‘There will be no foreigners hired while South Africans remain unemployed,’ says Sports Minister Gayton McKenzie

SPORTS, Arts and Culture Minister Gayton McKenzie has issued a stern warning to the heads of entities under his department, saying that no foreign nationals should be employed in positions that South Africans can fill.

“South Africa has the highest unemployment rate. Children, adults are committing suicide because they can't get jobs,” McKenzie said on Monday, speaking at the signing of stakeholder compacts with the Department of Sports, Arts, and Culture (DSAC) public entities in Cape Town.

Addressing the department stakeholders, McKenzie stressed that South Africans must be prioritised in employment.

“They can't get jobs. The biggest crisis facing our country is unemployment. Unemployment is the potential of causing massive riots in this country.”

According to Statistics South Africa’s Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) for the fourth quarter of 2024, the country’s unemployment rate is 31.9%, which is a slight decline from 32.1% in the previous quarter.

McKenzie, also the leader of the Patriotic Alliance (PA), is known for his strong stance against undocumented foreigners securing job opportunities in South Africa. 

He has consistently called for their deportation.

”Some of you sitting here dare to hire foreigners instead of South Africans. I don't care how you used to do it,” he said.

“There will be no foreigner who will work in an entity while a South African can do the same thing.”

He added that those who attempt to defend such hiring practices will be shown the door.

“I want you to know this here, I am busy with that. Some of you who want to defend that will be fired,” the controversial minister said.

He said because none of you sitting here would have had a job today if people were having the same backwards thinking that some of you are displaying when it comes to local labour.”

“Nobody in this room, I take you seriously, has a special skill. Not one of us in this room has a special skill that you can't find in this country. Not one person in this room,” he said.

“Now imagine if somebody has given your job to a foreigner.”

He reiterated that only foreign nationals with scarce skills would be considered for employment in the department.

“I want to know this; I am busy with that,” he added.

“So if you are (hiring) foreigners, I mean the entities, whether it's a PA, handyman, or a driver, I expect the CEOs, the board chairpersons, and the whole board to take action within two weeks after receiving my letter tomorrow. You take action...”

He said such foreign nationals must be replaced by unemployed South Africans.

“It is not xenophobic. You are not a chairperson in Zimbabwe. You are not a chairperson in Angola. You can go to all those entities in Zimbabwe and Angola and tell them you can find a South African.”

McKenzie also dismissed any defence of foreign hiring practices that are not based on skill scarcity.

“(There’s) nothing that you can say to me that will explain to me that it's an obligation to have foreigners without a special skill. If we're doing something in the sector, let's say, a restaurant, I think that's a special skill to be an astronaut.”

Last month, McKenzie wrote to chairpersons and accounting officers of the department's entities demanding detailed information on all non-South Africans employed.

He requested the data, including 

• Name, nationality, and length of stay in South Africa;
• Status and nature of work permit if they are not permanent residents, including the date of issue and expiry;
• Description of critical or scarce skills not found in the local workforce;
• Expiry date of work contract, and
• The official responsible for signing off on their appointment.

McKenzie’s demand followed concerns raised by members of Parliament on the Sports, Arts and Culture portfolio committee, who alleged that Robben Island Museum was favouring foreign nationals in its hiring process.