Yes, restrict the jobs for foreigners, please

There are not enough jobs for SA citizens, let alone the millions from all over Africa, writes

TSusan Orpen

he Citizen’s headline on Tuesday was welcome. If the ANC is indeed imposing restrictions on jobs for foreigners, one may be forgiven for deducing that at last the penny begins to drop.

Whenever xenophobia erupts in South Africa, we have a lot of stuffed shirts proclaiming we are all Africans.

Is this really the message we should be sending? Can we afford to be so magnanimous? Our population stands at 56 million. There are not enough schools, hospitals, clinics, housing or jobs for our citizens, let alone the uncounted millions from all over Africa.

Countries such as Zimbabwe and Malawi are economically bankrupt. I believe their people should find ways to make their democracies operate better. It is an easy option to run to SA to find jobs. The money they earn here does not stay in this country – it pours out of our borders to support starving families elsewhere.

Our local population has, for over two decades, been promised a better life for all. This has not materialised, but has led to an attitude of entitlement, and a reluctance to do menial jobs. These are snapped up happily by Malawians.

And another social problem: I have heard Julius Malema exhorting people to make lots of black babies. He cannot be serious. Millions of school-leavers have no prospects of ever finding work, yet more and more children pour into the education system each year. Shouldn’t the penny drop here too?