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If you are still interested in improving "plan A" (i.e., staying in South Africa), we are hiring system software engineers (compilers, object persistence, concurrency, UNIX/Linux, C++, etc):
England is not the preferred nomenclature. UK is your best bet; size of industry, proximity to continental Europe, ties with US and all... Depending on your age, income and/or ancestary, you can make use of Tier 2, Tier 5 or ancestary visas, all of which lets you to work in the UK without finding a sponsor.
Tier 1 (which replaced the HSMP) is normally the visa most programmers use to get into the UK. Tier 2 is mainly used in professions where you can't get a Tier 1 visa but for which there is a shortage of workers in the uk. Although if any if your grandparents were from EU countries, then that's probably the best route as you can get citizenship as opposed to just a work visa.
England is not the preferred nomenclature. UK is your best bet; size of industry, proximity to continental Europe, ties with US and all... Depending on your age, income and/or ancestary, you can make use of Tier 2, Tier 5 or ancestary visas, all of which lets you to work in the UK without finding a sponsor.
I said England specifically because I don't know of programmers who have moved to other parts of the UK, but you make a valid point. I hadn't considered the other countries of the UK.