En Afrique du Sud, après l'exil massif de migrants, la pénurie de main d'oeuvre
A sign of the citrus season in South Africa, the branches of the trees bend under the weight of the juice-filled fruit in the agricultural town of Robertson where Aaron Majatamhe works.
"I see a lot of farm owners complaining right now... these tangerines need to be harvested, but there's nobody around," the farm worker told AFP from this small town 150 km from Cape Town.
This 33-year-old man sees the same shortage looming in the vineyards. "It's pruning time and there's no one to do it."
Similar scenes are being repeated across the country. Factories, farms and hostels are struggling to find workers since the departure, in just a few weeks, of thousands of foreign workers fleeing sometimes deadly anti-migrant demonstrations accompanied by a tightening of controls targeting undocumented immigrants.
Small groups had set June 30 as the deadline for undocumented immigrants to leave the country, triggering an exodus of more than 160,000 people, according to an AFP count based on figures provided by African governments that had taken in their nationals.
First country of return, Zimbabwe indicated that many of its citizens worked in agriculture, construction and domestic work in South Africa.
The effect was felt almost immediately in the sugar belt of KwaZulu-Natal province in the southeast. One farmer there reported losing up to 80% of his cane cutters practically overnight.
"Production and supply have deteriorated so much that it will be difficult for sugar mills to stay open," says the farmer, who speaks on condition of anonymity for fear of further harming his business.
Another farmer, near Mid-Illovo, a hilly region south of Durban, explains that most of the cane cutters in the area come from Lesotho, a small kingdom landlocked within South Africa.
"People here don't like this job because it's hard and very physical," he describes.
An argument contested by anti-migrant groups as well as trade unions, who blame undocumented immigrants and employers for the nearly 33% unemployment rate plaguing South Africa.
According to them, many employers prefer migrants because they are less expensive, more flexible, and less likely to demand employment contracts or legal protections. "They take advantage of foreign nationals," denounces Patrick Williams, a local official of one of the main agricultural workers' unions, the CSAAWU.
According to him, foreigners routinely work seven days a week, skip lunch breaks and are often paid below the national minimum wage.
In the Chatsworth industrial area of Durban, a manager of a garment factory explains that the departure of skilled machinist workers from Malawi and Mozambique has put the factories in difficulty.
"We are struggling to reach our goals because most of them were forced to leave," she said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Furthermore, she added, it will take time for local workers to master the trade.
The government has attempted to address anger over immigration by promoting a "locals first" approach, while acknowledging that some sectors still rely on foreign skills and labor.
This month, he extended a scheme that speeds up the issuance of work visas for companies meeting criteria such as the majority employment of South Africans, investment in skills development, and activity in priority sectors.
South Africa should consider a regulated seasonal worker program similar to the one in the United States, says Siyabonga Madlala, chief executive of the agricultural employers' organization SAFDA.
"When the local supply is insufficient, an exception should be made allowing the use of seasonal labor from SADC countries," namely the Southern African Development Community, he stated on the Newzroom Afrika television channel.
More than 60% of migrants in South Africa come from one of these sixteen member states, according to official figures. But for many of those who left, it was less the regulations than the fear for their safety that drove them away. Four foreigners have died in xenophobic violence, according to the police.
Wayne Chimbadzwa Mutasa, a Zimbabwean national who had been living in Robertson since 2014, says he left after a police raid on nearby Zimbabwean homes.
"(They) said we were living here illegally," he told AFP while preparing to return home.
His compatriot Aaron Majatamhe, the citrus farm worker, has decided to stay for the time being.
"We're afraid to stay, even here," he confides. "But the problem is, we don't have the money to go home."
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