Government has proposed a draft national master plan which aims to loosen regulations in the cannabis industry to promote economic development. 

• It wants to help create export markets for dagga growers.
• Government plans to amend legislation to remove existing constraints that hinder commercialisation.

Government recently released a draft national master plan to commercialise South Africa's cannabis industry, which include both dagga and hemp.

The department of agriculture, land reform and rural development proposes to relax restrictions, including by changing legislation. It wants to establish a globally competitive cannabis industry in the country, produce more cannabis for local and export purposes and to increase investment in research in the industry.

Currently, the South African cannabis industry – which has largely operated underground – is already considered to be worth billions. According to one estimate, the industry could be worth R27 billion by 2023. It is estimated that more than 900,000 small-scale farmers in the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and other provinces have been cultivating dagga for many years. 

The department believes the further development of the cannabis industry will contribute towards economic development, alleviation of poverty through job creation, promote rural development and inclusive participation.  

According to the master plan, government plans these interventions;   

• The amendment of existing legislation by removing existing constraints that hinder commercialisation
• The implementation of breeding programmes for new dagga and hemp cultivars,
• Supporting research and development programmes for the country’s cannabis industry,
• Mobilising and supporting farmers to participate in the cannabis value chains
• Developing new domestic and export markets for the South African cannabis industry
• Including indigenous dagga growers in the value chain
• Developing and supporting the growth and development of the manufacturing and product development capacity of the South African cannabis sector.
• Providing a framework on education and training matters in support of the cannabis industry
• Communicating a clear and unambiguous message about the cannabis industry and related matters to all stakeholders and the public.

Although in 2018 the Constitutional Court of South Africa ruled that South Africans can smoke the recreational substance in their own privacy, there are still strict regulations in place. 

Last year, government published the Cannabis For Private Purposes Bill which stipulates that people who deal in cannabis or sell it to a minor will likely face 15 year of jail time.

The regulations also state that anyone who smokes the substance in public or too close to a non-consenting adult will face up to two years in jail, while a jail sentence of up to four years is to be expected for those who smoke close to children.

For those living alone, the rules state that they can have unlimited seeds but a maximum of four flowering plants for personal use only.

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While South Africa is seeking critically skilled individuals, recent reports have shown that the number of South Africans seeking opportunities abroad has increased significantly over the past five to ten years owing to concerns about South Africa's low economic growth, independent immigration services provider Xpatweb director Marisa Jacobs tells Engineering News.

She emphasises that it is important to be reminded that skills are globally sourced for the economic benefit of those countries and South Africa has to compete for scarce skills.

On November 26, Higher Education, Science and Technology Minister Dr Blade Nzimande held a media briefing to launch the 2020 National List of Occupations in High Demand (OIHD).

Nzimande also formally published the Government Gazette containing the list of OIHD.

Jacobs says that, when looking at the results in their entirety, it is evident that there is a continued lack of critically skilled individuals available in South Africa and key stakeholders need to address these problems collectively in an effort to reinvigorate the economy.

She explains that the OIHD alerts tertiary education institutes, professional bodies, employers and other stakeholders to occupations currently in short supply and for which there are indications that there will be relatively high employment growth in the present and future.

She notes that this allows these bodies to establish courses and internal skills development programmes to alleviate future shortfalls in business-critical competencies.

Jacobs informs that the list shows growth in industries such as media and marketing, information and communication technology (ICT) and healthcare.

The gazette also gave special mention to the organisations that were consulted in the process, including Xpatweb.

Jacobs explains that Xpatweb was invited by the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) to present its findings from the yearly Critical Skills Survey as part of an interdepartmental session, which also comprised the Department of Home Affairs (DHA), the Department of Labour and the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC). This includes the methodology used and impact on employers.

The Xpatweb Critical Skills Survey, now in its fifth year, comprises inputs from the DHET during the above consultation sessions, with the 2019/20 survey also more in-depth in that it unpacked feedback from the participants, notes Jacobs.

“There is a continued lack of critically skilled individuals available in South Africa and thanks to survey participants, which include large multinational and South African organisations, we are able to provide valuable inputs and guide the government’s Critical Skills List (CSL) shaping the decisions that will help local businesses reinvigorate the South African economy,” she acclaims.

