Sisipho Ntsabo
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Home Affairs Signs Historic Agreement for Asylum Seekers

After decades of awaiting decisions on their visa applications, asylum seekers can delight in the fact that Home Affairs and United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) have signed what is described as a historic agreement for asylum seekers. This agreement will see the eradication of delays and backlog in application decisions by 2023.

 

Home Affairs plans on hiring more staff and getting technical support worth millions of Rands from the UNHCR to combat the appeals process backlog. With 185 000 refugees affected, Minister Motsoaledi says this agreement ensures that every refugee is protected under international law and South Africa’s Constitution and Bill of Rights.

 

Asylum seekers are rather sceptical of the practicality of this agreement, stating that they have not seen any changes being done by Home Affairs and there are not hopeful that the funds secured will be put to good use. Some asylum seekers are sceptical of the practicality of this decision, citing that they are already living in inhumane conditions and are forced to choose between either ‘reintegrating in South Africa or be repatriated into their home country’ – which ultimately goes against the Geneva Convention. The asylum seekers responding to this ‘historical agreement’ state they want to be resettled into a third country.

 

This hesitance stems from the Xenophobic undertones and attacks asylum seekers experience in South Africa. They state that authoritative bodies, like Home Affairs and the South African Police Services are doing the bare minimum to protect them.

 

Minister of Home Affairs, Aaron Motsoaledi disagrees with this notion. Motsaoledi says, “African refugees have the same status as any South African when they come here, except the right to vote.” This ‘citizen status is not permanent and will undergo review after four years.

Sisipho Ntsabo
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An SME in full support and practice of the #PAYIN30 campaign

It goes without saying that Covid-19 has had a negative impact on South Africa’s economy. Due to the pandemic and the implemented Covid-19 lockdowns, many businesses found themselves indefinitely shutting down their business or filing for bankruptcies, others retrenching their employees and others opting for holiday payment terms offered by banks. 

Recognising the denting economic impact that Covid-19 has had on small and medium businesses (SMEs) in South Africa, Business for SA (businessforsa.org) launched an initiative called #Payin30. Recognising that SMEs and entrepreneurs are vital to South Africa’s economic recovery strategy, the #Payin30 statement goes as follows,  

“Corporate South Africa recognises that by paying their SME suppliers in 30 days, they can contribute to their survival and the preservation of jobs.” 

The campaign’s key driving point is the recognition that access to working capital and cash flow is crucial for the growth and sustainability of SMEs. More so, this campaign understands that SMEs are key job creators in South Africa with a high unemployment rate. 

As an SME itself, Relocation Africa fully supports this initiative, calling on corporate companies to join and sign up for the initiative. Relocation Africa is no stranger to the impact of Covid-19 on its business. As a business dependent on open borders and the mobility of corporate employees, the lockdown restrictions and closing of borders have had a negative impact on the economic viability of the business. Having been forced to make difficult decisions such as retrenching employees and enforcing payment cuts, it understands the need for their business to pay their supply chain in or less than 30 days and in turn for corporates to pay SMEs in 30 days. 

Director of Relocation Africa, Rene Stegmann says, “Relocation Africa has consultants and a supply network that is mostly SME’s and private individuals, we have decided that for us to have a reliable supply chain we need to ensure that their cash flow is not a reason for them to go out of business”. She goes on to speak about the importance of understanding that most of Relocation Africa’s supply network are breadwinners and job creators themselves, and the #Payin30 initiative creates not only a more reliable supply chain but also an enthusiastic one that knows that they are valued and prioritised by the company.  

Well within reason, the campaign has been supported by large companies such as Naspers, SASOL, ABSA, Investec to name a few. An SME such as Relocation Africa supporting and practising this initiative is a display of ethical leadership and the recognition of social responsibility within the workforce. But the hard-hitting question to Relocation Africa is: As an SME itself, does Relocation Africa fear that such a commitment [of the #Payin30] would compromise the economic viability of themselves, especially during this economic crisis brought on by Covid-19? Stegmann confidently states, “We have one big risk, that is if our clients choose to pay us in anything other than 30 days, we are effectively risking our cash-flow, but we are addressing this with our clients and those who choose to #payin30 will be accoladed through the #payin30 campaign. We have converted 75% of our clients to commit to contractually paying us in 30 days and we have a couple more clients to negotiate with.”  

“We believe that by us, as an SME, taking a firm step on #pay30, this will have a ripple effect both down and up the supply chains. #Togetherwearebetter.” 

Relocation Africa can pride itself on being a leader and approaching this initiative with a bottom-up approach. Understanding the implications of late payments and how it can affect the supply chain, in turn affecting their ability to provide a service they have seamlessly done for 28 years, much is at risk. Stegmann aptly states that the business understands they are not isolated in their existence and that every action has counteraction. Furthermore, as a Global Mobility provider of services to large multinational businesses, the business [Relocation Africa] upholds their business and reputation through ensuring their own SMEs and private individuals who rely on them can survive to deliver the services to them.  

