21 January 2008
Exodus of skilled workers on the cards again - Abacus Recruitment
With the uncertainty as to the future policy direction of the
government and ANC due to Jacob Zuma's recent appointment as
ANC president - as well as other critical factors, such as
the "Jackie Selebi saga" - South Africa is facing another
exodus of skilled workers as people begin to seriously worry
about their future.
So said Karen Geldenhuys, MD of Pretoria-based IT recruitment
agency, Abacus Recruitment. Geldenhuys said skilled workers
are concerned that Zuma might change some of the major
government policies, including pushing for faster, and harsher,
land reforms. "Zuma is popular at grassroots level - and
with the less educated. But a lot of graduates and skilled
workers - both black and white - are concerned about the
future of this country if Zuma becomes the next president in
2009. The worldwide business community is also showing more
than a modicum of concern that Zuma might change the
political and business landscape by ushering in a new era
of a more populist Zuma-focused approach. This is despite
the fact that he has reassured them, in several meetings, that
the President of the country does not make the law, but
rather follows the policies, guidelines and political directions
as laid down by the ruling party.
"Mbeki, on the other hand - while criticized for his handling
of various issues, such as the Zimbabwean crisis and AIDs
- did not change anything really fundamental. Skilled workers
feel safer with him. They are, however, not sure what will
happen if Zuma comes to power."
Besides the concern about the 'changing of the guard', there are
also deep-seated concerns about a major rift in the ANC, as
well as a lack of confidence in the police and judiciary as
more and more stories about government-linked corruption comes to
the fore. The latest of these is the debacle surrounding our
erstwhile national police commissioner, Jackie Selebi.
"I believe a far larger proportion of skilled workers than ever
before have made sure they have back door exits in case
the future turns awry -they are busy ensuring that they have
their visas ready and that they have potential jobs waiting
overseas. It is possible that we might be facing an exodus
of workers last seen since the late 1990s. In addition, while
we were noticing increased interest from South Africans who
were considering returning to South Africa, this is now
far more muted. We are no longer getting as many
applications for jobs in South Africa. I think those
South Africans who are employed overseas are going to
adopt a 'wait and see' attitude."
Geldenhuys said the long-standing concern about out-of-control crime
and gratuitous violence is still among the "major concerns". "There
has been a noticeable increase in crime, including violent crime,
in the Pretoria region for instance - in particular in
Pretoria East. Added to this, the allegations that Selebi,
the country's censured national police commissioner, is
involved in the crime underworld has placed additional doubt
on the wherewithal of the police force to actually protect
its citizens. The question being raised is: if our top cop
can be so corrupt, what about the rest of the police force? What
about their morale? "
Rolling power blackouts thanks to Eskom's inability to meet
electricity demands, is "exacerbating the sitation". "People are
losing faith in the government and parastatals, such as Eskom,
in terms of their capacity to deliver. Eskom was warned about
the pending electricity crisis 10 years ago, but opted to
ignore it - believing it would have more than enough capacity
to meet electricity demands."
She said it is not just skilled IT workers who are "hedging
their bets" - skilled workers across all industries are
worried about the future.
"We are at a crossroads; and, until certain matters are resolved,
such as the Zuma corruption and fraud case, the Selebi case
and the question of a peaceful hand-over of governmental power
in 2009, skilled workers are going to be jittery. They are
going to be eying what they believe may be greener pastures."
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