Our economy can grow if Home Affairs changes it’s attitude

Letter to the Editor

Dear Editor,

Our economy can grow if Home Affairs changes it’s attitude

No one needs me to say that South Africa’s biggest issue presently is the need for job creation.  Our economy is suffering because of the wanting situation in the creating of jobs.  Government lacks a clear unambiguous strategy in this regard.  Certain government departments are even openly hostile and actively working against the creation of jobs. The Home Affairs department is a prime example.

My experience is that skilled foreigners, for example, are treated with suspicion and mistrust.  The benefit that such skilled persons can bring to the country is overlooked or ignored by this department.  International experience shows that successful economics that have grown have done so because they have welcomed and taken advantage of foreign skills, not the other way round.  Even China understands this principle and is taking advantage of international skills to grow their economy.

It is time that the Department of Home Affairs start changing their attitude.  Our rule for visa requirements for skilled immigrants needs to be reformed.  Some “out of the box” thinking is required; this includes introducing an 8 year work permit for foreign students graduating from South African higher education institutions.  In doing this it would alleviate the export of skills by foreign students who have actually benefited from state-subsidised tertiary educations in South Africa.

A window period should be introduced where immigrants with refugee visas who can provide proof of tertiary qualifications or formal technical skills can easily convert their refugee visas to a work visa.  The reality is that educated immigrants face complex and time consuming visa application processes, these needs to change.

Processes should be introduced to attract qualified South African expatriates to return to South Africa by easing conditions for non-South African partners and spouses to receive work visas.  Automatic qualification criteria for highly educated individuals should be created.  A person who has graduated from the top 20 business schools in the world would be an example of such criteria.  Immigrants who indicate strong independence and performance indicators should enjoy lower entry barriers.

This is very possible but only if the Department of Home Affairs and its officials undergo a mind, attitude and paradigm shift.   Only once this shift has happened will we start seeing these benefits to our economy.

Sincerely,

Manny de Freitas MP

Shadow Minister of Home Affairs

Member of Parliament for Johannesburg South