There is much to say about how initiatives like that of #Payin30 are exemplary in the action against the capitalistic, exploitative side of the business. Not only an act of ethical behaviour and leadership put an act of compassion for SMEs who are vital in the economic ecosystem. We can only hope that large companies and businesses follow suit and support the preservation of SMEs during these unprecedented times.   

For information as to how Relocation Africa can help you with your Mobility, Immigration, Research, Remuneration, and Expat Tax needs, email info@relocationafrica.com, or call us on +27 21 763 4240.

Andrew Stegmann
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Eskom Urges South Africans to Use Electricity Sparingly

Eskom, South Africa’s main electricity provider, urged South Africans to continue using electricity sparingly to help them limit the impact of loadshedding as it will be implementing stage 2 loadshedding from 10pm tonight until 5am tomorrow morning.

Eskom spokesman Sikhonathi Mantshantsha said that stage 2 loadshedding will be repeated again Wednesday night starting at 10pm and 5am in the morning.

“This loadshedding is necessary to preserve emergency generation reserves in preparation for higher demand expected in January when economic activity resumes. During this period Eskom will continue to pursue increased reliability maintenance as planned and previously communicated to the public throughout the year,” said Mantshantsha.

He added that Eskom currently had over 9 700 MW of capacity on planned maintenance while another 11 300 MW was unavailable due to unplanned maintenance.

Eskom said their teams were working around the clock to return as many of these generation units to service. Mantshantsha said they would communicate timeously should there be any significant changes to the power system and to the loadshedding as planned today.

About two weeks ago, Eskom implemented Stage 2 loadshedding that started Secember 12 at 6am until 11pm. At the time, Eskom said it needed to implement the loadshedding in order to replenish the depleted emergency generation reserves for the coming week.

“As Eskom ramps up its planned maintenance during the lower demand summer period, as previously committed, it has had a large number of unforeseen breakdowns from the ageing, unreliable plant over the past few days. In addition to this, Eskom has taken two generation units at the Kendal Power Station offline in compliance with environmental legislation. Similarly, four generation units at the Camden Power Station have been taken offline to conserve the integrity of the ash dam facility,” said Eskom at the time.

 

For information as to how Relocation Africa can help you with your Mobility, Immigration, Research, Remuneration, and Expat Tax needs, email info@relocationafrica.com, or call us on +27 21 763 4240.

Sources: [1], [2]. Image sources: [1], [2].

Andrew Stegmann
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Nigeria Places Travel Restrictions on South Africans to Curb New COVID Variant

Passengers travelling from South Africa to Nigeria will be subject to strict regulations effective from Monday 28 December 2020. The latest travel restrictions follow the discovery of 501.V2, a mutation of Covid-19 which is more contagious than the original virus.

While several countries have announced outright travel bans prohibiting the entry of passengers departing, or transiting through, South Africa, Nigeria has opted for a monitored approach.

Passengers from the UK and South Africa will be allowed to enter Nigeria on the condition that they present two documents. Travellers will need to obtain a pre-departure permit to fly – in the form of a unique QR code – from the Nigeria International Travel Portal. Additionally, visitors are required to submit proof of a negative Covid-19 PCR test, obtained within 96 hours of the scheduled departure time.

Incoming passengers will be received and processed separately when disembarking from their flights. Nigeria’s Public Health Authority will oversee the arrival of passengers from both the UK and South Africa, with stringent isolated screening processes in place to prevent Covid-19 transmission within the confines of the airport.

Even with a negative Covid-19 test result, all passengers arriving from South Africa will be subjected to a mandatory seven-day quarantine period. Travellers will again be tested on the seventh day of self-isolation. A negative result will allow travellers to exit quarantine while a positive PCR test will require further isolation for a period prescribed by the Public Health Authority.

Incoming travellers will be monitored closely throughout their quarantine stay and have been urged to comply with all restrictions imposed by the Public Health Authority.

The government has also issued a stern warning to airlines which fail to follow protocols. Penalties include a fine of $3,500 (R51,000) for each defaulting passenger. Airlines may also be expected to return non-Nigerian defaulting passengers. Repeated non-compliance by any airline will lead to the suspension of the Airline`s Approval/Permit to fly into the country.

The announcement comes just days after the African Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) revealed that a new Covid-19 variant had been discovered in Nigeria. “It’s a separate lineage from the UK and the South African lineages,” said John Nkengasong, director of the African CDC.

Nkengasong added that it was still too early to tell if the new variant discovered in Nigeria was more contagious.

 

For information as to how Relocation Africa can help you with your Mobility, Immigration, Research, Remuneration, and Expat Tax needs, email info@relocationafrica.com, or call us on +27 21 763 4240.

Sources: [1], [2]. Image sources: [1], [2].