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The Citizen
10 hours ago
- Politics
- The Citizen
‘We are not xenophobic': No justification to favour foreign academics over South Africans, says ANC MP
The Department of Higher Education's claim that it can't act against institutions has been criticised. Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Higher Education and Training, Tebogo Letsie, at the Good Hope Chamber in Cape Town on 23 June 2025. Picture: X / @ParliamentofRSA ANC MP Tebogo Letsie, chairperson of parliament's portfolio committee on Higher Education, says there is no justification for universities to favour hiring foreign academics over equally qualified South Africans. His remarks followed a recent controversy involving the Central University of Technology (CUT) in the Free State. The university faced backlash after appointing a foreign internal employee as dean over a black South African woman who reportedly holds a doctorate. A video of Patriotic Alliance (PA) MP Ashley Sauls questioning CUT vice-chancellor Pamela Zibuyile Dube in parliament about the matter circulated widely on social media in April. Watch the video below: Parliament on recruitment of foreign academics Speaking during a media briefing on Monday, Letsie highlighted that the Employment Services Act required employers to ensure no suitable South African candidates are available before hiring foreign nationals. 'We place it on record that we are not xenophobic because there are others who are going to say we are xenophobic for saying our laws must be adhered to,' he said. He further emphasised that hiring foreign nationals should not undermine job opportunities for equally qualified South African citizens, as outlined in the Policy Framework for the Internationalisation of Higher Education in South Africa. 'So the excuse by the Department of Higher Education that there is nothing they can do when institutions hire beyond the 10% foreign, international talent [threshold] … is just a fallacy.' ALSO READ: Almost 90% of foreign government employees in health and education sectors, says DPSA Letsie also highlighted that the framework affirms it is in South Africa's best interest to appoint the most suitable candidates to academic positions at tertiary institutions, including qualified foreign nationals. 'We do need our international brothers and sisters, but it must not be a detriment to South Africans.' He further stated that, according to the policy, tertiary institutions in the country have no valid grounds to favour foreign nationals. 'There can be no justification for any South African institution prioritising and preferring foreign nationals to South Africans who qualify equally for the same post.' Referring to CUT, Letsie said: 'There was an equally—if not more—qualified South African lady… was not given the job, and the excuse that we got from the leadership of the institution was that they prioritised an internal person.' He argued that such reasoning should not be seen as a legitimate advantage. Watch the media briefing below: Higher Education department criticised Letsie further said the committee was concerned about the attitude of departmental officials and their failure to take accountability regarding the 'illegal' employment of foreign nationals. 'We can't have a department that is soft and fails to hold the universities accountable.' He added that if officials were unsure how to address the matter, perhaps it was time to 'gracefully resign'. READ MORE: Mashaba slams tertiary institutions for hiring foreign academics The Department of Higher Education, according to Letsie, informed the committee during a meeting on 18 June that it would be engaging with university councils on the issue. 'While the committee fully supports attracting and retaining international talent, it does not support those done outside of the national legislation and policies.' Seta board appointments Letsie also revealed that the committee plans to recall Higher Education Minister Nobuhle Nkabane to answer questions regarding the appointment of Sector Education and Training Authority (Seta) boards. Nkabane had faced criticism for refusing to disclose the identities of the independent panel members who recommended chairpersons for the Seta boards. The controversy emerged after it was revealed that several appointees had ties to the ANC, including Minerals Minister Gwede Mantashe's son Buyambo Mantashe, former KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube, and former ANC KZN deputy chairperson Mike Mabuyakhulu. Though the appointments were subsequently withdrawn, Nkabane came under fire in parliament for withholding the panel members' names. Under increasing pressure from MPs and President Cyril Ramaphosa, she finally released the list on 17 June, which included her advisors and departmental officials. READ MORE: 'Gum-chewing' minister goes viral, prompting conduct warning for South African MPs However, Advocate Terry Motau, cited as the panel's chairperson, denied involvement in the process. Letsie remarked that Motau's denial 'raised more questions' about the integrity of the appointment process. He said the committee has requested documentation from all panel members, including their correspondence with the minister, letters of acceptance, remuneration details, meeting minutes, and the final report that recommended the appointments. Letsie confirmed that Nkabane and the panel members have been invited to appear before the committee. 'We don't have a date yet because parliament is seized with a process of adopting the budget,' he said. 'We had identified a date which was this Friday, but because of the work of parliament, we could not get that particular date approved.'
