It appears the protest against foreigners in South Africa is far from over. This time, the South African government appears to be leading it. According to South Africa’s Employment and Labour minister, Thulas Nxesi, South African government will clamp down on employers not complying with the country’s labour laws by unlawfully hiring foreign workers.

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At a departmental ceremony recently, Nxesi said that the influx and employment of displaced foreign nationals in South Africa was not of their making and that the situation was ‘getting out of hand’.

“We cannot in this day-and-age continue with the employment of foreign nationals, and think there will be peace if you are going to take low-level jobs of low-skilled people and give it to displaced people,” he said.

The minister said the intention of employing displaced people was a deliberate act by unscrupulous employers to pay them ‘starvation wages’.

“The intention is to employ displaced people and pay them starvation wages, make them to work long hours, make them to sleep on top of the shops.

“The intention is very simple — it is designed to boost profits through cheap labour,” said the minister.

Nxesi identified hospitality, restaurant, construction, and security as sectors exploiting the displaced foreigners. He said the ‘phenomenon’ was now extending into the retail sector.

“These are not scarce skills jobs. These are jobs that local people can be able to do. Inspectors must deal harshly with employers not complying,” he said.

New legislation

Nxesi’s speech follows confirmation that the Department of Small Business Development is working on a new law that will restrict foreigners from working in certain sections of the economy.

The new legislation will attempt to bar foreign nationals from operating in certain sectors of the economy, a key member of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s cabinet revealed this week.

Justice and Correctional Services Minister Ronald Lamola told a fundraising gala dinner hosted by the Kgalema Motlanthe Foundation on Thursday night that his small business development counterpart, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, was developing legislation in relation to foreign nationals doing business in South Africa.

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“(The minister) is also developing legislation in relation to foreign nationals doing business in our country — which sectors of the economy can they play in and where and how? That is the kind of legislation she is busy with and we are hoping that soon it will be released for public engagement,” Lamola said.

Lamola said the reality was that foreign nationals were needed in certain sectors of the economy for it to grow.

“The legislation will also have to cover and be realistic to such kind of dynamics because we are not going to wake up and have a massive deportation of Zimbabweans, Mozambicans and Lesotho nationals,” Lamola said.

“We need to put in place legislation that will be able to set aside and strike a clear balance that will help us to still grow the economy for the benefit of everyone in South Africa, but still be able to say there are sectors that we need to regulate and be clearly stated that no foreign national can run this kind of a business”.

Lamola denied this was protectionism.

“Because South Africa is the most industrialised economy on the continent, we are going to be the biggest beneficiaries of the Africa Free Trade Agreement. We don’t have the luxury of closing our borders altogether.”

Attacks on foreigners broke out in Johannesburg, South Africa late August 2019, which saw the destruction of more than 50 shops and business premises mainly owned by Africans from countries in the rest of the continent. Cars and properties were torched and widespread looting took place. The violence against African nationals may be a reaction to extra competition for jobs and services in Africa’s most-industrialized economy.

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based Lawyer with special focus on Business Law, Intellectual Property Rights, Entertainment and Technology Law. He is also an award-winning writer. Working for notable organizations so far has exposed him to some of industry best practices in business, finance strategies, law, dispute resolution, and data analytics both in Nigeria and across the world