Will Musi Maimane save Swazis from travel regulations headache?

Source: - BY WELCOME DLAMINI – Swazi Observer, 16/08/2015

As Swazi parents and guardians deal with the cumbersome travel
regulations brought about by South Africa`s Home Affairs Minister
Malusi Gigaba, the pressure being mounted against these set of laws is
growing.


Parents and guardians have to endure a tedious exercise as they have
to obtain consenting affidavits allowing their children below the age
of 18 years to travel to and from South Africa.


The affidavits are required even if a child is travelling with both
parents.


In the past three weeks, as Swaziland`s schools embarked on mid-term
break, some took educational trips to South Africa, mainly to Durban,
and this called for parents and guardians to prepare affidavits for
the pupils.


The regulations have resulted in dwindling tourist figures both in
Swaziland and South Africa as the Swaziland Tourism Authority recently
stated that tourist figures decreased by 16 321 people to 85 981
compared to 102 302 tourists in the same period last year.


Figures
In South Africa, Tourism Minister Derek Hanekom also complained of
shrinking tourist figures, something he said had resulted in job
losses.


On Friday Musi Maimane led South Africa`s official opposition part,
the Democratic Alliance, on a march to the Department of Home Affairs
to call for suspension of the travel regulations.


Under the #SaveTourismJob, the march was soon trending on social media
site Twitter.


Maimane said the regulations were doing immeasurable damage to SA`s
tourism industry and had the potential to kill tens of thousands of
jobs.


"Unemployment currently stands at 34.9% while GDP growth is forecast
at 2% for 2015. Given the desperate state of our economy, we have a
responsibility to safeguard it against any threat that will make this
bad situation any worse," Maimane said.


He said it was a fact that the regulations had resulted in a
substantial decline in the number of tourists who have visited South
Africa during the first quarter of this year.


Quoting figures released by StatsSA, he pointed out that the total
number of visitors was down by 7%, with certain markets being
disproportionately affected.


"The number of tourists from China has declined by 38%, while the
number from India dropped by 13%. This amounts to almost 12 000 less
tourists from these two countries alone.


"This is more than just an unintended consequence, but an economic
catastrophe that requires more than the establishment of an IMC – it
requires immediate action to prevent further job losses. Minister
Gigaba must act immediately to save tourism jobs," Maimane
said.


GDP
"The tourism industry, the DA leader said, makes up 9% of SA`s GDP and
is the only industry that has shown consistent growth through the
economic slowdown experienced over the past five years.


Tourism has a massive potential for job creation and already supports
1.5 million jobs. Further to this, it is estimated that for every 12
tourists that come to South Africa, one job is created. More
importantly, the tourism industry creates jobs at all skill levels and
is able to absorb a high number of unskilled workers," he
stated.


Need
He said the DA recognised the need to protect SA`s borders, but it was
equally vital to strike a balance between this need and that of
promoting South Africa as a tourism and investment destination for
purposes of economic survival.


Maimane said the DA would accomplish this objective through the three
urgent interventions, namely, repeal the requirement in the
regulations that makes in-person visa applications for biometrics
mandatory, replacing it with biometrics upon arrival; suspend the
unabridged birth certificate requirement until a proper evidence-based
study into the scale of child trafficking is completed; and allocate a
significant portion of the Department of Tourism`s budget to an
international marketing campaign to repair the damage done to our
tourism industry in recent months.


"We simply cannot afford to wait for committees to meet – and report
back – while jobs are being lost.


We urge Minister Gigaba to suspend the visa regulations with immediate
effect. Given the job losses in the mining and manufacturing sectors,
we need the tourism industry to keep South Africans working.


"It is only through job creation and robust economic growth that we
will be able to unlock opportunities for all South Africans and give
life to the freedoms on which our democracy is based," he
added.


This week President Zuma announced the establishment of an
Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) on Immigration Regulations to
address what he referred to as the `unintended consequences` the new
regulations have had on tourism and investment.


While the DA said the decision to assign the Deputy President Cyril
Ramaphosa to the IMC reflects a clear recognition that the new
regulations were causing major damage, his reference to `unintended
consequences`, however, does not do the crisis justice.