President: Stop emigrating

Johannesburg - The government will address crime as part of an effort to stop emigration, President Kgalema Motlanthe said on Thursday.

Motlanthe was speaking at the Fedusa (Federation of Unions in South Africa) conference in Boksburg.

He made an appeal to Fedusa to help dissuade skilled people from emigrating.

Fedusa's members include technicians, administrative staff, pilots, flight engineers, nurses, doctors and teachers.

Motlanthe admitted that crime was a contributory problem, but he gave the assurance that government would do everything in its power to counter the scourge.

"We can't reach our full economic potential if we don't create more skills on which our economy can depend."

South Africans must learn to save and not spend more than they earn, he added.

He said government wanted to foster a culture of saving among citizens.

"Of course, people first have to earn a reasonable salary before they can save anything," he added.

He called upon trade union federations to prevent workers from gaining too easy access to credit and landing in a debt trap.

"If this stratum of consumers, who form an important component of the economy, don't save more or refrain from reckless borrowing, we are heading for an economic disaster."

- Sake24