Jacobs says the DHET is working alongside the DHA to update the existing national CSL, which was last updated in 2014.

The current CSL was established when the Immigration Act was amended in 2014 to replace the then Quota Work Permit with the new Critical Skills Work Visa. The list was developed in conjunction with the OIHD and the skills lists from DHET, explains Jacobs.

The main objective of the Critical Skills Work Visa is not only to provide South African employers the ability to recruit and attract skilled foreigner nationals for their organisations, but also to assist government in support of the national infrastructure programme, strategic infrastructure projects and key national strategic projects in support of the DTIC, she notes.

“The CSL enables South African employers to recruit critically skilled resources internationally which cannot be sourced within the country,” Jacobs informs.  

She mentions that candidates recruited for a critical skill can get their visas processed on average two to six months faster than those not represented on this list.

Jacobs mentions that Xpatweb’s research suggests areas that will present most opportunities include occupations in the growing oil and gas sector, ICT skills and science, technology, engineering and mathematics teachers.

“Our results further show that ICT specialists and engineers continue to be one of the most sought-after skills, with 19% and 21% of participants respectively indicating same. This is supported by the South African Institution of Civil Engineering, which stated in 2019 that South Africa continues to lose hundreds of engineers year on year who emigrate with their families. This “brain drain” continues to contribute to skills shortages in the engineering sector,” she indicates.

Moreover, and based on the company’s survey results, certain occupations have been re-included within the preliminary CSL that would have been omitted initially, for example, network analyst, quantity surveyor, actuary and nurse, notes Jacobs.

However, she notes that it is not yet confirmed if the aforementioned will be included in the new CSL, as it is at the discretion of the DHA.

The list is expected to be published in early 2021 and will incorporate occupations that have recently emerged following input received from the relevant stakeholders involved during the inter-departmental sessions.

Jacobs says with the impact the pandemic has had and the operational changes organisations are undergoing, it is anticipated that with the gazetting of the OIHD list the momentum will carry forward and the CSL looks to be on schedule for release early next year to support South African economic growth at this crucial time.

“There are thus active and ongoing engagements with regards to the new CSL, whereby a preliminary CSL report has already been introduced and it is currently undergoing internal engagements with the Home Affairs Minister.

"We are expected to received feedback from these discussions in due course, following which we look forward to the opportunity to again give input based on the latest Critical Skills Survey which is currently running and due to close in January,” she says.

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Cape Town – More than 153 000 asylum seekers in South Africa who have been waiting for years for a decision on their applications for refugee status will have their cases heard following an agreement between the ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​UN Human Rights Council, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the Department of Home Affairs to eliminate delays and clear backlogs.

This as the UNHCR says refugees in Cape Town have approached them for support in rejoining the community, while others have expressed an interest in returning to their home countries.

The R142 million agreement sets in motion a project to eliminate delays and the backlog in asylum decisions in a bid to revamp the refugee management system by 2024.

UNHCR spokesperson Kate Pond said of the 266 694 refugees and asylum seekers in South Africa, two-thirds of them did not have access to the full rights and privileges of refugee status.

“Under the Asylum Decisions Backlog Elimination Project, 153 391 cases will be processed over the next four years. Once their claims are processed, those who will be recognised as refugees will be free not only to access national services on a par with citizens, but also to become valuable contributors to South African society and the development of the country,” she said.

The UNHCR’s representative in South Africa, Leonard Zulu said they welcomed the government’s determination to revamp the asylum system.

“Changes to policy and strengthening administrative procedures are vital for a fair and effective asylum system and for the public to have trust in the architecture of refugee management, and the institution of asylum,” he said.

The secretary-general of the SA Refugee-Led Network, Martin Mande, said the Covid-19 pandemic had left many people, including refugees in South Africa, destitute, displaced, and vulnerable.

“It is indeed distressing to know that asylum seekers have been waiting for their final decisions for more than 10 to 20 years,” Mande said.

In his speech at the signing of the agreement last week, Home Affairs Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi said the department was “firmly on the path of modernising our immigration laws, focusing on strengthening the system and improving our processes”.

