significant part in its own economy. Money transfers from the Moroccan diaspora reached more than 60 billion dollars in 2015, representing 6 percent of the country’s GDP, according to a 2017 World Bank report.

Nevertheless, if Morocco is aware of the importance of its diaspora’s role in its economy, that isn’t reflected in its financial policy that does not allow the country’s migrant workers to also contribute to the development of their home countries.

Like most migrant workers in Morocco—the majority of whom come from sub-Saharan countries—Esther fell back on informal money transfer networks to sustain her family, giving money to an agent in Morocco.

“Several times I sent some money to my family through these informal networks, but I was never at ease because it is risky,” Esther says. “Most of the time you don’t know the person you are negotiating with. He or she might steal your money.”

She recalls that two years ago, her cousin, also living in Morocco, fell victim to a dishonest money transfer network that he had used before. “My cousin used to make money transfers with a friend of his. But one day, he gave his friend 17,000 dirhams ($1,900) to transfer to his family. The guy vanished.”

Due to such risks, some migrants adopt other strategies, such as annual fiscal pilgrimages, taking the money limit permitted by Moroccan customs. Emilie, a Congolese hairdresser in Casablanca, travels back to her home country every six months to buy merchandise and deposit earnings in a Congo account.

“I have no choice, I have to travel regularly in order to save my earnings at home, knowing that I cannot leave Morocco with a big amount of money,” Emilie says.

But while this option allows migrants to subvert money transfer barriers and the risks of dishonest brokers, it costs much more because of the flight, which for many migrant workers is unaffordable and hence makes the strategy unfeasible.

Unbeknownst to most migrants, a Moroccan law actually does allow people to send a set amount per year—10 000 dirhams (1,050 dollars)—to each member of a person’s immediate family.

But this method requires lots of paperwork and proofs of identity. Also, members of the same family must have the same name and if not the case—a common occurrence among families in sub-Saharan families—the bank will reject a transfer demand or demand additional papers legalized at the embassy.

Often banks simply decline to assist. Observers note how it’s not just migrant workers who are negatively impacted by tight money transfer rules in countries like Morocco that drive people to use illegal money transfer networks: government exchequers lose out on the likes of fees and taxes generated by legal transfer systems.

“Despite these constraints, I think it is a step [in the right direction] to be able to send money, even if it is only for family support,” says Esther, while noting how investment remains a challenge. “I thought about buying an apartment in my country, but it is not possible to send a big amount of money.”

Objective 22 of the GCM’s cooperative framework aims to “Establish mechanisms for the portability of social security entitlements and earned benefits.” Whether that proves good enough for migrant workers in Morocco remains to be seen, now that the compact has officially been adopted as of the morning of Dec. 10.

“If I leave Morocco today and return back to my home country, there will be nothing there for me,” Esther says. “It is really a pity after so many years of work.”

• This story was brought to you by IPS with support from the United Nations Foundation . IPS organized capacity building workshops for media in Marrakech.