EDITOR’S NOTEBOOK
LUKANYO MNYANDA: SA’s visa barriers rival Brexit for self-sabotage
Good intentions may excuse the initial decision, regardless of how foolish it was, but then to spend years ignoring a growing body of evidence showing the harm?
As far as tales of unnecessary self-harm are concerned, Brexit seems to be the gift that never stops giving. This week Sky News reported on a not insignificant consequence of Britain’s decision to leave the EU, one that hardly any voter would have thought of at the time. The Euratom nuclear safety treaty would have been a rather difficult one to fit into a slogan. No need to get into technicalities here, but what struck me in the Sky report was the warning of a possible closure of nuclear power stations — perhaps South Africans can offer some tips on how to cope with load shedding — and blocking the transfer of radioactive isotopes used in cancer treatment. Taking back control has never seemed so hollow. Of course, there would have been no Brexit without an irrational appeal to nationalism and the fear of foreigners. The Financial Times ran a rather good column recently, detailing among other things how that hostility has seen the government prevent hospitals from hiring foreign doc...
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