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There may be good news on the horizon for frustrated South Africans heading to Home Affairs in the future. Home Affairs is planning a big change by extending their working hours into the weekend to help deal with the current backlogs.

Speaking exclusively to eNCA, Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi stated that negotiations are currently underway with worker unions to create weekend shifts.

Despite the numerous strides made by the department, it is not uncommon to spend hours waiting in line, with server problems, corruption and indifferent staff being a frequent occurrence.

Home Affairs currently closes its doors at 3:30 and are not open on weekends. These new office hours will help alleviate some of the pressure on the department and the frustration of many South Africans.

“That’s what we want to do, a shift system that the people who come to work on the weekends must not work during the week, for instance,” Motsoaledi said.

“We’re still negotiating with the unions.”

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A penthouse in the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town sold for R45 million.

* *The low interest rate seemed to have little impact on the luxury housing market, but this seems to be changing.*

* *There has also been in increase in foreign buyers looking for and buying property in SA.*

  * *The March Lightstone Residential Property Index shows that annual house price inflation was    4.0% at the end of February 2021 signifying a positive increase from the previous month.*

Luxury homes are back in demand in South Africa, according to Megan Ladbrook, general manager of Frankie Bells Real Estate, which specialises in luxury real estate.

The agency defines luxury homes as those priced from R3 million upwards. They are seeing an increased demand in the Northern suburbs of Gauteng, southern suburbs of Cape Town and in coastal towns such as Ballito, Knysna and Plettenberg Bay.

"While the low repo rate has driven demand amongst first-time home buyers and buyers in the low to mid-price range, it has had little effect on the luxury housing market," says Ladbrook. In her view, however, this is about to change.

"As investor confidence begins to rise, global statistics released by Luxury Portfolio International (LPI) has indicated that between 30% and 50% of high net-worth individuals are planning to buy at least one additional luxury property in the next year – compared to just 20% last year," she adds..

At the same time, it is important to remember that the luxury market has taken a knock in terms of asking price.

"We have seen homes go for as much as 30% less than the initial asking price," she says. "We are dealing with a surplus of luxury homes on the market. Key drivers for the sales of these homes include so-called semigration between provinces, the need to upscale or downscale, and emigration," she explained.

In addition, a number of properties used as Airbnbs are now up for grabs. These homes are usually well kept and well located. Among South Africa buyers, gated communities and lifestyle estates remain in high demand. In addition, those with extra money and looking to take advantage of the low interest rates are now investing in holiday

homes.

*Foreign buyers*

According to Samuel Seeff, chair of the Seeff Property Group, it has seen increased activity from foreign buyers at the high-end price levels. One such example is the sale of a R45 million penthouse in Cape Town's Waterfront area to a German buyer.

The group also recently sold a R36 million property in Fresnaye, Cape Town to a buyer from the United Arab Emirates and two sales of more than R20 million each in Constantia Upper to buyers from Zimbabwe and Malawi respectively."Overall, sales to foreign buyers across Cape Town's Atlantic Seaboard and City Bowl are 36% higher compared to 2019 and is the highest in the past three years. Almost one third of all high value sales have been to foreign buyers," says Seeff.

"While the luxury areas are doing exceptionally well in the price bands to around R5 million to R8 million (R18 million on the Atlantic Seaboard), sales in the R20 million-plus sector remains well below what it was in 2017. That said, sales are taking place across the board in the high-end areas from Zimbali to Plettenberg Bay and Cape Town as well as in certain Gauteng locations." He explains that, generally, the market remains driven by the low interest rate with the highest volume of activity still below R3 million as first-time buyers continue taking advantage, but they are also seeing buyers upgrading, or investing or relocating for a better quality of life. At the top end of the market, buyers can find great value given that prices of properties, often not seen before, are now at about 20% to 30% lower compared to 2017, according to Seeff.

The March Lightstone Residential Property Index shows that annual house price inflation was 4.0% at the end of February 2021 signifying a positive increase from the previous month.  According to the index report, this optimism is evident at provincial level and the different value bands with the exception of the low-value segment (properties of less than R250 000). This is because the historically low interest rate has enabled both the participation in the higher value market for new homeowners and the ability to upgrade for low-value homeowners.

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