Pretoria: The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (dtic) will in the next two weeks hold discussions with the hospitality, agriculture, and tourism sectors on the employment of South Africans and other issues affecting economic growth. The planned engagements are part of the government's efforts to address migration management while also promoting economic growth and ensuring that local workers benefit from opportunities in the economy.
According to South African Government News Agency, the announcement was made during a media briefing by the Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) on Migration on Sunday. The briefing was held to outline progress on plans to strengthen migration management, uphold the rule of law, and secure the country's borders. The IMC highlighted that the discussions are expected to focus on the employment of local people and broader economic challenges facing the sectors.
The IMC stated that the engagements form part of its work on the "economic stream" of the government's migration management plan. Additionally, the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) and dtic will convene a meeting with businesses operating elsewhere on the African continent to understand the challenges they face and assess the broader impact of the current migration situation.
The government is also pursuing policy and legislative changes aimed at addressing gaps in migration management. These include the Citizenship, Immigration and Refugee Protection Bill, the Employment Services Amendment Bill, and the Business Licensing Bill, which seek to reserve certain business activities and sectors wholly or partly for South African citizens.
These planned sector discussions come as the government intensifies efforts to crack down on businesses employing undocumented migrants as part of its broader migration management strategy. The IMC mentioned that multi-agency law enforcement operations are targeting illegal border crossings, human trafficking, labor exploitation, fraudulent documentation syndicates, and businesses employing illegal migrants.
The IMC is expected to continue engaging stakeholders as the government seeks to balance migration management, the protection of human rights, and efforts to promote economic growth.