Business has a clear incentive to find a solution, writes BLSA CEO.
A lack of critical skills is holding back the South African economy, and we are not solving the problem as fast as we should be. There is a backlog of 74 000 applications for all kinds of visas at the Department of Home Affairs according to an official quoted by Bloomberg last month, many of those in the scarce skills category.
This despite concerted efforts by government, led by the Operation Vulindlela programme, to drive implementation of policy that will substantially improve access to scarce skills visas.
The backlog is staggering, a number in line with the headcount of some of South Africa’s biggest companies. If those skills were to suddenly be working in our economy, the impact would be significant.
The fact that companies can’t fill the positions means they can’t invest and expand. Expansion would enable much further employment, more tax to be generated, and the overall business environment to be greatly improved. The presidency has estimated that one additional job is created for every skilled post that is filled.
I have been told anecdotally by companies that service has improved from the Home Affairs Department, but the backlog remains a problem to get on top of.
I have highlighted what poor visa policy does to business in the past and the good work that has been done under OV to overhaul the policy. The presidency has said access to visas is the second biggest constraint on the economy after loadshedding. The new policies include the introduction of a trusted employer scheme that will allow certain companies to fast-track applications. Home Affairs said in April that it would have the scheme in place in three months.
There has certainly been progress, with application forms published in October. However, to date no company is yet benefiting from the scheme and there does not appear to be a clear timeline for when they will. Home Affairs has also missed deadlines for other visa reforms including remote working visas to enable so-called “digital nomads” to work from South Africa and visas for founders of start-ups that choose to launch their companies in South Africa.
I appreciate that some policy reforms can be challenging, requiring legislative amendments and changes to regulations in multiple domains. But not all are so difficult â€` remote workers, for example, can be changed simply by revising the immigration regulations, a relatively straightforward process.
But even when improved policy outcomes are delivered, the backlog will still be a problem. It appears to be fundamentally administrative in that Home Affairs simply does not have the capacity to process the applications. That needs a long-term fix that must be made by the department, with appropriate resourcing to manage the load. But there is clearly a need for a short-term stopgap to get on top of long-outstanding applications.
Business could help. The private sector has extensive administrative capacity that could be drawn on to process the backlog. While the procedures to do so would need to be

determined, and staff capacity will need to be built through some training, the backlog could be resolved in a matter of months.
The right technology could also be brought in to improve processing, given that Home Affair’s computers work at roughly one-sixtieth the speed of those in most banks.
In much the way that business has assisted government with technical skills to resolve infrastructure breakdowns ranging from sewerage treatment plants through to electricity stations, the visas backlog could be tackled through a partnership between business and government. It is certainly a possibility worth exploring.
Business has a clear incentive to find a solution. The inability to bring in foreign skills risks pushing many companies out of South Africa entirely. We have long marketed ourselves as a “gateway to Africa”, attracting companies to set up their regional headquarters here.
Yet many companies who have done so now encounter extreme frustration in bringing in the skills they need to operate. They would have no such problem had they opted instead to set up in Dubai or Mauritius. OV says that applications for similar visas in Kenya take three months, while in Nigeria it is two.
Analysis by OV suggests that about 900 000 South Africans emigrated in 2020. Many of those were skilled, so freeing up the ability to attract foreign skills is very important to support the economy. The backlog represents applications made through an arduous process that includes police clearance certificates from every country that applicants have previously worked in.
About half of the applications that Home Affairs does process are rejected. Countless more are never made in the first place because potential applicants are discouraged by the bureaucracy. Unsurprisingly, given the delays and difficulty in making an application, the numbers have been declining, with about 3,000 scarce skills applications in 2021 compared to 7 000 in 2017. The policy overhaul proposed by OV urgently needs to be delivered.
The visa chaos is a clear example of good policy thinking failing to be implemented. Business is willing to work with government to get to the outcomes that would leave everyone better off.
The function of business in economics is to contribute production of goods and services to society and the employment of labour for which it is reasonably taxed by the state.
