Andrew Stegmann

‘SA UNDERMINING THE VALUE OF HOME AFFAIRS’

JOHANNESBURG – Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba says South Africa has failed to exploit the department’s full potential by undermining the value of its services for decades.

Gigaba has participated in a roundtable discussion hosted by the Black Business Council in Johannesburg, where issues of immigration regulation and youth employment were discussed.

He says Home Affairs is only starting to solidify its role as a gatekeeper and a means of ensuring national security.

Gigaba says neglect of the Home Affairs Department has resulted in the adoption of a negative view.

“The officials of the department themselves have a low opinion of themselves and therefore it impacts on their level of professionalism or lack thereof.”

But he says the department plays a role far more important than many realise.

“The identity document cards we issue enable South Africans to enter into economical and financial transactions of all sorts.”

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Andrew Stegmann

SA GOVT COULD OFFER VISA WAIVER FOR INTERNATIONAL GRADUATES

CAPE TOWN – Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba has encouraged foreign students in South Africa to consider working in the country to boost the country’s skills development.

Gigaba addressed the International Students Conference hosted by University of Cape Town in Newlands yesterday.

He told the gathering more than 20,000 African health professionals who studied on the continent are either working in Europe or in North America.

Gigaba says the government wants to change this and his department will issue a visa waiver for international graduates with critical skills.

He says those who wish to work in the country will qualify for a long-term work visa.

Gigaba says the South African government is trying to retain African graduates on the continent.

The minister’s also encouraged young South Africans to consider studying at universities in other parts of the continent.

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Andrew Stegmann

Great strides made to fix SA’s revised immigration policy but a few problems remain

COMMENT
When the new immigration regulations were implemented in 2014, they were met with near-universal condemnation. Parents were outraged at the new requirements for travelling minors, the tourism sector was in a state of near panic as tourist arrivals dwindled thanks to prohibitively onerous legal requirements and investors and businesspeople were left unsure as to what extent their freedom of movement would be impeded. It was an untenable situation.

In response, an interministerial committee was established to develop measures to address some of the main issues. The immediate measures proposed by the committee included:

  •  Implementing systems to capture biometrics at key ports of entry, with pilot programmes at OR Tambo, King Shaka and Cape Town international airports;
  • Introducing an accredited tourism company programme for Brics countries, specifically China, Russia and India;
  • Considering a long-term multiple entry visa for a period ranging from three months to three years to accommodate business travellers and academics;
  • Allowing principals to issue letters confirming permission for children to travel on school tours, and;
  • Extending the validity period of the parental consent affidavit to six months.

Progress has been swift and highly encouraging. The biometric systems are in place at the three major airports as well as Lanseria, and have been successfully tested. Thanks to this, transit visas are no longer required for persons travelling through these ports of entry. To ease the entry requirements for groups of Chinese travellers, the department of home affairs waived the requirement to have to apply for a port of entry visa in person when traveling in a group — on the condition that the biometric data of such travellers are taken upon arrival and departure from South Africa. Whereas this is largely thanks to the highly regulated Chinese tourism sector, which means tour operators in that country are already accredited by the Chinese government, recognition must go to home affairs for taking such a practical stance.

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Andrew Stegmann

Ethiopia: Why It’s Right Time to Invest in Ethiopian Hotel Industry?

Growing the number of hotels is part of the plan to make Ethiopia one of the top five tourist destination in Africa

While the Ethiopian economy continue enjoying double digit growth, the hospitality sector is poised for further growth in the wake of increased number of inbound travelers into the country with expected opening of the AU Grand Hotel, Pullmann, Crowne Plaza, Wyndham Hotel Group, Crowne Plaza, Accor Group and Best Western.

Being the third largest diplomatic community in the world, following New York and Geneva, Addis Ababa has become home to several new star hotels. Conferences in the African Union and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa have increased the demand for brand hotels bringing a huge chunk of foreign currency to the tourism economy. The city is home to the world’s third highest concentration of embassies bringing the majority of the diplomatic missions into the country. Large global bases for NGO’s, embassies and aid agencies also created massive market for the hotels.

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