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How not to attract skills

SOUTH AFRICA NEEDS a big boost to attract skilled people to the country to help achieve President Jacob Zuma’s stated goal of 7% economic growth each year. The Minister of Home Affairs says so. So does the National Treasury. Yet SA’s current Immigration Bill severely restricts skilled immigration, claims the Centre for Development and Enterprise (CDE). It’s written to the Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs to reform the current system by sending the Bill back for redrafting and reforming its policy.

“SA urgently requires reform aimed at creating a system that will allow the country to attract as many skilled foreigners as possible,” the CDE’s Ann Bernstein says. She says SA’s skills shortage is among the most significant constraints in terms of the capacity of the economy to grow and create jobs. The current Bill says only business permits will be issued to businesses deemed by the director-general to be in the “national interest”.

The Bill also requires that applications for “critical skills” permits be treated on a case by case basis, with no indication people who do possess the skills in question will be granted permits, according to the CDA. “(The Bill) may also impact on investor perceptions and confidence, making it more difficult to attract and recruit the skilled foreigners we need.”

The Bill also states that the director-general prescribes certain economic sectors in which businesses can apply for permits instead of making them available to sectors throughout SA’s economy. Bernstein says that means Parliament delegates extensive policy-making authority to the director-general. “No one knows what the next minister and director-general might decide to do with those extensive powers.”

Even though opportunities overseas lure away SA’s talent, Bernstein says the global market could be used. “We should stop playing victim in the global war for talent and start to compete,” she says.

4 Amendments that could attract skilled foreigners

1 Restore the credibility of the State with respect to immigration policy and implementations.

2 Increasing skilled migration can’t be separated from other migration issues. South Africans won’t easily accept the need to import skilled people if they lack confidence in Government’s ability to manage the flow of migrants across the country’s borders.

3 Government needs to clarify how current and future officials may shape migration policy to offer certainty to prospective immigrants and employers.

4 Migration policy should be a key component of a competitive economy. It’s vital current and future migration policies be designed to contribute to maximising economic growth.
 
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