S snippets SERVE AND DELIVER HOME AFFAIRS CREATES ONE-STOP SHOP FOR BUSINESS APPLICATIONS The Department of Home Affairs has created a one-stop shop for business more easily. This will happen while we continue to observe and respect existing applications to give effect to the recommendations of its visa reform initiative. immigration laws,” said Home Affairs Minister, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi. The one-stop shop, known as the Trusted Employer Scheme, was created The TES brings the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition, the with the view to streamlining the visa regime and a speedy processing of visa Department of Employment and Labour and the Department of Home Affairs applications. To qualify for membership, an employer, investor or business under a single system to finalise applications for companies that apply for needs to demonstrate that it has the financial strength to employ a foreign critical skills through the TES. national, that it runs training programmes for South African citizens and that All local applications will be processed through the Corporate Accounts it is a good corporate citizen. Unit which was established in February 2010 to facilitate work visa It is one of the latest developments in the review and streamlining of applications for large companies and corporations. Applications submitted South Africa’s visa regime to attract skills for the South African economy abroad will also be expedited due to the reduced requirements. and to promote tourism. “With the Trusted Employer Scheme (TES), the 22 weeks average visa process will be reduced to an average of 20 days thereby making it easier for employers to plan their recruitment and on-board expats into local operations within a shorter time. This is one scheme that will allow South Africa to attract skills and manage immigration, particularly in the processing of applications for senior executives, technical personnel, corporate employees and investors MORE FORMAL HOUSING FOR NORTH WEST PROVINCE The North West Province has experienced unprecedented levels of development in the last 30 years, with the number of households increasing from 591 145 in 1996 to over 1.14-million in 2022. When delivering the State of the Province Address, Acting Premier Nono Maloyi revealed that this depicts an upward trend of 88% of formal housing in the province. Since 2019, the provincial government has built over 19 000 houses. In 2023 alone over 2 700 were handed over to beneficiaries. Acting Premier Maloyi maintains the focus will now be centred on eradicating mud houses. “R198-million has been allocated to eradicate 1 356 mud houses in the province, with 579 of these units already delivered,” he said. Furthermore, efforts to eradicate mud houses have been strengthened by the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the provincial government and the Chinese National Import and Export Corporation to build gas-toelectricity power stations in the province. The Chinese have committed to investing further resources to assist in eradicating mud houses in the province by building 500 houses every year, for the duration of the project. The project is expected to create a minimum of over 10 000 jobs. Providing an update on the Deelpan Floods intervention programme, Acting Premier Maloyi announced that the provincial government has cleared all the hurdles that delayed the project and that 104 houses will be completed by the end of March 2024. A further 317 houses will be built following the donation of land by Kgosi Kogodi Molete of Bakolobeng and his Traditional Council. In addition, the provincial government will be launching the R2.6-billion N14 mixed development project in Ventersdorp. This development will see the installation of bulk services for 4 000 sites and create over 600 jobs for local people through the construction of Breaking New Ground, social housing and bonded stock. Acting Premier Maloyi added that the provincial government will continue to ramp up the title deeds restoration programme by handing over title deeds to rightful owners. To date, 6 283 title deeds have been handed over to beneficiaries across the province. DRIVING AGENDA 2063 Our future as South Africa is intrinsically linked to Africa’s stability, unity and prosperity. Let us embrace and partner with our fellow Africans residing in South Africa and elsewhere on the continent. Together we can work towards a stable continent to ensure prosperity for our region and the rest of Africa. In realising the goals of Agenda 2063, we can transform the nations of the continent into democratic, peaceful and innovative powerhouses that will aim to be global players in the next 50 years. One of the flagship projects of Agenda 2063, which harnesses the combined strength of the continent is the acceleration of the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). The AfCFTA makes doing business in the continent easier and presents an unprecedented opportunity for African countries to diversify their exports, attract foreign direct investment and grow their economies. It holds the potential to boost intra-African trade by over 50% and can inject $450-billion worth of investments into the African economy. South Africa is a strong supporter of the free trade area which has the potential to act as a catalyst to South African economic growth and bolster the country in addressing its triple challenges of poverty, unemployment and inequality. Our entrepreneurs, including medium to small businesses, will benefit through the free trade area. It is in our national interest to grow the South African economy by creating jobs, providing basic services and ensuring equal access to opportunities. South Africa remains committed to Africa’s advancement and as the most industrialised economy on the continent, we are actively working to facilitate intra-Africa trade, enhance skills development, foreign direct investment and international cooperation. Dr Ntombifuthi Nala is Director: Research, Government Communication and Information System 6 | <strong>Service</strong> magazine
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