Over 6 000 foreign nationals are employed in government departments

The number of foreign nationals employed by the South African government has been noted in a parliament question and answer session.

Minister of Public Service and Administration Mzamo Buthelezi answered questions on the matter posed by ActionSA’s Dr Tebogo Letlape.

There were 6,220 foreign nationals in the government’s employ as of 31 July, according to Buthelezi’s written response on 4 September.

Fraction of state workforce

However, the Minister highlighted that the figure represented a minuscule percentage of the government labour force.

The response stated that an estimated 1.2 million people were employed directly by the state, making the foreign complement just 0.5% of the overall staff.

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The public service’s employment regulations are governed by the Constitution and the Public Service and Immigration Acts.

A Constitutional Court ruling from 1996 states foreign individuals with permanent residency status enjoy the same rights as South African citizens, including in employment.

The 6,220 includes temporary employees appointed for specific functions, themselves having been granted the appropriate permit.

Provincial department breakdown

The stats provided by PERSAL did not reflect the levels of education held by the foreign nationals. However, it broke the down portfolios that have been benefiting from the imported workforce.

In the nation’s economic and administrative hub, health and education were the portfolios with the highest number of foreign representatives.

This split was evident in all nine provinces, with health and education making up at least 60% of all foreign appointees.

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Overall, Gauteng’s administration has the highest concentration of foreign national employees with 1,705. Mpumalanga and KwaZulu Natal are second and third with 653 and 647, respectively.

The provinces with the lowest foreign representation are the Western Cape with 353, Limpopo with 291 and the Free State with 235.  

In national administrative structures, there were 724 positions occupied by those born outside the country.

Higher Education and Training made up 291 of those positions, while Justice and Constitutional Development had 201.

The stats breakdown provided excluded the Ministry of Defence and the State Security Agency.