The chief executive of Africa’s biggest bank by assets has warned that tighter restrictions on migration could hurt South Africa’s economy, arguing that migrants generate demand, pay taxes and help create jobs rather than simply competing with citizens for work.
Standard Bank Group CEO Sim Tshabalala made the remarks at the Kgalema Motlanthe Foundation Winter Seminar in Johannesburg, where political and business leaders discussed migration and its implications for Africa.
Tshabalala used Britain’s departure from the European Union as a warning of the potential economic consequences of policies driven by hostility towards migration.
He said Brexit had reduced the UK’s gross domestic product by between 6% and 8%, lowered investment by 13% and increased unemployment by about 4% compared with a scenario in which Britain remained in the bloc.
Those figures were presented by Tshabalala during the seminar. Independent estimates of Brexit’s impact vary.
