Parliament – South Africa’s migration policy should make it possible for companies to import scarce skills, President Jacob Zuma said during the State of the Nation address on Thursday.
“We have heard concerns from companies about delays in obtaining visas for skilled personnel from abroad,” he said.
“While we prefer employers prioritise local workers, our migration policy must also make it possible to import scarce skills.”
The draft migration policy would be presented to Cabinet during the course of 2016.
Zuma also touched on local tourism.
He said it was vital to take advantage of the exchange rate as well as the recent changes of visa regulations to boost inbound tourism.
R100 million would be invested a year to promote domestic tourism, “encouraging South Africans to tour their country”.