After years of offering incentives to both citizens and permanent residents, the Department of Trade and Industry has without warning removed permanent residents from the equation.

Source: Daily Maverick, 07/11/2018

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has long provided the
lion’s share of support to independently produced and owned local film
and television, the motivation being the sector’s ability to undergo
accelerated economic growth. A key element of that support is various
production incentives. These are monetary rebates for local spend on
productions in the country for both South African and international
productions.
The system has worked well at achieving what it has set out to do �`
enabling producers to contribute to the growth of the economy, upskill
workers and increase employment opportunities. It is a scheme that has
helped to keep the wheels of this nascent industry turning in the face
of a virtual collapse of local TV channel production.
After years of that incentive being available to citizens and
permanent residents, the DTI has suddenly, without warning, removed
permanent residents from the equation. Under the previous guidelines,
talent or production staff who are permanent residents were treated
the same as citizens, and their earnings would allow producers to
obtain the same rebate.
There are a number of permanent residents working in the industry who
have spent years contributing to its growth. Qualifying for permanent
residency requires not only having already held a South African work
visa for at least five years, but also proving that you are
economically viable, and bringing in expertise or entrepreneurial
skills of your own which will contribute to the nation’s economy. In
the recently published 2018 guidelines, permanent residents are now
excluded. This new restriction will mean that permanent residents will
be overlooked in favour of citizens with the same skills set �` if they
exist and are available. Excluding them from working, as this change
effectively does, denying them the opportunity to even seek work, is
both wrong and undermines the competitive advantage the rebate
provides for the growth of South Africa’s TV and film sector.
This is not only an own goal, it is discriminatory. This sudden change
of rules has also left a number of producers in dire financial
straits. Under the new rules the DTI has failed to pay the rebate on
amounts spent on permanent residents on pre-approved projects. They
simply said they were now implementing existing rules.
This is neither something the South African industry called for, nor
is it in its best interests. It threatens further growth. Another area
which will be affected is co-production treaties, many of which have
been signed in recent years, which stipulate that the advantages
offered in those treaties will apply equally to citizens and permanent
residents. These treaties are important for our industry, and cannot
simply be renegotiated to suit the whims of the DTI. But beyond the
financial implications lie political ones. This discrimination is
unconstitutional. Our constitution makes it plain that permanent
residents have the same rights as citizens, apart from a few clearly
defined exceptions, such as voting rights. A large number of the
permanent residents affected are those from other African countries,
who already face a high level of discrimination. Given our dangerous
history of violence towards immigrants and refugees, permanent
residents already have to overcome unnecessary bias when trying to
find work in this country. Placing an additional barrier like this
will only see producers stop hiring permanent residents �` effectively
rendering a large number of skilled technicians, performers, writers
and actors �` all active participants in the industry as well as
taxpayers �` unemployable. And any producers who are permanent
residents themselves will face even greater obstacles, potentially
leading to a loss of jobs for both citizens and residents who they
employ. You don’t have to take our word for this �` constitutional and
administrative law expert Lauren Kohn has written in great detail
about the legal arguments which apply here. We urge the DTI to
reconsider this amendment, and return to the rules which have
successfully served the industry over the past years