The reinstatement of the plan to offer early retirement to senior civil servants as part of a broader strategy to reduce the nations high public sector wage bill has been met with mixed reactions with critics arguing that it will result in a brain drain in the countrys civil service.The medium-term budget policy statement (MTBPS) tabled by finance minister Enoch Godongwana on 30 October noted that the government was proposing to reactivate early retirement without penalties in 2025/26 and 2026/27 in a bid to further contain public service wage costs amid a deteriorating fiscus.To support this initiative, an additional R11 billion will be allocated over the next two fiscal years. Details will be set out in the 2025 Budget, stated the budget documents.The MTBPS highlighted that the public sector wage bill represents the governments most substantial financial challenge. Additionally, Treasury noted that the unresolved nature of the 2025/26 wage agreement, particularly its impact on employee compensation benchmarks, presents a major risk to the countrys medium-term fiscal outlook.A Centre for Risk Analysis report highlights that the countrys public sector wage bill costs South Africa around R721 billion a year (2023/24 figures) over 30% of the countrys budget.Although South Africa has a much smaller economy, its wage bill as a share of GDP (about 10.5%) towers over economic powerhouses such as the United States, United Kingdom, Australia and Japan, it said.Godongwana stated that the government was rolling out these incentive initiatives to reduce the size of the workforce and attract younger talent to the public service.This is part of building a capable, ethical, and developmental government, said Godongwana.Not so fastWhile some have lauded this move, some trade unions, civil society organisations and economists have raised a red flag that this may not achieve the desired outcome, but rather result in an exodus of necessary skilled civil servants.South Africas largest trade union federation, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu), said that the government should attract and retain skills in the public service rather than showing people the door and lamented the cutting down of the public service wage bill.The MTBPS has confirmed that the public service wage bill has shrunk and not grown as a portion of the Budget from 35.7% to a projected 31.4% [and] frontline services from hospitals to schools, Home Affairs and the SAPS, are paying the price for the dangerous reductions in filling essential posts, said Cosatu in a

statement.We are witnessing the loss of critical skills. SARS has shown that by appointing competent management, removing corrupt elements, filling key vacancies and investing in the capacity of the state; society reaps the rewards of quality public services that spur economic growth. This is the model that needs to be followed, not suffocating the nurse or teacher, added the trade union.Civil society organisation Section27 said that concerns linger that this move wont sufficiently address understaffing in education and healthcare¦ in fact, this proposal juxtaposes with provinces efforts to redress staff shortages and backlogs caused by austerity budgeting.The organisation cited Gauteng Healths recent decision to rehire retired staff to tackle hospital backlogs, highlighting a broader issue in both health and education sectors.It said early retirement proposals limit skills transfer, leaving inexperienced staff to fill critical roles.The government must recognise public sector wage spending as an investment in delivering on its constitutional obligations, rather than a burden, said Section27.Speaking to BusinessTech, Chief Economist of the Efficient Group Dawie Roodt said that while he believes that it is important to trim the public sector wage bill, this move would result in the exodus of very skilled individuals, greatly hampering service delivery.The people that will leave are experienced people, which will have a huge impact on service delivery, said Roodt.With an influx of young, inexperienced workers, I think it is going to deteriorate the kind of services we get from civil service [which is already subpar], he added.Roodt explained that it will be some slight saving on the wage bill, but really not much.He said that the main issue of the civil service wage bill is that most are hopelessly overpaid.For example, the number of government employees earning over R1 million per year has increased by 280% from a decade ago, with almost 38,000 public workers earning six figures in 2024 and even more when adding all the perks and benefits.While there are many who are productive and hardworking, Roodt said, a huge portion are not giving the state value for money for the services they pay for.He said that reigning in on overpaid salary bands would achieve a much-needed penny-pinching without losing critical skills that would hamper service delivery. V.5685

South Africa’s Home Affairs and Employment and Labour departments have high-risk employment sectors in their sights and could soon crack down on illegal workers in the on-demand delivery space.This could pose a significant challenge for on-demand and fast food delivery services like Bolt, Checkers Sixty60, Pick n Pay asap!, and Uber Eats.While these companies vet and check driver identity documents as part of their signup processes, Home Affairs appears to have a significant fraud problem, and many of the asylum documents or work permits held by drivers may be fraudulent.Minister of Employment and Labour Minister Nomakhozana Meth, in response to recent parliamentary questions, said her department plans to target high-risk sectors.In partnership with law enforcement, the Departments of Home Affairs and Employment and Employment and Labour have been conducting raids at restaurants nationwide to identify and remove illegally employed foreigners. V.5694
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Diaspora remittances by Kenyans living and working in South Africa have posted a recovery after years of subdued performance in the post-pandemic period largely on difficulties in getting work permits for skilled workers despite a visa-free deal between the two countries.Yes, the amount of money sent home by Kenyans in South Africa has increased despite difficulties with work permits: Remittances are up V.5692
