Minister of Home Affairs Leon Schreiber stated that 11,000 highly educated individuals could boost the economy by 1.8%.
Minister of Home Affairs Leon Schreiber believes importing more tertiary educated workers will boost South Africa’s economy.
Schreiber gave a speech at the Rand Merchant Bank Morgan Stanley Investor Conference on Monday, where he spoke about his department’s role in economic growth.
As well as administrative functions, he envisioned a Department of Home Affairs (DHA) that was a driver of investment, tourism and opportunity.
Skills needed for economic boost
Schreiber said the National Treasury had earmarked the attraction of highly skilled individuals to South African shores as the second highest need on the list of economic growth factors.
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The number one stumbling block to economic growth – load-shedding – is a fading memory, priming the DHA for a pivotal role.
“Bringing just 11,000 more highly skilled and experienced individuals to South Africa would triple the annual growth rate from the 0.6% the country experienced last year,” Schrieber told the conference, citing International Food Poverty Research Institute analysis.
Opening the door to such high-value individuals would be achieved through a new remote work visa that only forces a working visitor to register with SARS if they spend more than half the year in the country.
The economic upside, as per Schreiber, is that these working tourists spend their earnings in South African shops, restaurants and entertainment venues.
Only 16% of South Africans with tertiary qualifications
South African consumers are under pressure, with many having little disposable income. Even high-income earners can have up to 45% of their income taken by the South African Revenue Service (SARS).
Anyone earning over R1 million is subject to a R250,000 flat tax fee plus 41% of their taxable income.
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Additonally, a study released by the Department of Higher Education and Training in March showed 16.6% of the population had a tertiary qualification – that number dropping to 7.3% for bachelor’s degrees.
Figures for nations in Asia, Europe, and the Americas were significantly higher, with Singapore, Denmark, Australia, and the United States all recording bachelor’s degrees for more than 30% of their populations.
Across G20 nations, a combined 41.5% of the populations between the ages of 25 and 35 had obtained tertiary qualifications, as opposed to 13.1% of South Africans in that age bracket.
