Home Affairs Minister, Malusi Gigaba, is wanting excessive immigration regulations imposed on foreigners crossing our borders for reasons of tighter security measures. The unintended consequences however are that positive revenue generating businesses like tourism, film, modelling and business outsourcing units to name but a few, stand to be severely negatively impacted by making it more difficult for foreigners to visit.
Beverley Schafer MPP. DA Western Cape spokesperson for economic opportunities, tourism & agriculture and Jess Green from ImmigrationSouthAfrica.org deliver a cogent argument as to why an impact assessment needs to be done before these whims become hardcoded legislation. - CP
ALEC HOGG: The Economic Impact Report on Immigration Regulations was, handed to the Minister of Home Affairs, Malusi Gigaba. It tells us that Immigration Regulations are damaging many sectors of the economy but, most particularly, tourism, film and business process outsourcing sectors. All of which are major industries. Joining us from Cape Town to have a look at why this is happening and what could be done about it, are Beverley Sch fer, who is with the Democratic Alliance, and Jess Green who's with ImmigrationSouthaAfrica.org. Beverley, let me just kick off with you, given the political impact of all of this. What is it that has driven these significant changes to the whole Visa Regulations, what's behind the philosophy in the first place?
JESS GREEN: Well, my understanding so far, is that Minister Gigaba is trying, as he has mentioned, to balance what they call security imperatives and economic imperatives. However, it seems to be heavily weighted on the security side, with also no lead times for people to comply and this is causing a lot of confusion, and a lot of difficulty for a number of industries. And, yes, in general you will definitely see a bit of a dive in certain sectors, in the economy, unless something is done.
ALEC HOGG: Sorry, Beverley I meant to address that question to you, from a political perspective. What's driving the politics the here?
BEVERLEY SCH FER: I think there's a point that Jess made. It is really the fact that we've received numerous complaints, right up to our [inaudible: 01:41] reduction unit, to myself, to various people. The Minister of the Western Cape, on economic opportunities and the fact is that people are struggling. They are either impact on business, as you've said and there was really no public participation process that was long enough for everyone to engage. What's more important is this was not a Section 76 Bill. It did not come to the Western Cape for interrogation and for public participation. It was tagged as a Section 75 Bill and, therefore we had no opportunity to create input and have the public engage with this Bill.
ALEC HOGG: Yes, I get that but I'm trying to find out where the heads are, of the bureaucrats who actually implemented these destructive regulations. Are they trying to stop immigration to South Africa of certain units? For instance, you do say in the report, or the report does say that tourism from China and India has gone down by 80 to 90-percent. Well a hell of a lot of Chinese tourists, kind of stayed a bit longer than maybe their tourism visa has allowed them. Is that what the attack was?
BEVERLEY SCH FER: No, I think the attack, according to Minister Gigaba is based on the fact, that we had the black widow' incident, and that he believes and that he believes that security is at stake here but I've already questioned that. We've got three pieces of legislation that focuses on security in the country and why should visa regulations itself, be a component to actually focus on security? We should be using visa regulations creating opportunity for business and leisure industry and people to move across quite easily through our borders. Surely, we should be looking at the implementation of our security legislation, to manage and enforce criminality and people that overstay or are doing something incorrect in the country.
ALEC HOGG: You make a very good point and clearly, our borders are extremely porous for illegal immigrants coming through but just from your perspective. Business must have been, affected if it is now very difficult or much more difficult to get visas.
JESS GREEN: Yes, well from our point of view, on the one hand it's fortunate for our business. On the other hand, it's unfortunate for people. They now have to seek services such as ours, but you made the exact point there. It is quite ironic that the borders, I mean the security is the actual intention (tighter security measures), yet the borders are porous in many places. That's the first ironic point; people are being paid not to look at someone who does not have a visa, for example at Beitbridge. Then you go and look in a country like Russia, people are struggling to get visas or postpone their trip or do not come at all because they have to fly all the way to Moscow, to appear in person. Yet Moscow has not yet been trained they say, and still accepts applications not in person, so it is just a little bit of a mess, unfortunately and some action is still required.
