R7.5 billion Tourism revenue loss will kill thousands of jobs
The latest figures from the Airline Association of South Africa reveal a whopping loss of R7.5 billion being projected for 2015 with the root cause being the draconian visa regulations that have resulted in colossal job losses. Statistics South Africa has recently predicted a loss of 9 300 jobs for 2015 with R4.1 billion already lost to the economy.
I will be writing a letter to Deputy President, Cyril Ramaphosa, requesting him to kick into action and use his powers as Chairperson of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Immigration Regulations to, once and for all, repeal the job-killing visa regulations. It is now overwhelmingly clear that the in-person visa application requirement introduced last year has led to a decrease in tourist arrivals which translates into huge job losses for South Africa.
It has been over two months since President Jacob Zuma announced the Inter-Ministerial Committee to resolve visa issues – and still no progress has been made. Mr Ramaphosa has yet to prove that he takes the country’s dying economy seriously.
To add insult to injury, South African embassies in China, India and Russia have yet to receive biometric machines with which to implement the in-person visa requirements, nor has a date for their arrival been set.
How can government declare biometric data compulsory for travelers and then fail to put in place the necessary infrastructure for South African embassies to implement this requirement? This is ludicrous and punitive to tourists and the South African economy.
The fact that Ramaphosa has allowed those responsible to keep their jobs is appalling whilst South Africans are losing their jobs and livelihoods over mistakes government has made.
With the tourism sector already in duress, how does government expect tourists to arrive at our doorstep when they cannot be properly administered. The DA proposes that Ramaphosa should, at the very least, declare a debate within the IMC, where amendments to the Immigration Act will be discussed to allow tourists to apply for biometric visas upon arrival - not before departure.
With the tourism sector already in duress, how does government expect tourists to arrive at our doorstep when they cannot be properly administered.
Furthermore, the Unabridged Birth Certificates (UBC) requirements that fall under the Immigration Act have been excessively impractical and problematic to a point where Home Affairs has been compelled to release a statement announcing concessions to allow visitors through our borders without their mandated UBC’s. This is another instance where Mr Ramaphosa has failed to recognize the impact on tourism.
I will also be reminding Mr Ramaphosa that the South African Tourism Services Agency (SATSA)– the largest tourism promotion agency in the country – was not consulted prior to the Department of Home Affairs mandating UBC and biometric visa requirements.
It is cause for concern that neither Mr Ramaphosa nor anyone within the IMC has called for concomitant action in the tourism industry where significant stakeholders such as SATSA are addressed in a forum. The members of the IMC, the Ministry of Tourism and the Ministry of Home Affairs all seem to be cavorting in the dark about the destructive effects of the visa laws, and somehow expect the tourism industry to miraculously survive.
Unlike Mr Ramaphosa, the DA recognizes that tourists not only bring revenue into our economy but they also create jobs. Unemployment has reached an alarming 34.9%. The longer Mr Ramaphosa waits, the more jobs South Africans will lose.
Issued by James Vos, DA Shadow Minister of Tourism, 2 October 2015
