This interview took place amidst serious challenges in South Africa, which prompted many people to consider leaving the country and moving overseas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The United Nations\u2019 International Migrant Stock report showed a steady outflow of skilled South Africans over the last thirty years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The UN\u2019s data shows that in 1990, approximately 295,400 South Africans were living internationally. By 2000, it reached 495,000, and by 2010, it rose to 705,000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 2020, 900,000 South Africans lived abroad, and this number surpassed 1 million in 2024. This translates to an average of 74 people leaving every day between 2020 and 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It has reached such concerning levels that the Allianz Risk Barometer for 2025 showed that the shortage of skilled workers has become one of South Africa\u2019s biggest risks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Despite South Africa\u2019s challenges and the increasing popularity of emigration, Harris advised people to think carefully before making such a decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He is well-positioned to discuss this topic as he previously left South Africa but decided to return and make it his home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI emigrated. Whatever way you look at it, it takes five years out of your life. Before you go, it is all you think and talk about,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhen you arrive in the new country, it is a struggle to find where you should live, who you are going to make friends with, and what home you can buy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
People who emigrate typically maintain strong connections with those at home, and they continue to visit South Africa on holidays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He advised people to avoid obsessing about emigrating and instead make the most of their lives in South Africa. However, that does not mean working overseas is not advised.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cGoing out and getting a more worldly view is important and fantastic. Your people who want to work overseas, go for it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHowever, if you are leaving South Africa for good because you do not think there is a future here, you should think again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
South Africa is a great country with excellent opportunities<\/h2>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Paul-Harris-1024x576.jpg\")
<\/a>Paul Harris<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nHarris said that despite the country\u2019s serious problems, it is one of the greatest countries to live in, offering immense opportunities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He highlighted that South Africa faced numerous challenges in the past, including the Boer War, World Wars, Apartheid, and the transition to democracy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Despite all these difficult times, the country survived. He added that South Africa faced much bigger challenges in the past than it does now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He argued that South Africans are resourceful and aspirational and have solved many of the challenges associated with living in South Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This includes private security to protect against crime, private education, and private healthcare to bypass poor state hospitals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He admitted that these options are not available to all South Africans and that you need to be wealthy to benefit from them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, if you are in this position, the country offers excellent opportunities and gives you the ability to make a real difference in people\u2019s lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He gave the example of his daughter, who runs a non-governmental organisation (NGO) that helps young children learn to read.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cShe helps 220,000 kids to read. Her network includes 20,000 computers in schools across South Africa, and employs 800 people,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said experiencing the excitement of the kids in the townships working on the computers leaves everyone with a tear in their eyes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSouth Africa offers you the opportunity to contribute. It is off a very low base, which means a small thing can make a difference,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere is nothing that can replace that for me. An environment where you can make a huge difference.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said many South Africans sit around and complain about the country and its problems. \u201cForget about that. Get on with it and go and do something,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI am not saying for one moment that there are not massive frustrations. However, that is part of the path to achieve something.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Renowned businessman Paul Harris said people who want to leave South Africa for good because they think there is no future in the country should think again.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":807322,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9876],"tags":[4088,4413,22724,3114,2983],"class_list":["post-826476","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle","tag-firstrand","tag-paul-harris","tag-rand-consolidated-investments","tag-rand-merchant-bank","tag-united-nations"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/826476","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=826476"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/826476\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":826483,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/826476\/revisions\/826483"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/807322"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=826476"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=826476"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=826476"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
<\/a>Harris said that despite the country\u2019s serious problems, it is one of the greatest countries to live in, offering immense opportunities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He highlighted that South Africa faced numerous challenges in the past, including the Boer War, World Wars, Apartheid, and the transition to democracy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Despite all these difficult times, the country survived. He added that South Africa faced much bigger challenges in the past than it does now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He argued that South Africans are resourceful and aspirational and have solved many of the challenges associated with living in South Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This includes private security to protect against crime, private education, and private healthcare to bypass poor state hospitals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He admitted that these options are not available to all South Africans and that you need to be wealthy to benefit from them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, if you are in this position, the country offers excellent opportunities and gives you the ability to make a real difference in people\u2019s lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He gave the example of his daughter, who runs a non-governmental organisation (NGO) that helps young children learn to read.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cShe helps 220,000 kids to read. Her network includes 20,000 computers in schools across South Africa, and employs 800 people,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said experiencing the excitement of the kids in the townships working on the computers leaves everyone with a tear in their eyes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSouth Africa offers you the opportunity to contribute. It is off a very low base, which means a small thing can make a difference,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere is nothing that can replace that for me. An environment where you can make a huge difference.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said many South Africans sit around and complain about the country and its problems. \u201cForget about that. Get on with it and go and do something,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI am not saying for one moment that there are not massive frustrations. However, that is part of the path to achieve something.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Renowned businessman Paul Harris said people who want to leave South Africa for good because they think there is no future in the country should think again.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":807322,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9876],"tags":[4088,4413,22724,3114,2983],"class_list":["post-826476","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle","tag-firstrand","tag-paul-harris","tag-rand-consolidated-investments","tag-rand-merchant-bank","tag-united-nations"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/826476","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=826476"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/826476\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":826483,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/826476\/revisions\/826483"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/807322"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=826476"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=826476"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=826476"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}