ALEC HOGG: Yes, but there's a newsflash on that, when I used to live in rural KZN I had to drive all the way to Johannesburg or Pretoria to get a visa to go to the Euro-Zone, so we aren't isolated or we aren't alone in that regard.
JESS GREEN: Yes, absolutely but Vladivostok is ten hours away from Moscow, so it's a little bit more than a six hour drive.
ALEC HOGG: Okay, so it's bad for the Russians but generally, what needs to be done or what can be done here? Not what needs to be done (I think we all know that) but given the political imperatives that are being followed, what can be done to perhaps relax these iss
Most recent headlines
04/08/2024
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, is excited to announce Santiago Solanas as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO)....
03/06/2024
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, a...
06/05/2024
It's almost go-time for the Holly Springs Salamanders! The season opener is ...
05/05/2024
A special evening performance by multiplatinum singer Becky G will provide a memorable conclusion to TeievisaUnivision's Casa Cultura upfront event on May 1...
05/05/2024
Giant media buyer Publicis is telling network sales executives that it does not think Nielsen's new panel-plus-big-data currency is ready for this upfront....
05/05/2024
WASHINGTON Glenn Kirschner, legal analyst at NBC News, blasted the media for referring to the New York trial of former President Donald Trump as a hush-money ...
05/05/2024
Catchy Comedy's weekend marathon sees The Beverly Hillbillies on the weekend of May 4-5. The event kicks off Saturday, May 4 at 11 a.m. ET, and runs through...
05/05/2024
NBC Sports has the 150th Kentucky Derby Saturday, May 4. The coverage begins at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock and the feature race at Churchill Downs in Louis...
04/05/2024
NEW YORK As the Asian Pacific American Heritage Month kicks off in May, Nielsen has released an extensive new report diving into their media habits with data sh...
04/05/2024
PHILADELPHIA As National Military Appreciation Month gets underway, Comcast has announced several new initiatives to help veterans, service members, and their f...
04/05/2024
WASHINGTON, D.C. Federal Communications Commission chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel has announced a tentative agenda for the May Open Commission Meeting scheduled...
04/05/2024
The Broadband Forum has announced major enhancements to key 5G convergence standards that the group said will help advance next-generation applications, improve...
04/05/2024
Spotify Wrapped Campaign Spot Graded With DaVinci Resolve Studio
Brie Clayton May 3, 2024
0 Comments
Blackmagic Design today announced that Colorist M...
04/05/2024
Three Boston Conservatory at Berklee Alums Nominated for Tony Awards An additional eight alums and two current students performed in nominated productions.
...
03/05/2024
An innovative learning tool to help media and civil society better understand ho...
03/05/2024
PARK CITY, UTAH - JANUARY 21: (L-R) Actors K stutis Cic nas and Greta Grinevi i t , Director Marija Kavtaradze and Producer Marija Razgute attend the 2023 Sunda...
03/05/2024
If you aren't familiar with Danny Ocean's music, it's only a matter ...
03/05/2024
Spotify has an unwavering commitment to supporting emerging artists across all genres, to helping them launch and thrive in their careers, and to connecting the...
03/05/2024
Como uno de los sonidos de mayor expansi n en el mundo, la M sica Mexicana va m ...
03/05/2024
As one of the fastest-growing sounds worldwide, M sica Mexicana is more than jus...
03/05/2024
NEW YORK FuboTV reported that it lost 110,000 subs in Q1 2024 but it exceeded its guidance for the quarter with double digit year-over-year increases across key...
03/05/2024
Only 3 Weeks Left To Enter The Creative Industries Most Award
Brie Clayton May 3, 2024
0 Comments
Creativepool is giving a last call to the creative i...
03/05/2024
WePlay Studios Transforms the Future of Live Event Storytelling with AJA Gear
Brie Clayton May 3, 2024
0 Comments
By 2032, the esports market is expec...
03/05/2024
WASHINGTON Shannon Bream, Fox News Sunday anchor and chief legal correspondent, sat for a keynote chat at The Business of TV News, with Tom Umstead, senior co...
