SA could lose top wildlife defender

The news that an eminent defender of endangered wildlife is looking to move overseas will come as a shock to many in the conservation community.

An on-the-ground fighter against the poaching of one of South Africa’s most endangered species, he said crime and corruption, plus the lack of job opportunities had become too much.

“There is no future here, my children can’t find jobs. The country has a puncture and there’s no repair kit,” he said.

“There will be a brain drain in South Africa, especially an academic brain drain. We can’t carry on like this, the cost of living, the water crisis, the power crisis, the petrol crisis, the tax crisis. It doesn’t end.”

President Cyril Ramaphosa has said on numerous occasions we are a country of people who are resilient. That may be, but there’s also a limit to how much people can take and when and if they have the opportunity, they will opt for it.

With an unemployment rate of more than 33%, even our youth are eyeing international opportunities. A 2021 study by the Inclusive Society Institute found 11.13% of South Africans with higher education were seriously considering emigrating to another country in the next year or two.

Factor in the load shedding, the spectre of greylisting causing yet another slump in the rand, and it isn’t looking pretty.

While we are able to take knock after unending knock, South Africans are also well known for knuckling down and working hard.

It is these hardy souls who uproot themselves and move to greener pastures, where there is daily electricity and a less complicated way of life where unburdened by many factors, they make themselves a new life.

South Africans are indeed resilient, and given the right conditions, will thrive in most circumstances. Despite the beating of everyday life, those who don’t have options to leave are surviving.

Imagine if we were allowed to thrive.

ALSO READ: 80% of businesses struggle to recruit skilled talent locally