Not a single new business application approved in 2016, Gigaba confirms
Many applicants submitted fraudulent accountant letters purporting to confirm the availability of funds for business, Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba says
The Department of Home Affairs rejected 148 applications for business visa renewals and 48 new business visa applications, without approving a single new business application between January and December of 2016. This emerged in a written reply from Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba to parliamentary questions. The figures are sure to raise eyebrows as SA continues to grapple with high unemployment and a lacklustre industrialisation drive. Gigaba has taken what many migration researchers consider to be an inward looking, protectionist stance on migration since he was deployed to the Department of Home Affairs in 2014. Gigaba also has contentious views on matters including the proportion of foreign employees that are allowed to be employed by businesses in SA, stating that 60% local staff should be a minimum requirement policy for businesses operating in SA. In a written reply to questions by DA MP Toby Chance, Gigaba said that no new applications for startups were approved within S...
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