President Jacob Zuma referred to them as “unintended consequences”. Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Mmusi Maimane instead chose to call them an “economic catastrophe”.
Maimane on Friday led a protest outside the Department of Home Affairs in Pretoria against demanding the suspension of “job-killing” visa regulations “with immediate effect”.
“This week‚ President Zuma announced the establishment of an Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) on Immigration Regulations to address what he referred to as the ‘unintended consequences’ the new regulations have had on tourism and investment‚” Maimane said.
He said the decision to assign Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa – who also answered questions on the matter in the National Assembly this week – to the IMC “reflects a clear recognition that the new regulations are causing major damage”.
“This is more than just an ‘unintended consequence’‚ but an economic catastrophe that requires more than the establishment of an IMC – it requires immediate action to prevent further job losses. (Home Affairs) Minister (Malusi) Gigaba must act immediately to save tourism jobs‚” Maimane said.
He said his party “recognises the need to protect our borders‚ but it is vital for our economic survival that we strike a balance between this need and the need to promote South Africa as a tourism and investment destination”.
That the latter was being negatively impacted could be seen in figures released by StatsSA that apparently “showed that the total number of visitors is down by 7%”‚ he said.
“The number of tourists from China has declined by 38%‚ while the number from India dropped by 13%. This amounts to almost 12000 less tourists from these two countries alone‚” Maimane quoted.
He said his party came to Pretoria with a memorandum addressed to Gigaba‚ demanding that he:
- “Repeal the requirement in the regulations that makes in-person visa applications for biometrics mandatory‚ replacing it with biometrics upon arrival;
- “Suspend the unabridged birth certificate requirement until a proper evidence-based study into the scale of child trafficking is completed; and
- “Allocate a significant portion of the Department of Tourism’s budget to an international marketing campaign to repair the damage done to our tourism industry in recent months.”
Protecting the tourism industry was paramount‚ argued Maimane‚ as it “makes up 9% of our GDP and is the only industry that has shown consistent growth through the economic slowdown experienced over the past five years”.
“We simply cannot afford to wait for committees to meet – and report back – while jobs are being lost. We urge Minister Gigaba to suspend the visa regulations with immediate effect‚” he said.
Maimane: Suspend visa regulations with immediate effect
Maimane on Friday led a protest outside the Department of Home Affairs in Pretoria against demanding the suspension of “job-killing” visa regulations “with immediate effect”.
“This week‚ President Zuma announced the establishment of an Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) on Immigration Regulations to address what he referred to as the ‘unintended consequences’ the new regulations have had on tourism and investment‚” Maimane said.
He said the decision to assign Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa – who also answered questions on the matter in the National Assembly this week – to the IMC “reflects a clear recognition that the new regulations are causing major damage”.
“This is more than just an ‘unintended consequence’‚ but an economic catastrophe that requires more than the establishment of an IMC – it requires immediate action to prevent further job losses. (Home Affairs) Minister (Malusi) Gigaba must act immediately to save tourism jobs‚” Maimane said.
He said his party “recognises the need to protect our borders‚ but it is vital for our economic survival that we strike a balance between this need and the need to promote South Africa as a tourism and investment destination”.
That the latter was being negatively impacted could be seen in figures released by StatsSA that apparently “showed that the total number of visitors is down by 7%”‚ he said.
“The number of tourists from China has declined by 38%‚ while the number from India dropped by 13%. This amounts to almost 12000 less tourists from these two countries alone‚” Maimane quoted.
He said his party came to Pretoria with a memorandum addressed to Gigaba‚ demanding that he:
- “Repeal the requirement in the regulations that makes in-person visa applications for biometrics mandatory‚ replacing it with biometrics upon arrival;
- “Suspend the unabridged birth certificate requirement until a proper evidence-based study into the scale of child trafficking is completed; and
- “Allocate a significant portion of the Department of Tourism’s budget to an international marketing campaign to repair the damage done to our tourism industry in recent months.”
Protecting the tourism industry was paramount‚ argued Maimane‚ as it “makes up 9% of our GDP and is the only industry that has shown consistent growth through the economic slowdown experienced over the past five years”.
“We simply cannot afford to wait for committees to meet – and report back – while jobs are being lost. We urge Minister Gigaba to suspend the visa regulations with immediate effect‚” he said.
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