In addition to immigration complexities, security issues and cultural considerations, families relocating to Africa face the challenge of choosing a suitable education pathway. We look at the options.
Assignees moving to Africa often find the process uniquely challenging, owing to immigration complexities, security issues and cultural considerations. Those with school-age children face the added challenge of choosing a suitable education pathway. We look at the availability of international schooling in the region, and offer advice to help parents choose a school.With significant economic growth and one African country forming the ‘N’ in MINTs (Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria and Turkey), the countries expected to become economic powerhouses of the future, the continent of Africa is coming into sharper focus in the world of global mobility as organisations across the world, in search of growth, look to it for new opportunities.The latest reports bear this out. EY’s 2016 Africa Attractiveness survey, Navigating Africa’s Current Uncertainties, found that, despite current uncertainties, the longer-term outlook for economic growth and investment in Africa remained positive.“The next few years will be tough – partly, even largely, as a result of a fragile global economy – but many African economies remain resilient, with two-thirds of sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries still growing at rates above the global average,” said the report.Even though growth across the region is uneven and likely to remain slower in coming years, SSA will continue for the foreseeable future to be the world’s second-fastest-growing region, after emerging Asia. Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique and Ivory Coast are among 17 economies in the region that are forecast by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to have grown in 2016.Larger SSA countries, such as Nigeria and Angola, have been particularly affected by lower oil prices, and growth in South Africa remains slow.Foreign direct investment (FDI) projects increased by 7 per cent year on year, from 722 in 2014 to 771 in 2015. Africa is one of only two regions in the world to have seen growth in the number of FDI projects over the past year.
School choice
Luckily, international schooling has also seen something of a boom in the region. According to the latest figures from the International School Consultancy (ISC) Group, there are currently 792 English-medium international schools throughout Africa, between them teaching more than 339,000 students. ISC Research predicts that there will be more than 1,500 such schools by 2025.
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Challenges of an African education
In addition to immigration complexities, security issues and cultural considerations, families relocating to Africa face the challenge of choosing a suitable education pathway. We look at the options.
Assignees moving to Africa often find the process uniquely challenging, owing to immigration complexities, security issues and cultural considerations. Those with school-age children face the added challenge of choosing a suitable education pathway. We look at the availability of international schooling in the region, and offer advice to help parents choose a school.With significant economic growth and one African country forming the ‘N’ in MINTs (Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria and Turkey), the countries expected to become economic powerhouses of the future, the continent of Africa is coming into sharper focus in the world of global mobility as organisations across the world, in search of growth, look to it for new opportunities.The latest reports bear this out. EY’s 2016 Africa Attractiveness survey, Navigating Africa’s Current Uncertainties, found that, despite current uncertainties, the longer-term outlook for economic growth and investment in Africa remained positive.“The next few years will be tough – partly, even largely, as a result of a fragile global economy – but many African economies remain resilient, with two-thirds of sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries still growing at rates above the global average,” said the report.Even though growth across the region is uneven and likely to remain slower in coming years, SSA will continue for the foreseeable future to be the world’s second-fastest-growing region, after emerging Asia. Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique and Ivory Coast are among 17 economies in the region that are forecast by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to have grown in 2016.Larger SSA countries, such as Nigeria and Angola, have been particularly affected by lower oil prices, and growth in South Africa remains slow.Foreign direct investment (FDI) projects increased by 7 per cent year on year, from 722 in 2014 to 771 in 2015. Africa is one of only two regions in the world to have seen growth in the number of FDI projects over the past year.
School choice
Luckily, international schooling has also seen something of a boom in the region. According to the latest figures from the International School Consultancy (ISC) Group, there are currently 792 English-medium international schools throughout Africa, between them teaching more than 339,000 students. ISC Research predicts that there will be more than 1,500 such schools by 2025.
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Ghana: Economy Among Africa’s Best
Ghana is the eighteenth-most attractive economy for investments flowing into the African continent, according to the latest Africa Investment Index (AII) compiled by Quantum Global’s independent research arm, Quantum Global Research Lab. In 2016, Ghana attracted a net foreign direct investment of US$3.5bn.
According to research by Quantum Global Research Lab (QGRL), Ghana’s economy has experienced strong and robust growth over the past decade, making its success a case worth emulating by its regional peers. Industry was the main driver of overall growth with an annual average growth of about 13%, followed by services with 8.4% and agriculture with about 8%. The strong growth record has fostered the country’s graduation to lower-middle-income status in 2010.
Commenting on the Ghanaian economy, Prof. Mthuli Ncube, head of Quantum Global Research Lab, stated: “Ghana’s democratic attributes are as robust as its economic growth, and by improving policies and institutions, successive governments have been able to build an attractive business climate conducive to growth. These measures include reducing the number of days it takes to register a limited liability company and days spent on resolving commercial disputes in the courts. Furthermore, the election of a new government in 2016 has revitalised the drive for higher growth and infrastructure investment, all which augurs well for investment opportunities in the country.”
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DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO | Conversion to New Biometric Work Card Required
The Ministry of Labor (MOL) of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is in the process of converting to new biometric work cards. Foreign nationals currently applying for work authorization in the DRC will receive the new biometric work card. However, the MOL has further mandated that current holders of valid non-biometric work cards must visit their local MOL office to submit their biometric data and obtain the new biometric card. Reportedly, authorities will begin visiting work sites later this month to assure that all foreign workers have either converted over to the new biometric card or have submitted their biometrics in the process of doing so.
With issuance of the new cards currently taking up to 20 days in many instances, companies and their foreign employees should report to their local MOL office immediately to begin the process of obtaining the new biometric cards before enforcement site visits begin. Foreign nationals working in the DRC who have not received their new biometric work cards should reach out to their Pro-Link GLOBAL Immigration Specialists as soon as possible for assistance.
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Statement from South African Home Office and the Cabinet – 1 August 2017
Statement on a cabinet meeting dated 1 August 2017
Cabinet approved that The Department of Home Affairs may re-open the re-application process for the current Zimbabwean Special Permit holders, under certain conditions. The initial Special Dispensation for Zimbabweans was approved in April 2009 to document Zimbabwean nationals who were in South Africa illegally.
Their permits expire on the 31 December 2017. The Minister of Home Affairs, Prof Hlengiwe Mkhize, will hold a separate briefing to explain the conditions and the process to be followed once the reapplication opens.