APPLICATION DELAYS
Migrant bungling by home affairs officials hampers job creation
After two successive quarters of decline, the South African economy spluttered back to life in the second quarter with 2.5% GDP growth quarter on quarter. However, the country’s inability to stimulate job creation is putting it on a collision course with a sustained recessionary period, which spells disaster. The unemployment rate is at a 14-year high. A staggering 9.3-million people who wanted work were unable to find it in the first quarter. The National Development Plan’s ambition to reduce unemployment to 14% by 2020 is battling against a public sector partly paralysed through corruption, and a private sector nervously assessing the increasingly tense socioeconomic situation. Job creation is at a standstill. Yet the Department of Home Affairs is hampering highly skilled international migrants’ ability to create new businesses that can drive job creation and economic growth. Migrants from outside the UK and EU make up 25% of London’s workforce and contribute £83bn, more than a th...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.