This is the post that should have been done on Wednesday, for some reason or another, I have been unable to get into the blogs - Gremlins at work, I suspect.

Oh this is priceless! Here we have a Brit, who now lives in Cape Town, telling us what is good for the country! Typical!

Firstly, never mind about the ex pats all over the world - they have left this country for whatever reason and sure, it would be nice to have them come home, but the bottom line is it probably isn't going to happen!

Secondly, before we start "importing" skilled people from other countries, wouldn't it be more cost effective and probably a huge boost to the economy to employ the thousands of 'pale males over 40" who have huge skills and who were previously just discarded due to affirmative action requirements and BEE compliance!

There are thousands of people sitting around, dipping into their savings account and/or pension monies whilst hoping to find something just to keep them going and thousands more who are trying to start new businesses, but who are actually not entrepreneaural at all but who have no choice but to try and make a go of it.

So before you start looking over the borders and over the seas, let's look in our own back yard!

SA needs 'fresh blood'

09 July 2007 at 04h00

Executive search firm, Odgers Ray and Berndtson, believes South Africa should set its sights beyond South Africans living abroad and instead focus on bringing in skilled professionals from other countries. The government's recent issuing of 35 000 work permits to skilled foreign workers is a move in the right direction, according to Odgers managing partner Jamie Robertson, who left London three years ago to settle in Cape Town, where he recruits top-level employees for South African companies. "The country's future does not hinge on whether we can attract expat South Africans or not … what many expats have done is just perpetuate a negative image of this country abroad," says Robertson.

"What South Africa needs is fresh blood." South Africa does not recognise the qualifications of many overseas professionals. For example, lawyers trained overseas have to redo their entire degrees in order to practice here, unlike in the UK and US, where conversion courses are available. The situation is similar with doctors and engineers. "South Africa is not the only country experiencing a skills shortage. Other countries are in a similar position, so we are competing for the same skills. Without compromising on standards, the authorities here need to do everything within their power to attract the right people to the country."