Nelson needs overseas workers with South African visas

South Africa should be tackling its bureacratic work visa system as the nation prepares for 2010 Football World Cup, claims a leading global immigration consultancy.

Immigration experts Global Visas are urging the government to cut down on visa ‘red tape’ to fast track overseas workers to begin work in South Africa and help meet project deadlines.

With only months left until kick-off on June 11 next year, South African employers are desperate to find workers with the necessary skills they require who hold or can obtain a valid South African visa. Global Visas has placed many overseas workers in projects already underway across South Africa.

Regional Manager of Global Visas’ Cape Town office, Robbie Ragless says: “Companies have had to take a shortcut route by sending employees to work here illegally while their South African visa is being processed. The government seems to know about this trend as they are accepting applications within the republic.

Ragless warns of the problems of such an approach. He says: “As per immigration law, one should enter the country on a visa that represents their proposed activities in the country.”

“Companies in South Africa have no choice with massive projects underway and deadlines to meet. It is extremely disappointing to know that the government are unable to expedite or prioritise these applications as it is for the best interests of the country and its people. The last thing we need is the bureaucratic, archaic style of working that has hampered our nation’s growth for many years in the past.”

Even during the current global recession, 415,000 men and women are being employed to work in South Africa on projects across the country as it prepares for Africa’s first ever World Cup. A worldwide call for 15,000 volunteers to help during the tournament was recently issued by the World Cup Organising Committee.

Preparing for the event has been besieged with several major setbacks. Problems include finding accommodation for the estimated 500,000 visiting fans, worker strikes, providing adequate security in a country with one of the world’s highest crimes rates, stadium builds running massively over budget, plus poor transport links to and from the stadiums. Fans and organisers are worried a logistical nightmare is brewing.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter went on record saying that the issues of not enough hotels and poor transport links were “now a big challenge.”

Football legend Franz Beckenbauer, organiser of the 2006 Germany World Cup, was even more worried, saying the organisation for the World Cup in South Africa was “beset by big problems.”

Beckenbauer deemed the problems were not South African made, but an “African problem”, as the continent struggles to host its first ever football World Cup.

But tournament chief Danny Jordaan is upbeat. He sees the 2010 event promising more than just employment opportunities and short-term revenue for South Africa. He believes a successful tournament can “rebrand” the nation.

“When people from overseas describe the country, the brand essence is largely negative. By hosting such a major event, we want to attempt to change that, to show that we can stage a magnificent World Cup that showcases the best of South Africa,” he says.

With less than 11 months to go until the first match kicks off, only time will tell if the decision to move to South Africa the world’s premier football tournament was a success.