SOUTH African President Cyril Ramaphosa may impose limits on the types of jobs that foreigners can apply for, Business Day reported, without saying where it got the information.
The South African cabinet is considering the proposal that was discussed at recent talks between the ruling African National Congress and its alliance partners, the South African Communist Party and the Congress of South African Trade Unions, the Johannesburg-based newspaper said.
Ramaphosa may announce the restrictions in his annual state-of-the-nation address on Feb. 10, it said.
South Africa, the continent’s-most industrialized nation, has a difficult relationship with migrants from elsewhere in Africa who are drawn to its relative wealth.
In 2008, about 60 people died and 50,000 were displaced in a wave of xenophobic violence with foreigners blamed for everything from unemployment to poor government services.
Presidency spokesman Tyrone Seale declined to comment when contacted by phone on Monday.
The potential restrictions come after the government last week published a list of 101 critical skills that foreigners will be allowed to apply for, including town-planning technicians, civil engineers and forensic accountants.
- * Bloomberg
