Mashaba slams tertiary institutions for hiring foreign academics

ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba has joined the chorus condemning tertiary institutions appointing foreign academics over locals.

It’s a “reckless disregard for immigration controls”, which brought much suffering among vulnerable South Africans who bore the brunt of porous borders, he said of the statement by Deputy Minister of Higher Education, Buti Manamela, which seemingly supported the continued appointment of foreign academics at the expense of locals at SA universities and TVET colleges.

Mashaba, as the mayor of the City of Joburg, opposed the flooding of undocumented and illegal immigrants, while he clearly stated that he welcomed those who were in the country legally.

‘Employ locals in teaching institutions’ – Mashaba

But some ANC members in the municipality and top leaders in government accused him of being xenophobic.

Mashaba said over time, the consequences of the lack of immigration control have escalated, with higher levels of employment under threat due to unfair competition and foreign dominance in critical sectors

“The result is what we face today: uncontrolled immigration that has created unfair competition for basic services and economic opportunities between South Africans and many foreign nationals, who should never have been permitted to remain in the country in the first place.”

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“It is no secret that South Africa suffers from one of the highest unemployment rates in the world. Millions of our citizens, many of them young graduates, are unable to find work.

“In this context, prioritising the employment of South African academics within our universities is not only reasonable, but essential.

“These institutions have a constitutional and ethical obligation to uplift South Africans by providing opportunities for them to contribute their skills and expertise,” Mashaba said.

Attempt to meet affirmative action and employment equity requirements

Since 1994, the employment of foreigners, particularly from other African states, has intensified as institutions attempted to meet affirmative action and employment equity requirements.

This continued even after former higher education minister Blade Nzimande introduced a special programme to train and promote local black academics, particularly black professors.

During a recent discussion of the parliamentary committee on higher education, Ashley Sauls from the Patriotic Alliance publicly humiliated the leadership of the Bloemfontein-based Central University of Technology when he vigorously questioned them for hiring a foreign candidate as a dean of faculty, when a local candidate who was more qualified with a PhD degree was overlooked.

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