JOHANNESBURG - Stellenbosch University said businesses must prioritise hiring locals over foreign nationals.
Immigration remains one of the country's most debated policy issues.
It sits at the intersection of border security, economic opportunity, Constitutional rights and national cohesion.
Former Public Protector Thuli Madonsela, now from the Stellenbosch Centre for Social Justice, said there needs to be a balance.
“As a country, like all countries, we have a responsibility to manage migration. Particularly immigration in a manner that is lawful and takes into account internal constraints.
“Secondly, I would like business to meet with the President and assist the country in how we do this transition management in a manner that is lawful, human rights-centred, and imbued with Ubuntu.
“Thirdly, I would like businesses to stop preferring foreigners over locals, because that's what is driving some of the resentment, but also maybe to sign a pledge, an integrity pledge, that they will not prefer foreigners to locals and then police each other as peers to make sure that everyone complies with the pledge,” Madonsela said.