According to one of South Africa's main business advocacy groups, the government's inability to address its visa system is having a serious negative impact on the economy and needs to be urgently resolved.
Business Leadership South Africa stated on Monday that tens of thousands of individuals seeking to work or already working in South Africa are facing visa cancellations due to delayed processing times by authorities. While a temporary extension was granted to those already in the country, many more are still waiting for their documents to be processed. BLSA CEO Busi Mavuso highlighted the significant skills shortages in the country and emphasized the need to instill confidence in foreign investors by demonstrating that South Africa can manage its own bureaucracy.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa is due to give an update on his initiative to attract foreign investment to support economic growth and create jobs at an upcoming conference, and Mavuso hopes he will take the opportunity to announce a credible intervention to address the visa situation. The Department of Home Affairs has reported a backlog of 62,692 visa applications.