03/05/2024
WASHINGTON Asked how important is local news, Martha Raddatz, who has covered foreign conflicts for decades and moderated presidential debates for ABC News, s...
03/05/2024
Sony Pictures and Apollo Global Management have made a $26 billion cash offer fo...
03/05/2024
CBS announced its 2024-2025 primetime schedule, which features the new dramas NCIS: Origins, Matlock and Watson, and new comedies Poppa's House and Georgie ...
03/05/2024
Sports-focused streaming service Fubo said it reduced its red ink in the first quarter, despite losing 110,000 subscribers since the end of the year....
03/05/2024
Walmart is reportedly about to release a new 4K streaming box/smart speaker hybrid device for Google TV that could retail for as low as $50, according to a repo...
03/05/2024
Enhancements to its Delivery Workspace solution provide increased content delivery robustness and security
By Matthew Corrigan
Published: May 3, 2024
Enha...
03/05/2024
According to reports, if the bid is successful, Sony would be the significant majority shareholder of the new private company
By Jenny Priestley
Published: M...
03/05/2024
Located in Manchesters Spinningfields district, the course aims to equip students with the skills, knowledge and industry insight for a career in the creative s...
03/05/2024
Lightbridge has created a new Cine Reflect Lighting System kit, dedicated to enabling artistic lighting with consideration of today's productivity practical...
03/05/2024
Broadcast media systems integrator BeckTV and Lawo worked together on a large-scale AES67 build of radio control rooms at KPBS, San Diego's NPR and PBS memb...
03/05/2024
Raleigh, NC, April 12, 2024 SmallHD announces PageOS 6, a powerful software update free for owners of SmallHD monitors, featuring increased functionality, exp...
03/05/2024
SmallHD announces the Quantum 32 a new 31.5 OLED monitor designed to provide reference HDR/SDR images for post-production final color grading, as well as cri...
03/05/2024
By 2032, the esports market is expected to grow to $9.29 billion, bolstered by a global player count and fan following that both continue to climb. The 2023 Lea...
03/05/2024
Amagi, the global leader in cloud-based SaaS technology for broadcast and connected TV (CTV), today announced that the 11th edition of the Amagi Global FAST Rep...
03/05/2024
Riedel Communications today announced that Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR) is relying on a media and intercom network based on Riedel technology for the renewal of...
03/05/2024
Broadpeak , a leading provider of content delivery network (CDN) and video streaming solutions for content providers and pay-TV operators worldwide, announced t...
03/05/2024
Media technology innovator Limecraft will exhibit the latest updates to its online platform on stand G79 at the 15-16 May 2024 Media Production & Technology Sho...
03/05/2024
Audio interface specialist Prism Sound is partnering with console manufacturer Solid State Logic, professional monitor manufacturer PMC and acoustic panel and d...
03/05/2024
Intinor, Sweden's leading developer of products and solutions for high-quality video over the internet, is set to join forces with its UK partner Zest Techn...
03/05/2024
NAKIVO Inc., a fast-growing software company dedicated to protecting physical, virtual, cloud, and SaaS environments, announced its Q1 2024 financial results to...
03/05/2024
Hiltron Communications announces an addition to its range of satellite communication products and systems: a field-upgradable motorisation kit specifically desi...
03/05/2024
Visit LiveU at Stand D30
With this year an exceptional one for major sporting events alongside multiple, key elections, the power and flexibility of LiveU'...
03/05/2024
Agile Content, the leader in the development of technology and solutions for the provision of television services over the Internet, announces Koldo Unanue as i...
03/05/2024
Eight co-signers representing streaming services, pay TV operators and public interest groups have sent a letter to Congressional leaders urging their Committee...
03/05/2024
BOSTON Brightcove has announced that it has implemented Amazon Q Business, a new generative AI assistant on Amazon Web Services (AWS)....
Home Affairs Minister, Malusi Gigaba, is wanting excessive immigration regulations imposed on foreigners crossing our borders for reasons of tighter security measures. The unintended consequences however are that positive revenue generating businesses like tourism, film, modelling and business outsourcing units to name but a few, stand to be severely negatively impacted by making it more difficult for foreigners to visit. 
