Creative ideas on migration will open the doors to growth by Lorenzo Fioramonti - Business Day – 28 October 2014 PERCEIVED THREAT: The ANC’s proposal to tighten immigration controls may increase the vulnerability of migrants, rights groups say. SA IS the destination of many workers from the rest of Africa and from the rest of the world. We know that about 7% of SA’s workforce is foreign. More than 38% of workers in gold mines are non-South African citizens and more than 22% of mine workers in all sectors hail from Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland and Mozambique. Data are sketchy and grossly underestimate the phenomenon. Many migrants are employed in informal positions, with precarious jobs, both in terms of safety and social security. Most undocumented migrant workers are poorly captured by official statistics. By all means, migrant workers are a fundamental factor in SA’s economic development. But how supportive and reliable is the present administrative and legislative framework? Let me tell you my personal story. After residing for a few years in SA, in June, I was awarded a chair in regional integration and migration by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco), with a view to supporting innovation in how migration flows are managed at the regional level. And that was when my odyssey with SA’s migration regulations began. Although I’m a permanent resident, my wife and my children do not yet enjoy the same status. My second son, who was born in Pretoria in March, doesn’t enjoy any status at all for the simple reason that, as I have not yet received my identity card, we can’t apply for his either. When we applied for their permanent residence in June, we were told by the newly appointed Visa Facilitation Services (VFS) that the new applications would take about eight weeks. We were quite surprised because my own original application to the Department of Home Affairs took years to be processed. VFS reassured us, quite proudly, that things were finally turning around. Happy and satisfied, we paid the application fee (more than R4,000) and waited. Five months later, there is no sign of any development. VFS has formally apologised to us, indicating that there was a misunderstanding with home affairs and applications now take at least eight months. As my family’s permit expires in two months, we are in limbo. This comes at a time when new visa regulations are being introduced, whose effects on investment, trade and tourism haven’t been clearly assessed. Home affairs has repeatedly announced new regulations for families travelling with minors, but has postponed deadlines for the entry into force of the new rules. In the past, the government was forced into sudden regularisations and expensive deportations when it realised it couldn’t manage the situation. Announcing reforms while being unable to implement them is undermining SA’s credibility. It’s not just a matter of public image. It’s a question of protecting fundamental rights. Delays and uncertainties can wreck a migrant worker’s life. If they can affect a well-protected middle-class family like mine, which can resort to consultants and lawyers, imagine what they can do to individuals and families who do not have the same living conditions. Migrant workers have a fundamental role in developing and reinforcing our economy. Global leaders such as the US and Germany owe much to migrant workers. So do emerging leaders such as Brazil. This is particularly crucial in a country such as SA, with the skills shortage we face in strategic sectors of the economy, including education and healthcare. Our statistics also tell us that, on average, migrant workers from the rest of Africa are better educated and skilled than their equivalents here at home. SA is a regional hub of migration flows. This is a source of opportunity, but can also become a major challenge if migration is not properly managed. What we need is a simple and clear framework to allow citizens of neighbouring countries to seek work and business opportunities in SA. We may even want to consider experimenting with free movement, for instance, within the Southern African Customs Union. In the European Union (EU), where free movement is a reality, most people have not relocated to other countries. As they benefit from clear arrangements that allow them to return regularly to their home country, they need not relocate permanently. Circular migration becomes a reality when workers know that they can freely cross the borders whenever they want or need to. First, simpler rules lower the transactions costs of keeping an expensive bureaucratic system, at present burdened by hefty applications, and whose monitoring quality can be questioned. Second, they give certainty to those wanting to work or set up shop within our borders. Third, they free up resources to speed up the red tape in other areas (such as permanent residence), thus incentivising those skilled migrants who want to reside in SA for the long term. This is likely to ease the dangerous trends in xenophobia, too. As migration rules are simplified and the state’s effort is concentrated on management and monitoring, unfair competition in the labour market is likely to diminish. Legally protected migrants are less likely to accept poorly paid jobs or to engage in crime. They may themselves create job opportunities for locals and bring badly needed resources to SA, especially in times of global economic contraction. The reality is that our systems are neither simple nor clear. Migrant workers find it difficult to migrate to SA, perhaps just as difficult as migrating to western countries but without the benefits of welfare protection and higher income that these nations provide. At the same time, porous borders facilitate unregulated migration, thus creating a paradox: while migrating legally to SA is becoming difficult, crossing the border illegally is a relatively low-hanging fruit. Unmanaged migration is dangerous for several reasons. It strengthens criminal networks that provide the opportunities and protection that migrants do not get from the state. It incentivises low-skilled or unskilled migration rather than the inflow of skilled migrant workers interested in better-paid jobs or business opportunities. It triggers a race to the bottom in terms of salaries and regulations, which erodes labour rights and results in xenophobia. Being blind to the reality of migration doesn’t help. People have moved throughout history. Some governments were smart enough to take advantage of it and, through innovative management policies, built strong economies. Others pretended not to see, only to realise that uncontrolled migration had caused social and security disasters. Next week Thursday, we will present the results of a two-year project carried out in partnership with the African Centre for Migration and Society at Wits University and with the support of the Dialogue Facility between SA and the EU, SA’s Department of Labour, the International Labour Organisation, Statistics SA, SA’s local government agency, and the International Organisation for Migration (miworc.org.za). This close partnership with some departments should serve as an example of positive engagement to those who continue to ignore progressive, evidence-based policy development and prefer to persist with recipes that have failed elsewhere and are proving disastrous here. We hope the new leadership at home affairs will be eager to think creatively about migration. We need open-minded governments that are able to see opportunities where conventional politics mostly sees threats. • Fioramonti is the director of the Centre for the Study of Governance Innovation at the University of Pretoria, and the Unesco Chair in Regional Integration, Migration and Free Movement of People.
Posted on: Tue, 28 Oct 2014 15:23:50 +0000
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