Western Cape Minister of Economic Opportunities Alan Winde has spoken out against the new Immigration Regulations imposed by Minister of Home Affairs Malusi Gigaba during a Public Hearing in the Western Cape last week. He said: “Home Affairs has stuck the band-aid far from the wound.”
Winde said during the hearing that the rules are mainly impacting law-abiding businesses and private citizens and not those who defy the rules. He said he has called on Gigaba to retract the new rules until a full investigation into their impact has been conducted and until the government has put systems in place to back up the new regulations.
Winde noted the new regulations cost could be as high as R10-billion and that 21 000 jobs could be placed on the line. He said: “These regulations stand in direct contrast to the efforts being made by other government administrations and the private sector to grow tourism to our region. It is of high concern when we hear that international tour operators are cancelling all marketing spend on our region in favour of other countries.”
The Western Cape Provincial Parliament organised the hearings in order to consider the impact of the new regulations on key industries contributing to the economy as well as on the life of ordinary people.
Beverley Schäfer, Chairperson of the Western Cape Provincial Parliament’s Standing Committee on Economic Development, Tourism and Agriculture, said: “The standing committee recognises the seriousness of human trafficking, and also recognises government’s steps to tackling such a horrendous human rights crime in South Africa. Complaints regarding the amended visa regulations raised with the committee, stem from stakeholders across many different sectors of the Western Cape, and seem to suggest that the implications are far reaching. These complaints must be heard and investigated as to the impact that they may be having here in the Western Cape.”
