As unemployment grows more severe and people become more desperate they turn to leadership for direction on how to alleviate the incredibly shocking situation. Our unemployment rate is at 35% but, unofficially, it is closer to 50%.
The government would rather look for excuses and scapegoats instead of tackling the problem. One scapegoat is foreigners. There is an enormous anti-migrant sentiment.
It is important to note that xenophobia is an issue affecting countries across the globe. Every country that has an employment problem will raise the issue of foreign labour.
Following the xenophobic attacks since early 2000, the government is looking at ways of outlawing foreigners from working in South Africa. Recently, the minister of Home Affairs announced that the Zimbabwe exemption permit would be terminated by end of December 2022.
The minister of Employment and Labour seems to think eradication of work permits for foreigners will solve our unemployment problem. This is not correct and is merely a cover-up for departmental incompetence.
One of the bigger issues is the fact that our borders are porous. The ministry in charge of South African borders has been useless.
Daily, we see YouTube clips of individuals ducking under the fence and calmly walking into the country.
Trying to monitor and inspect the workforce is almost impossible with the resources we have. Notoriously, the Department of Employment and Labour has few inspectors.
The inspectors often tell me that they are not given the tools and equipment they need to do their jobs properly. The inspectorate often doesn’t have access to vehicles and updated computer equipment. The inspectors don’t have the wherewithal to visit even 1% of the businesses. Clearly, the inspectorate will never get to the informal business sector.
Most of the illegal migrants are employed in the informal business sector and this will remain a factor until we properly capacitate the Department of Employment and Labour. The minister is trying to make employment more difficult for those who do have work permits.
This group probably makes up less than 1% of our workforce. By sending them home, to an uncertain future, we are not doing ourselves a favour. Many of the individuals have scarce skills and are key people in their organisations.
For each foreigner with a scarce skill, it is probably correct to say three locals will accompany them in obtaining employment.
It would be a lot wiser for the departments of Labour and Home Affairs to try to structure regulations, demanding that the foreign worker with the skills trains locals in their place. The training would cost the government nothing and enhance our economy in the long term. Instead of encouraging xenophobic behaviour we should encourage the transfer of skills and growth in our manufacturing sector.
Vocational colleges are not producing enough skilled individuals fast enough. This has encouraged retail businesses to import finished goods as opposed to purchasing goods made locally.
We must also think of the human factor when acting out on the xenophobic encouragement from the ANC. Some foreigners from our neighbouring countries have been here for decades. They have families and children who are born in South Africa. Their employers have grown reliant on them. Other foreigners have created businesses that are employing thousands of citizens.
We are going down a slippery slope by picking on foreign workers. We saw this when former Ugandan president Idi Amin unilaterally and immediately expelled thousands of foreigners from his country in the 1970s.
This expulsion led to enormous poverty, unrest and starvation. We must avoid this in South Africa.
* Michael Bagraim is a labour lawyer.
** The views expressed here are not necessarily those of Independent Media.
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