Ntsiki Mazwai Defends 10% Foreign Worker Policy As Johannesburg Mayoral Candidate
- Ntsiki Mazwai, the Land Party's mayoral candidate for the City of Johannesburg, shared her party's labour policy on social media
- The policy sparked a heated debate after a follower accused her of contradicting South African law on employment
- Mazwai argued that foreigners were not to blame for unemployment, pointing to a lack of industrialisation instead
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Source: Twitter
Ntsiki Mazwai's political ambitions have landed her in hot water again, this time over her party's stance on employing foreign nationals in South Africa. The controversy erupted online after the Land Party's mayoral candidate for the City of Johannesburg shared her party's labour policy on 4 August 2026.
The policy stated that "All businesses must employ a minimum of 90% locals and foreign nationals make up only 10%, provided they bring skills that locals do not have." The post drew an immediate response from a follower, HotTopics_Lisa, who challenged the proposal by citing existing South African law.
The user argued that current legislation already protects South African workers more firmly than Mazwai's party policy suggests.
"100% jobs for South Africans, as our laws say. Foreigners get hired based on terms and conditions, either for skills transfer when a foreign company is operating in SA or when a foreigner holds scarce skills. And it is the duty of the employer to obtain a work visa."
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Rather than backing down, Mazwai urged South Africans to take a more measured approach.
"We live in a global environment, guys, pls let's be practical and not emotional. That is not sustainable."
The follower pushed back harder, raising concerns that the policy would effectively cost South Africans jobs.
"Ms Mayor, you are essentially saying the province will sit on a 10% employment rate forever. You'll be sacrificing 10% of SAns to make up space for foreigners. Let's work on scarce skills with foreigners. Please reconsider, Ms Mayor; SAns are desperate for jobs."
Source: Twitter
Ntsiki Mazwai reveals root cause of unemployment
Mazwai shifted the focus of the debate away from immigration altogether, arguing that the real driver of South Africa's unemployment crisis was structural.
"The unemployment crisis in SA is not caused by foreigners; it is caused by a lack of industrialisation," she said.
Her comment section quickly filled with South Africans on both sides of the debate, with some agreeing that industrialisation was the core issue, while others accused her of repeatedly shielding foreign nationals at the expense of citizens.
This is not the first time Mazwai has taken such a position; she previously defended foreigners when South Africans linked them to overcrowding in public hospitals.
Her latest remarks have left many critics questioning whether her views align with the needs of Johannesburg residents she is hoping to govern.
The discussion arrives at a tense period in South Africa, where nationwide anti-illegal immigration marches and heightened public discourse have made the foreign worker and immigration topic an exceptionally sensitive issue among citizens grappling with high unemployment.
Read Ntsiki Mazwai's post below.
Ntsiki Mazwai fires back at Julius Malema
In an earlier report, Briefly News shared Ntsiki Mazwai's apparent response to Julius Malema after he mocked her at an EFF press briefing.
She shared a pointed message online that many believed was directed to the EFF leader and his party, accusing them of championing economic freedom while allegedly looking down on poor people.
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Source: Briefly News
