Chair, the ACDP acknowledges that the culture of apportioning blame rather than finding solutions is decidedly unhelpful, and we enter this debate with this in mind.
If we are to alleviate the present skills shortage, local government must have the option to employ scarce skills from wherever they can be found - internally or externally - and to do so quickly and efficiently. Pervasive skills shortages imply that closed-economy solutions to the problem will not be sufficient or speedy enough to solve the skills crisis we are experiencing.
In 2008 there were at least 70 municipal authorities in the country without a single engineer or artisan. Government said that affirmative actions and employment equity policies would not be allowed to stand in the way of municipalities and local authorities, but we have yet to see this implemented. Unless we produce at least 2 400 artisans and engineers a year, we are not going to cope with the skills shortages in the country.
Right now, South Africa has a broad range of hard skills that could contribute directly to alleviating the skills and business management crisis in most municipalities and add considerable value to the areas of housing, health care, finance and many other critical areas. Not ensuring access to the skills of African nationals already within our borders, and being chained to affirmative action when service delivery is at stake, is irrational.
As the quality of life in South Africa deteriorates, crippling service delivery protests are likely to erupt again. The ACDP proposes drastically reduced restrictions on skilled foreign immigrants working in South Africa. Schemes like the one in the UK - that allow people that reside in the Commonwealth to work in the country for specified periods - should be considered.
South Africa needs expensive, highly qualified workers. We must find ways to encourage them to work here, and we must ensure that their skills and professional work ethics are transferred to local workers. Thank you.