JEDDAH, 27 February 2003 — South Africans are flocking to Saudi Arabia for work — teachers, doctors, paramedics and technicians — and in ever growing numbers. There are already 8,000 in the Kingdom, and more arrive daily.
According to the South African Consul-General in Jeddah, Muhammad Dangor, every flight from South Africa brings 20 to 30 new professionals. If that figure is correct, that amounts to well over 200 a week. There are three direct Saudia flights every week, one connecting Emirates flight a day plus connecting flights via Addis Ababa, Cairo and Istanbul. If the Ethiopian Airways flight arriving at Jeddah last Friday night is anything to go by, the figure is, if anything, an underestimate. It was packed with South Africans flying in.
South African Airways plans to start flying to Saudi Arabia in June.
Ten years ago there were hardly any South Africans in the Kingdom. The door opened in 1994 with the end of apartheid. But it is much more recently that the trickle has turned into a flood.
The reason, mostly, is money. A South African teacher earns roughly the same in rand in South Africa as he does in riyals here, about SR8,000. But because of the exchange rate, that is worth 22,400 rand, almost three times what he would get back home.
The cheap rand too has encouraged Saudi employers to look at replacing Western expatriates when their contracts are up with South Africans. They have the same level of qualifications but can be employed more cheaply.
But it is not just a matter of money. South African government policies have also played their part in producing a glut of highly-trained people looking for work.
"Government policies are forcing well-qualified and experienced people to leave the country," says Douglas Vale, 40, who for the past five months has been teaching at an English-language institute in Jeddah. "Back home, there are no good opportunities; in the case of teachers, no good pay either."
According to Vale, South African whites in particular have also been moving to Britain, China and Saudi Arabia because of the effects of the 1995 Employment Equality Act. This forces South African employers to employ previously disadvantaged people, which they tend to do at the expense of white employees, he says.
But there are particular reasons for choosing Saudi Arabia as opposed to anywhere else, he says. Conditions of employment are better in South Arabia than in South Africa, he explains, and tax, too, is a consideration. Another reason is the relative proximity to Europe and cheapness of airfares there from Saudi Arabia.
There are other attractions, too.
"Nurses and paramedics outnumber doctors from my country. For some, money may be a consideration but for many others, the peace and tranquillity that the Kingdom offers are a major attraction," said Dr. Rashid Motala, a South African specialist physician at King Faisal Hospital and Research Center. "Of course, the two holy cities are the greatest attraction for South African Muslims," he added.
