NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
FOR WRITTEN REPLY
QUESTION 257
DATE OF PUBLICATION: Friday, 07 March 2014
INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 5 of 2014
Mr M S De Freitas (DA) to ask the Minister of Home Affairs:
(a) How does her department apply the terms (i) critical skill and (ii)
national interest to applications for immigration as referred to in the
Immigration Amendment Act, Act 13 of 2011, and (b)(i) how does she intend
to determine the list of critical skills and (ii) on what basis will skills
be determined to be in the national interest?
NW308E
REPLY:
(a)(i) The Immigration Amendment Act, Act 13 of 2011 goes no further
then to refer to âskills or qualifications determined to be critical
for the Republicâ. In addition not all scarce skills can necessarily
be deemed to be critical skills. The Department of Home Affairsâ
interpretation of a critical skill is âthose skills that are deemed to
be critical for improvement in economic growth and without which
certain projects and work could not be undertaken, as well as high-
level skills that will enhance the skills pool in the economy which in
turn will encourage and potentially accelerate growth in the economyâ.
(a)(ii) The National Planning Commissionâs report includes the
recommendation that South Africa should â[a]dopt a more open approach
to skilled immigration to expand the supply of high skills in the
short term, in a manner that obviates displacement of South Africansâ.
The Presidential Infrastructure Coordinating Committee has developed
18 Strategic Integrated Projects (SIPs) to cover social and economic
infrastructure across all nine provinces (with an emphasis on lagging
regions). The SIPs include catalytic projects that can fast track
development and growth. Applications that are deemed to be of national
interest are those of applicants who possess a skill that will
contribute to the Presidential Infrastructure Projects.
(b)(i) The Department initiated a project to draft the Critical Skills
List in November 2013. A researcher was appointed by the Department to
assist with the drafting of the critical skills list. The primary
purpose of the project is to develop a critical skills list to be
published by the Minister of Home Affairs in the Government Gazette.
Such list will inform the Departmentâs strategy for the admission of
migrants to South Africa on the basis of their skills and as required
by Governmentâs decision to import critical skills and by the
Immigration Act of 2002 as amended. The project is expected to be
completed by the middle of March 2014.
(b)(ii) As already indicated in sub-section (a)(ii), applications
that are deemed to be of national interest are those of
applicants who possess a skill that will contribute to national
initiatives such as the Presidential Infrastructure Projects.