Unlike what columnist suggests, people have built their lives elsewhere, and they mostly appear to be happy
14 April 2025 - 14:32
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Daniël Eloff tells us “there’s a restlessness among South Africans abroad” (“Why SA should incentivise expats to return”, April 14). I have no idea where he obtains his information, but I’ve been living in Australia for two years now and I’ve not yet seen any signs of this restlessness. Nor have I seen it among expats residing in other countries.
There is nostalgia, patriotism and a form of loyalty among many former Saffers, but from my own experience this is in no way a desire to return. People have built their lives elsewhere, and in most cases they appear to be happy and settled.
Eloff proposes a number of financial enticements to bring expats back “home”. While these may be impressive, it is my experience that few South Africans emigrated primarily for financial reasons, so attractive financial benefits would not attract them back, apart perhaps from a minority who are struggling to make ends meet, with little or no support systems.
My wife and I left purely for family reasons, and our departure had nothing to do with any local issues. However, when viewed from distant shores SA does appear an extremely chaotic place, with huge problems. I think we all know what they are.
To curb emigration huge changes need to be made to make citizens feel safe in a free country that works well. Unfortunately, those descriptions do not apply to SA, a beautiful place that is rapidly deteriorating in many respects. Cape Town remains beautiful, and the game parks are special, but the other cities and many of the small towns are in a shocking state.
Power, water, municipal government, rail and bus services, as well as roads and parks, are in a state of severe decay, and there’s very little order, safety or local and state government efficiency.
As things stand, Eloff’s suggestions are no more than a wish list.
David Wolpert Sydney, Australia
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LETTER: No sign of ‘restlessness’ among expats
Unlike what columnist suggests, people have built their lives elsewhere, and they mostly appear to be happy
Daniël Eloff tells us “there’s a restlessness among South Africans abroad” (“Why SA should incentivise expats to return”, April 14). I have no idea where he obtains his information, but I’ve been living in Australia for two years now and I’ve not yet seen any signs of this restlessness. Nor have I seen it among expats residing in other countries.
There is nostalgia, patriotism and a form of loyalty among many former Saffers, but from my own experience this is in no way a desire to return. People have built their lives elsewhere, and in most cases they appear to be happy and settled.
Eloff proposes a number of financial enticements to bring expats back “home”. While these may be impressive, it is my experience that few South Africans emigrated primarily for financial reasons, so attractive financial benefits would not attract them back, apart perhaps from a minority who are struggling to make ends meet, with little or no support systems.
My wife and I left purely for family reasons, and our departure had nothing to do with any local issues. However, when viewed from distant shores SA does appear an extremely chaotic place, with huge problems. I think we all know what they are.
To curb emigration huge changes need to be made to make citizens feel safe in a free country that works well. Unfortunately, those descriptions do not apply to SA, a beautiful place that is rapidly deteriorating in many respects. Cape Town remains beautiful, and the game parks are special, but the other cities and many of the small towns are in a shocking state.
Power, water, municipal government, rail and bus services, as well as roads and parks, are in a state of severe decay, and there’s very little order, safety or local and state government efficiency.
As things stand, Eloff’s suggestions are no more than a wish list.
David Wolpert
Sydney, Australia
JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Send us an email with your comments to letters@businesslive.co.za. Letters of more than 300 words will be edited for length. Anonymous correspondence will not be published. Writers should include a daytime telephone number.
LETTER: Expats need green light
DANIËL ELOFF: Why SA should incentivise expats to return
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