Farmers and agricultural workers are flooding into South Africa from neighbouring countries such as Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Namibia, and Mozambique.
This data was detailed in a recent Parliamentary Q&A, where the Department of Employment and Labour (DEL) was asked for the total number of work permits issued in the last financial year.
In response, the DEL explained that it provides recommendations on corporate work visa applications regarding the availability of local labour in various categories.
According to the department, it received 60 corporate work visa applications covering 6,255 migrant workers.
Of these, the DEL negatively recommended (rejected) 5,383 (86%) and positively recommended (approved) 872 (14%).
The approved visas included workers from several countries, including China, India, the Kingdom of Eswatini, Namibia, Mozambique, Lesotho, Pakistan, the UK, Israel, and Zimbabwe.
The various sectors included agriculture, education and training, manufacturing, mining, maritime, wholesale, and retail.
However, 91% (796) of the recommended approvals of work visas from the Department of Employment and Labour were for farmers and agricultural workers.
Most of these foreign agricultural workers came from neighbouring countries, Zimbabwe (445), Lesotho (250), Namibia (70), and Mozambique (30).