The function of the state is to use those funds and the funds from personal taxes and other taxes like VAT etc to the benefit of the citizens in the form of infrastructure, security, health and education.
The function of the ANC seems to be to deploy their inept members in state departments to steal whatever they can.
When business has to be deflected from its main function to support the function of the state, the economy slides into being unable to compete globally and the economy fails. V.5074

Germany`s Chancellor Olaf Scholz (R) and Kenya`s President William Ruto signed the deal in Berlin Germany has agreed to open the doors to 250,000 skilled and semi-skilled Kenyan workers in a controlled and targeted labour migration deal. Kenya is struggling with increasing difficulties in providing work and sufficient income for its young professionals, while Germany is facing a shortage of skilled labour. V.5609
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BEIJING - China said it would gradually raise its statutory retirement age, as the country grapples with a looming demographic crisis and an older population. Hundreds of millions of people in China are set to enter old age in the coming decades while the birth rate dwindles dramatically. V.5610
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A surprise inspection at a Pretoria restaurant resulted in the arrest of two foreign national employees who allegedly did not have documentation to be in the country. (Alex Mitchley/News24) • The Department of Labour has conducted a `blitz` inspection at a restaurant in Menlyn. • The surprise inspection came after a complaint alleging the flouting of labour practices by a former employee that started making the rounds on social media. • One of the restaurant owners dismissed the allegations. V.5611
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The Western Cape High Court has temporarily stopped the initiation of any process to deport a foreign national who has indicated an intent to apply for asylum, until their application has been finalised. • The Western Cape High Court has temporarily halted the initiation of any process to deport a foreign national who has indicated an intent to apply for asylum, until their application has been finalised. • The interim interdict will remain in place pending the outcome of the main court application brought by the Scalabrini Centre of Cape Town. • The court is expected to hear that main challenge in February 2025. V.5612
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South Africa’s plan to attract more professionals to its skills-starved economy through the introduction of a so-called nomad visa for remote workers has been slowed by the need to amend tax regulations. The impediment comes after an initial delay when changes to the visa regime had to be temporarily withdrawn because mandatory public consultation procedures hadn’t been followed. V.5613
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Illegal land occupation has been a very big problem in Pretoria east for decades now, with the evolution of more than two informal settlements, with dwellers being illegal immigrants. Tshwane metro will look to work with Home Affairs to combat illegal land occupation, illegal immigration and theft, according to FF Plus councillor and MMC for community safety in Tshwane, Grandi Theunissen. V.5607
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The City of Tshwane’s fight against hijacking of inner-city buildings could soon take a new turn aimed at deporting illegal immigrants likely to be found guilty of invading those properties. This comes after MMC for Community Safety, Grandi Theunissen, also FF Plus councillor, indicated that the municipality and the Minister of Home Affairs, Dr Leon Schreiber, agreed to join hands in addressing the problem. V.5608
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The departments of Home Affairs and Basic Education deployed mobile units to 1 625 school nationwide to assist young people in rural areas. The Department of Home Affairs is on a drive to assist young people get their IDs. In partnership with the Department of Basic Education, mobile units have scoured the nation’s schools to provide DHA services. V.5603
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South Africa is set to simplify travel for Indian tourists by introducing a 90-day visa waiver starting in January 2025. Along with the Trusted Tour Operator Scheme, these initiatives aim to streamline the visa process and boost tourism significantly. Great news for travelers from India and China! South Africa is taking significant steps to attract more Indian tourists by introducing a 90-day visa waiver starting in January 2025. The new policy aims to simplify travel for Indian visitors and is expected to increase the number of tourists from India. V.5604
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Kuwait’s Central Agency for Remedying Illegal Residents’ Status (CARIRS) has revoked the citizenship of more than 10,000 people with dual nationality between 2011 and last month, the KUNA news agency has reported. According to the agency, the step is the result of a full decade of Kuwaiti efforts to address the dual nationality file, and comes as a culmination of a campaign that began last year to confront those who obtain Kuwaiti citizenship illegally. V.5605
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