The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (dtic) will in the next two weeks hold discussions with the hospitality, agriculture and tourism sectors on the employment of South Africans and other issues affecting economic growth.
The planned engagements form part of government's efforts to address migration management while also promoting economic growth and ensuring that local workers benefit from opportunities in the economy.
The announcement was made during a media briefing by the Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) on Migration on Sunday, held to outline progress on government's plans to strengthen migration management, uphold the rule of law and secure the country's borders.
"In the next two weeks the dtic will hold discussions with sectors such as hospitality, agriculture and tourism on matters of employment of locals and other issues related to the growth of the economy," the committee said.
The discussions are expected to focus on the employment of local people and broader economic challenges facing the sectors.
The IMC said the engagements form part of its work on the "economic stream" of the government's migration management plan.
The Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) and dtic will also convene a meeting with businesses operating elsewhere on the African continent to understand the challenges they face and assess the broader impact of the current migration situation.
The government is simultaneously pursuing policy and legislative changes aimed at addressing gaps in migration management.
These include the Citizenship, Immigration and Refugee Protection Bill, the Employment Services Amendment Bill and the Business Licensing Bill, which the IMC said seeks to reserve certain business activities and sectors wholly or partly for South African citizens.
The planned sector discussions come as government intensifies efforts to crack down on businesses employing undocumented migrants as part of its broader migration management strategy.
The IMC said multi-agency law enforcement operations were targeting illegal border crossings, human trafficking, labour exploitation, fraudulent documentation syndicates and businesses employing illegal migrants.
The IMC is expected to continue engaging stakeholders as government seeks to balance migration management, the protection of human rights and efforts to promote economic growth. – SAnews.gov.za
