NGCOBO J provisions do not therefore disadvantage permanent residents in a manner that is beyond their control, as the applicants suggest. [120] The state has advanced two reasons for the limitation. First, it says that it is consistent with a basic principle that a state is obliged to cater for the needs of its citizens. The Act is obviously designed to combat the very serious social ill of poverty. The state has committed a significant amount of resources to combat poverty in this nation by increasing financial expenditures. The state, like all other governments, has limited resources to confront this policy challenge. The harsh reality is that there are simply insufficient resources available to cater for all the various persons who might enter its borders seeking assistance. [121] The second rationale that the state offers in defence of its policy is that immigrants should be encouraged to be self-sufficient. Immigrants within our borders should not depend on public resources to meet their needs but rather on their own capabilities and the resources of their families and their sponsors. This must be seen against the need to ensure that the availability of public benefits does not constitute an incentive for immigration to South Africa. The legitimacy of a legislative goal of discouraging immigration that is motivated by the availability of the welfare benefits, cannot be gainsaid. 75