South Africa’s Finance Minister Tito Mboweni has said businesses in the restaurant industry must employ more South African nationals.
Mboweni asserted that after the lockdown comes to end, the country will pursue a “South Africa first” strategy in the service industry. He said:
The proportion of South Africans working in a restaurant must be greater than that of non-South Africans… The new economy after lockdown must prioritise South Africans, but this must not discriminate against non-South Africans either.
We will assist those who show a willingness to hire staff from SA… Every spaza shop must be licenced to operate, must have a bank account and registered for tax and open itself up for health inspections from the Department of Health. South Africans needing jobs should download new z83 forms.
South Africa hosts millions of citizens of other African nations who flock to the country looking for jobs.
Most of them end up taking some of the low-paying menial jobs resulting in friction with locals which sometimes flare up in xenophobic attacks.