An online petition started by an online activist, Mehmet Vefa Dag, calling for the resignation of Home Affairs minister, Leon Schreiber, is gaining traction on social media.
This comes after the minister’s office recently released the critical skills list which includes call centre management, nursing, environmentalists as being on the country’s critical skills list on the back of high levels of unemployment which affects graduates and young people in particular.
The petition, which was started shortly after Schreiber’s appointment as the new minister in July, has gained no less than 1 800 signatories.
South Africa’s Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS), released in May by Statistics South Africa (StatsSA) indicated that the number of unemployed persons increased by 330 000 to 8.2 million during the first quarter of 2024.
According to StatsSA, the official unemployment rate stands at 32.9 %. This suggests an increase of 0.8 of a percentage point in first quarter of 2024 (Q1: 2024) compared to the fourth quarter of 2023 (Q4: 2023).
The results of the QLFS also revealed that the number of employed persons increased by 22 000 to 16.7 million in the first quarter of 2024 compared to the fourth quarter of 2023.
The department also received criticism after its decision to extend work visas to more than 11 000 immigrants who are meant to fill these vacancies.
“As a group of unemployed South Africans, we are deeply concerned by the decision of Leon Schreiber, the DA Minister of Home Affairs, to extend work visas for immigrants. This decision comes at a time when our country is grappling with a crisis of unemployment. With over 19 000 000 skilled workers unemployed within our borders, this measure feels like a severe blow.
“Notably, this decision seems to undermine the diligent work done by Schreiber’s predecessor, former minister Aaron Motsoaledi, who tirelessly worked to streamline our system and remedy the errors of past administrations. Now, it seems we’re again veering off course,” reads parts of this online petition calling for Schreiber’s head.
On Monday, the EFF through its student command led by its secretary-general Khanya Bungane, wrote to minister of higher education calling for the department to investigate the matter of critical skills shortage in the country.
“We are aware that the department of higher education compiles the list of critical skills list report, which it submits to the department of home affairs.
“In terms of legislation, this list must guide the Department of Home Affairs in sourcing foreign and/or non-South African workers from abroad to fill gaps in the South African local economy and labour market.
“The high number of unemployed graduates and youth in South Africa require that we always put the youth in South Africa first and insulate it from asymmetric global competition in our local labour market,” Bungane said.
As such, the party has called for the department to publish a comprehensive skills shortage list, stop the current call for working visas to immigrants and to prioritise SA graduates, young people and locals in some of these jobs.
Attempts to get comment from the Ministry of Home Affairs were unsuccessful at the time of going to print following promises to revert with a statement on some of the recent developments affecting it.
The Star