The cabinet has signed off on an ANC proposal that jobs in some sectors of the economy be reserved for SA citizens, a move designed to tackle the country’s record unemployment and which could feed into anti-immigrant sentiment.

“Every country in the world gives preferential treatment to citizens in terms of employment,” home affairs minister Aaron Motsoaledi told Business Day on Sunday. “The xenophobic matter is used as a toy gun to prevent us from doing the same. If we blink in implementing labour laws, we will continue to threaten the sovereignty of SA.”..

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