HILARY JOFFE: Red tape for work visas hobbles growth and fuels inequality
23 February 2020 - 05:05
It took Nampak 18 months to obtain a work visa for the chief bottle-maker it urgently needed for its glass business - a business it has now sold to an international player, in part because it couldn't access the specialised skills needed to make it work. Chief bottle-makers are apparently very rare globally, but are essential if you're producing glass bottles. And while Nampak's story is just one random work-visa woe, it goes to the heart of SA's scarce-skills crisis and its implications for growth, investment and inequality...
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