South Africa facing the brain drain
Audio 02:18
Some South Africans are considering working abroad as the country's economy struggles to recover.
(Illustrative image) © AP / Denis Farrell
By: Claire Bargelès Follow
3 min
In South Africa, the emigration of skilled workers is not a new phenomenon.
The country does not have official statistics on the number of skilled South Africans going abroad to work, which is problematic to quantify the phenomenon, but the trend could intensify as the economy struggles to recover. straighten out and this could have consequences on the country's economy.
Advertising
From our correspondent in Johannesburg,
At 30, Tshepiso Mogapi is a computer software designer. He has already started looking for jobs abroad, and dreams of being able to settle in the UK or Ireland within two years. “
I have different reasons, but it's mainly for the quality of life, and to have more opportunities and security too. This is a trend that is reflected in my circle of friends. Some say they would like to stay in South Africa, if everything went well economically and politically, but you have to take care of yourself first, before looking after the country,
”says Tshepiso Mogapi.
The country's economic situation has deteriorated a little more with the pandemic, and more than one in three South Africans is now unemployed.
Nicholas Avramis, runs a consultancy firm for South Africans wishing to emigrate to Canada, and he would not be surprised to see the trend towards emigration strengthen.
During the Covid, people were working from home and had more time, so they looked more seriously at their immigration cases.
So our phones just kept ringing.
And since the riots, there has been an explosion of demands.
The immigration process takes a long time, so people are not going to leave tomorrow, but in the next few years we could see more people leaving.
Departures that reduce South Africa's tax revenues
Last start to have been talked about: the CEO of the Clicks drugstore chain has decided to emigrate to Australia. A phenomenon which has the consequence of reducing the country's tax revenues. And for some sectors, these professionals will not be easy to replace according to Johannes Wessels, director of the South African Business Observatory: “
Some of these skills cannot be renewed easily, it takes years to train someone and let him gain experience. And the immigration of skilled workers does exist, but it is very slow. So ultimately we export our productive knowledge
, ”says Johannes Wessels.
Angel Jones has set up a platform to help South Africans abroad return home (Homecoming Revolution), and she believes the situation is not irreversible: “
The government could provide incentives for those who want to return, for example, tax advantages for starting a business, work visas for foreign spouses.
And us, our job is to bring to light the stories of people who have decided to return,
”she explains.
The Center for Development and Enterprise (CDE) calls for it, to compensate, to facilitate the immigration into the country of qualified foreign workers.
Newsletter
Receive all international news directly in your mailbox
I subscribe
Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application
google-play-badge_FR
South Africa
Economy Africa
Employment and Work