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The Department of Home Affairs (DHA) Counter Corruption and Security Services branch has busted various individuals, including the kingpin of a syndicate that helped businesses bring in illegal foreign nationals on forged documents.Thirty-four individuals have been dismissed from the department, of which 13 have been sentenced. Depending on their level of involvement, those convicted face jail time ranging from four to 26 years.This was revealed in the DHA Counter Corruption and Security Services branchs presentation to the Portfolio Committee of Home Affairs on Tuesday, 29 October 2024.The branch said it employed a multi-disciplinary approach to catch those involved in the syndicate after a whistle-blower informed it about foreign nationals getting South African passports through photo swap fraud. V.5693
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Germany and Somalia reached an agreement to deport undocumented Somali nationals from Germany.The German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, said migrants without the right to stay in Germany would be repatriated quickly and effectively.At present, 65,000 Somalis live in Germany.The leaders of Germany and Somalia have agreed to step up the repatriation of undocumented Somalis in Germany. V.5690
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Only an immigration officer may arrest a person deemed an illegal foreignerThe process of deporting illegal foreigners in South Africa is governed by the Immigration Act which empowers the home affairs department to arrest, detain and deport people who are not entitled to stay in the country. Home affairs minister Leon Schreiber, in a reply to a parliamentary question, said the department spent close to R53m between April and August to deport 19,750 illegal foreigners.The Scalabrini Centre of Cape Town, a nonprofit organisation which helps migrant communities and displaced people, details the process which must take place after someone has been found to be illegally in the country. V.5691
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On Tuesday, the Constitutional Court heard arguments from the DA that sought to confirm a ruling by the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) that the government cannot remove someone’s citizenship simply because they are also a citizen of another country.The roots of this case go back more than a decade. The Home Affairs Ministry, currently headed by the DA’s Leon Schreiber, did not argue in the case, but simply said in court it would abide by its decision. This followed an earlier decision by his predecessor, the ANC’s Dr Aaron Motsoaledi. While he had first opposed the case, before the election this year, he had said publicly he would not oppose the ratification of the SCA’s judgment by the Constitutional Court.Legally, one of the questions at the heart of the case is whether the minister of Home Affairs has the power to make a decision that is so important to a person’s life. V.5689
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The tourism sector remains a cornerstone of the South African economy, driving economic growth and job creation. While various provinces are vying for the title of South Africas top tourist destination, Gauteng has consistently emerged as the popular choice for both domestic and international visitors.In a recent parliamentary response to the DAs Haseena Ismail, Tourism minister Patricia de Lille unpacked some of the key figures in the countrys critical sector since 2022.According to the minister, of the approximately ~5.7 million international tourists that visited South Africa between January and December of 2022, 2.3 million visited Gauteng, followed by Mpumalanga at 1.2 million and the Western Cape at 0.9 million. V.5688
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They are facing charges of contravening various sections of the Immigration Act.Two men accused of producing fake home affairs documents have been released on bail.Khalid Hoosen, 58, and Sirajbhai Isiyailbhai Patel, 56, made their second appearance in the Durban Magistrates Court in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) on Tuesday.National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Natasha Ramkisson-Kara said they are facing charges of contravening various sections of the Immigration Act, 2002 (Act No.13 of 2002). V.5683
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CEO Alinah Fosi said the poor state of the 50-year-old building made it difficult to install state of the art machinery and its needing to outsource information technology help to get systems up to scratch.CAPE TOWN - Much of the ineffectiveness of government`s printing works has been blamed on the Department of Public Works and SITA, governments information technology agency.Following a surprise visit recently by Parliament`s Home Affairs committee, the printing works was again before the House on Tuesday, to provide a progress report on how it’s implementing recommendations to turn around operations. V.5684
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The Minister and Director-General of Home Affairs will abide by the ConCourt`s decision.The Democratic Alliance (DA) says the South African citizenship for individuals who lost it after obtaining citizenship in another country should be reinstated.One such case involves Philip James Plaatjies, who lost his South African citizenship in 2007 after becoming a naturalised citizen of the United Kingdom (UK), following his marriage to a British woman three years prior.Unaware of the consequences, Plaatjies was affected by Section 6(1)(a) of the Citizenship Act, which states that South Africans automatically forfeit their citizenship if they voluntarily and formally acquire citizenship of another country.According to Section 6(2) of the Act, individuals must apply to the Minister of Home Affairs to retain their South African citizenship before obtaining foreign citizenship.DA challenges Citizenship ActPlaatjies’ pursuit of dual citizenship led the DA to challenge the constitutionality of Section 6(1)(a) of the Citizenship Act. V.5686
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