Daily Maverick
5 days ago
- Business
- Daily Maverick
SA's new labour migration policy — critics doubt its effectiveness, say it does not strike a balance
In a new policy white paper, the government makes several far-reaching proposals to restrict the employment of foreign citizens. Critics warn that instead of protecting jobs, the policy will do damage. South Africa has finally put forward a coherent plan to manage labour migration. The White Paper on National Labour Migrant Policy, which the Cabinet approved on 29 May, marks the government's first comprehensive attempt to define who gets to work here, and under what conditions they will be allowed to do so. It arrives as the unemployment rate remained stubbornly high at 32.9% in the first quarter of 2025. In this climate, political pressure to prioritise South African jobs has grown, as evidenced by rising xenophobia and misinformation about migrant numbers, the white paper states. Immigrants made up 8.9% of employed workers in 2022, largely in sectors where local participation is low, such as construction, agriculture, logistics and informal trade. The proposed policy is trying to prioritise South African workers while acknowledging regional and sectoral reliance on foreign labour. Whether it succeeds is another matter. 'What might create South African jobs in the short term may ultimately harm the country's ability to recruit skilled workers, attract investment and promote trade,' said Professor Loren Landau, a migration researcher based at Oxford University and the University of the Witwatersrand. The policy is designed to inform proposed amendments to the Employment Services Act (ESA), with the aim of imposing stricter control on how foreign nationals are hired in South Africa. The crux of the reform is sector-specific quotas that will cap the number of foreign nationals employers can hire in certain industries and occupations once the amendments have been passed by Parliament. 'Internationally, the practice of reserving the right of occupational choice is not uncommon in democracies,' said Sashin Naidoo, employment law lawyer at Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr. Employers will also need to prove that no suitably qualified South African was available for the job, submit a skills transfer plan and pay foreign and local workers on par. The ESA did not set out the practical requirements for these skills transfer plans, said Taryn York, senior associate employment lawyer at Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr. 'However, it does say the minister may make regulations setting out these requirements.' Failure to comply could result in fines of up to R100,000, a prospect that has employers on edge. 'Although a drive to increase employment of local workers is admirable, the task of skills transfer and upskilling of employees should not also be placed at the feet of the private sector,' said Jaco Swart, national manager of the National Employers' Association of South Africa. The proposed changes will introduce more uncertainty for migrant workers. Mandla Masuku, president of the Migrant Workers Union of South Africa (Miwusa), said most migrants were not in the country by choice but because of unforeseen circumstances in their home countries. 'Some have been here for many years,' Masuku said. 'They've got families, they've got properties. If they are going to be affected by these policies, it is not going to affect them alone.' He also raised concerns that migrants might not fully grasp how the policy would be enforced or what their rights would be under a new system. When quotas clash A legal showdown may be brewing between the Employment Equity Act and the ESA. Although recent proposed amendments to the former included sectoral transformation targets, the ESA's amendments go a step further, granting the minister of labour the authority to impose hard quotas on the hiring of foreign nationals. 'We've got these two pieces of legislation, one having a quota and one having a sector target,' said Imraan Mahomed, director of employment law at Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr. 'There is already existing authority in the Constitutional Court that has found that the imposition of quotas is unconstitutional. 'The minister distances himself from any consideration that sectoral targets are quotas. It's not going to be a sectoral target in relation to foreigners, it's going to be a quota. I suspect there's going to be a legal challenge when it comes to these quotas.' The policy is presented as a dual-purpose tool: to promote local employment and safeguard migrant rights. As with most of the government's ambitions, the execution is where reality starts to wobble. 'The government has typically based its policies on a relatively poor reading of the true economy or the impact of immigration on it,' Landau said. 'While dramatically underestimating the positive impacts of immigration, it dramatically overpromises on its capacity to regulate labour conditions and migration.' Masuku, too, was sceptical of the policy's effectiveness. 'I suspect that it will be just another policy that is there, maybe for the purpose of proving a point to citizens. But, in terms of practicality, I don't think it will have a huge impact.' Swart echoed these doubts: 'The issue is not that employers are unwilling to appoint South African citizens, it is simply that the skills are not locally available, a consequence of a failed education system. 'The current proposal does not strike a balance, nor will it assist the unemployment crisis or ensure a skills transfer in the country.' A regional vision One of the policy's more progressive features is its regional outlook. It aligns with AU and Southern African Development Community frameworks and proposes the introduction of SADC visas, which are intended to ease cross-border work and allow for portable social protections. Lee Masuku, senior associate lawyer in employment law at Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr, said these would include a special work visa in the SADC region, special traders' visas and SADC small and medium enterprise visas. The policy also calls for updated labour agreements with neighbouring states like Zimbabwe, Lesotho and Mozambique, but Landau views these gestures as superficial. 'The existing policies may or may not reshape the labour market, but they do send a clear message to the region that South Africa is now more unilateral than ever. Given how much of its market is regional… this will likely hurt business and job creation,' he said. The policy also largely ignores where most migrant workers actually operate: in the informal sector, undocumented and unprotected. Asked whether the policy protected informal migrant workers, Landau answered: 'Simply put, no.' He added that it lacked mechanisms that recognise or protect the humanity and labour rights of migrant workers outside formal employment. Masuku warned further that employers might exploit undocumented migrants more if fewer legal work routes existed. For all its talk of order and oversight, the white paper admits that the policy is based on sparse and outdated data, and promises a better information system. The scattering of administrative data, the policy's lack of alignment to international standards, missing indicators and minimal use of both administrative and statistical data by policymakers are some of the key challenges the white paper identifies. 'A more robust reading of the regional economy which includes informal trade, fast fashion, small and unregistered business development in and through South Africa might suggest that national employment and regional obligations are complementary, not at odds,' Landau said. York gave a warning to employers operating in the agriculture, hospitality, tourism and construction sectors, saying they should prepare for the introduction of quotas on hiring foreign nationals. According to Masuku, Miwusa has a close relationship with the labour union federation Cosatu and consulted with it to better understand the policy. 'We must work together to ensure that workers, regardless of their nationality, are not [negatively] affected by these kinds of policies,' he said. DM This story first appeared in our weekly Daily Maverick 168 newspaper, which is available countrywide for R35.
