President Cyril Ramaphosa may announce in his State of the Nation address this week that jobs in some sectors of the economy will soon be reserved for South African citizens, in a bid to reverse high unemployment and increasing inequality.
The African National Congress (ANC), Cosatu and the South African Communist Party, the tripartite alliance partners, have discussed excluding foreign nationals from some local markets, at the ANC’s recent lekgotla.
Investors are likely to respond negatively to what could be seen as xenophobia.
Banning foreign nationals from working in some sectors would lend credence to the perception that the government is yielding to the kind of xenophobic sentiment that is being pushed by some opposition parties. In the local government elections in November, Herman Mashaba’s ActionSA won 90 seats. Mashaba has spoken out against illegal immigrants and made that a part of his campaign, even though immigration is a national government function.
EFF leader Julius Malema, who has previously spoken out against xenophobia, arrived at Pretoria restaurants and demanded that owners reveal the nationality of their staff. Last week, Bloomberg reported that Zimbabwean nationals living in South Africa are being threatened and coerced into leaving the country.
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