Public Service and Administration Minister Mzamo Buthelezi has revealed that there are more than 6,000 foreigners who are currently working in the public service.
Buthelezi disclosed this recently, while responding to a Parliamentary question asked by ActionSA’s Dr Tebogo Letlape.
Letlape posed a question about the total number of foreign nationals who are employed in each department and institution of public service.
In his response, with the information drawn from the government payroll and human resources system, Persal, Buthelezi said there are 6,220 foreign nationals employed across National and provincial departments and government components as of July 31.
“The 6,220 makes up 0.5% of the estimated 1.2 million public servants and encompasses the total of both temporary employees engaged for specific durations and those who have acquired permanent residency status.”
According to the provincial government data provided by Buthelezi in his response, Gauteng had the most foreigners employed, with 1,705 working in the public service, followed by Mpumalanga with 653, then KwaZulu-Natal with 647 and Eastern Cape with 579.
The data further shows in Gauteng, there are 826 foreign born people working in the education sector and 839 in the healthcare sector.
The provinces that recorded the lowest number of those born in foreign countries but working in the country were the Western Cape with 353, Limpopo with 291 and the Free State with 235.
At the national level, there are 724 positions occupied by foreigners, the Higher Education and Training recorded 291 of the positions, while the Constitutional Development had 201.
Buthelezi said the Public Service Act 1994 (PSA) mandates the department to support the minister in establishing norms and standards relating to the conditions of service and other employment practices for employees within the public service.
“The employment and utilisation of foreign nationals in the public service is governed by the constitution and is in line with the Public Service and Immigration Acts. Section 10(a) of the Public Service Act, 1994, states that “no person shall be appointed permanently, whether on probation or not, to any post on the establishment in a department unless he or she (a) is a South African citizen or permanent resident”.
He said the Regulation 64 3 (b) of the Public Service Regulation, 2016 gives effect to this section and states that, “an executive authority shall not employ a foreign national, unless- in the case of a temporary appointment, he or she is a permanent resident or he or she has been issued with an appropriate permit in terms of the Immigration Act.”
Buthelezi, according to the 1996 Constitutional Court ruling, pointed out that foreign individuals with permanent residency status enjoy the same rights as South African citizens including in employment.
“The categorisation of the information below, would therefore, include permanent residents and sometimes, South Africans with dual citizenship.”
Buthelezi said the department's policy on the utilisation of foreign nationals to address human resource (HR), and skills needs in the public service is being revised into a directive to promote professionalism.
“In addition, it aligns with new developments in the future world of work and provides clear guidance on recruitment, selection, and secondment procedures of foreign nationals,” said Buthelezi.
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