Durban - Veterinary personnel are back on South Africa’s critical skills list, clearing the way for overseas practitioners to apply for jobs in the country.
The president of the South African Veterinary Council (SAVC), Dr Nandipha Ndudane, said it was great news because even the government had been struggling to fill vacancies since veterinarians and veterinary nurses were taken off the list of scarce skills.
“They were poaching from one province to another, which left another province fragile and at risk because it did not have the required vets and vets would move looking for better opportunities, especially in urban areas, for their families.”
South Africa has 60 to 70 vets per million citizens, far below the international norm of 200 to 400 vets per million.
According to SAVC’s records, about 150 veterinarians are leaving the country annually while only about 160 qualify each year from the University of Pretoria, the only institution that offers veterinary science.
Ndudane said rural provinces with shortages of veterinary personnel were most affected when these positions were removed from the critical skills list, and the announcement would now make a huge difference in rural areas where the acute shortages were previously filled by foreigners.
It also meant that vets from the UK and Australasia who are permitted to practise in South Africa without having to write the SAVC exams (due to mutual recognition agreements) would find it easier to acquire permits to work in South Africa.
However, they would have to perform a year’s compulsory community service once they had registered with the SAVC, she said.
“This will also assist with food safety and security in South Africa, as more veterinarians will be available to help farmers keep livestock healthy,” she added.
Ndudane would not be drawn on whether a shortage of skills contributed to the avian flu outbreak which has resulted in massive egg shortages. She said the problem was multi-faceted.
“The administrative heads and the political heads are now understanding the issues of disease control and that without adequate manpower this cannot be done,” said Ndudane.
Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development spokesperson Reggie Ngcobo said Minister Thoko Didiza discussed the matter with her counterparts in the departments of Home Affairs and Higher Education in July and August and it was gazetted on Tuesday, October 3.
The Independent on Saturday