Migration and Development
2006-01-05. Honourable Speaker it is often stated that we live in a global village. One of the characteristics of this global village is that people move around it exploring different opportunities to enhance their quality of life. In many ways this movement of people enriches our village, by exposing all of us to different cultures and perspectives on life.
There are certain worrying trends
which need to be addressed in this movement though. Sixty percent of
global migrants reside in the more developed countries and only 40
percent in developing countries. Developing country migration is also
mainly between these countries rather than from developed countries. It
is therefore an unfortunate reality that most people tend to migrate
towards economically developed centres, in many cases taking with them
the skills that are desperately needed in their own countries. In South
Africa there is much talk of the so-called “brain drain” where we lose
many skilled people to developed countries.
In some cases these people are only temporary migrants looking to expose themselves to a new culture and return a few years later. This kind of migration can be enormously beneficial to South Africa as these migrants return with new skills and global experience and in some cases even foreign currency that can contribute to our economy. This kind of migration should be encouraged but at the same time we need to ensure that we also build a sense of national pride and create the right incentives to prevent many of our skilled compatriots from becoming permanent migrants. We also should be looking at making it easier for those foreigners with the willingness and skills to contribute to building our new society. I have met many foreigners in South Africa who have fallen in love with this country and are looking for any way possible to stay longer and help us in the reconstruction and development of our country. It is therefore worrying that the department of home affairs has currently issued a directive that states that no new applications for exceptional skills can be processed because they have not yet worked out the precise quota. This issue needs to be urgently addressed if we are to encourage our skilled foreigners to stay and build our society.
Finally chair I wish to address the important issue of refugees in South Africa. The majority of these refugees are single young men who have fled an intolerable situation in their own country. I have met many refugees who are educated as doctors, teachers and agricultural scientists who are being forced to work in menial jobs such as car guards. Although they are educated they struggle to convert their qualifications through SAQA, depriving them of a meaningful income and South Africa of their skills base. This issue must be addressed and we need to create a far more enabling environment to allow genuine refugees into the mainstream of our society. In this way we can be actively promoting a true African renaissance.
In some cases these people are only temporary migrants looking to expose themselves to a new culture and return a few years later. This kind of migration can be enormously beneficial to South Africa as these migrants return with new skills and global experience and in some cases even foreign currency that can contribute to our economy. This kind of migration should be encouraged but at the same time we need to ensure that we also build a sense of national pride and create the right incentives to prevent many of our skilled compatriots from becoming permanent migrants. We also should be looking at making it easier for those foreigners with the willingness and skills to contribute to building our new society. I have met many foreigners in South Africa who have fallen in love with this country and are looking for any way possible to stay longer and help us in the reconstruction and development of our country. It is therefore worrying that the department of home affairs has currently issued a directive that states that no new applications for exceptional skills can be processed because they have not yet worked out the precise quota. This issue needs to be urgently addressed if we are to encourage our skilled foreigners to stay and build our society.
Finally chair I wish to address the important issue of refugees in South Africa. The majority of these refugees are single young men who have fled an intolerable situation in their own country. I have met many refugees who are educated as doctors, teachers and agricultural scientists who are being forced to work in menial jobs such as car guards. Although they are educated they struggle to convert their qualifications through SAQA, depriving them of a meaningful income and South Africa of their skills base. This issue must be addressed and we need to create a far more enabling environment to allow genuine refugees into the mainstream of our society. In this way we can be actively promoting a true African renaissance.
