Big escape from SA’s sinking ship

It used to be that those taking the much-reviled “chicken run” and emigrating from South Africa were accused of being bitter white people, unable to come to terms with the end of apartheid or to live under a black government.

These days, though, the complexion of those who want to leave – and look for the genuinely “better life” abroad because, ironically, the ANC government here is providing anything but that – has darkened considerably.

More and more Africans, Indians and coloureds are making inquiries about leaving and increasing numbers, especially with professional qualifications, have already left.

Between 2015 and 2020, a staggering 128 000 people emigrated, or an average of 70 people a day who bought one-way tickets. That figure is set to soar even higher, according to emigration consultants and internet traffic analysts, who say there has been a deluge of personal and online queries from a wide spectrum of South Africans about leaving for good.

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These days it’s not just the usual herd of doctors, lawyers and accountants wanting out. It’s also truck drivers, teachers, artisans and caregivers.

No doubt, there will be those radicals who scream “good riddance” at those who are leaving – even if they are from their own race – and sit back in the mistaken belief that those skills and earning capacities can simply be replaced.

However, that will not happen, mainly because the current best way to employment appears to becoming a well-connected cadre deployee.

Many of those leaving are young families who fear for the future of their children under aggressive affirmative action and black economic empowerment policies, which are still in force in the third decade after the end of apartheid, and which look set to be norm for many more decades.

But most want to leave to escape what clearly looks like a sinking ship.