Hell Affairs: Disabled SA students risk becoming stateless as Home Affairs repeatedly refuses ID applications

Groundup - 17 May 2022 0

Learners from Itumeleng school in Gauteng have been struggling to get their IDs from Home Affairs for years.

The state is denying learners their rights, says lawyer.

The future is uncertain for 18-year-old Dudu Setoe who has never had a birth certificate or an Identity Document (ID) despite many back-and-forths to Home Affairs offices. Although Setoe recently came first in an in-house athletics competition, she is unable to compete provincially or nationally because she can’t present these crucial documents.

Setoe, three other learners and one former learner at Itumeleng school for intellectually disabled children in Gauteng have struggled for years with the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) to get their IDs without any success.

Setoe, who plays netball and also runs the 200m and 400m sprint, said that she becomes herself when she is playing sport.

Setoe was never registered at birth. Her mother is deceased and her father is unknown. Her foster parent, Armando Setoe, said to GroundUp that he and the school have been trying to get her ID for four years but that they are now at their wits’ end.

“Home Affairs always gives different excuses, always a different story,” he said.

The five are now at risk of statelessness, which means they will not be able to access rights such as access to education, healthcare, or job opportunities, according to Lawyer for Human Rights. (The learners were born in South Africa and probably even had South African parents. But some of them were abandoned as children and others are orphans.)

Zoleka Joyi, deputy principal at Itumeleng School in Westonaria, said that after years they have reached a dead-end trying to assist the learners. Joyi even lodged a complaint with the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) about one of the learners, but the SAHRC said in a letter that they could not assist since the matter “falls under the jurisdiction of [Home Affairs]”.

Joyi said they have visited and called Home Affairs offices many times but this has not helped. “We still have no solution to this problem,” she said to GroundUp.

There are various reasons the learners have not been able to receive their IDs, but in most cases it comes down to “systemic and bureaucratic failures”, according to Thandeka Chauke, the head of the Statelessness Project at Lawyers for Human Rights.

The former learner is an orphan with a birth certificate that does not show up on the Home Affairs system. Joyi said that the school is worried about what the future will hold for him without an ID, since he left the schooling system at the end of 2021.

In one case the high cost of a DNA test of a family member is prohibiting a learner from getting his ID.

Chauke said that Lawyers for Human Rights have dealt with many cases that are similar to this. But this case is a “huge concern”, she said, because it involves particularly vulnerable children who are denied access to their human rights.

“The department has a constitutional and statutory mandate to provide services to the public. And this includes birth registration, identity documentation, immigration status, citizenship — this is their job,” said Chauke.

She said when people approach Home Affairs offices, they are not requesting a favour, they are exercising their right. “And we are entitled to services that are not only efficient but transparent,” said Chauke.

She said people also spend a lot of time in Home Affairs queues, going back and forth between offices and spending money on travelling and making photocopies.

Problems for children getting their IDs were raised in a recent Portfolio Committee meeting in March where the DHA was asked to address some of these concerns.

Concerns raised included: that foster parents sometimes have to wait up to three years for a birth certificate to be issued, that a child needs to be registered within a 30-day period (this is difficult for those living in rural areas) otherwise an expensive DNA test is required, and that there are long queues and network outages at Home Affairs offices.

Thomas Sigama, Deputy Director General at Home Affairs, told Parliament then that incomplete documents from adoptive parents or verification of documents often cause delays in situations where children are living with foster parents. He also noted that capacity issues and bad queue management were causing delays at many Home Affairs offices. He urged parents to register their children within 30 days of birth.

GroundUp tried for over a month to get a response from Home Affairs spokesperson Siya Qoza. Qoza said that the department was working on the queries but did not respond to any follow-ups after this.

www.samigration.com

Home Affairs digitisation within three years - can it be done?

18 May 2022 – IOL

AS part of an extension of the Presidential Employment Stimulus programme, a significant number of unemployed young people would be put to work digitising paper records

WITH more than 300 million paper records dating back to the 1800s, the South African Department of Home Affairs (DHA) is ripe for digitisation.

In the 2022 State of the Nation Address, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that the DHA intended to appoint 10 000 young IT workers to accelerate the process of digitisation over the next few years.As part of an extension of the Presidential Employment Stimulus programme, a significant number of unemployed young people would be put to work digitising paper records while enhancing their skills and contributing to the modernisation of citizen services.

Addressing unemployment is critical in rebuilding the economy, and assistance from reputable outsourcing organisations will be essential to ensuring that the intended outcome of job creation is achievable and sustainable.

A starting point for digitisation

The DHA is just one of many government departments in desperate need of digitisation. The digitisation of Home Affairs records was previously the responsibility of the SA Revenue Service (Sars), but the DHA is turning to the unemployed youth instead.

According to the Minister of Home Affairs, budget constraints meant the DHA could only afford to pay for five million records to be processed annually, at which rate it would take Sars more than 60 years to digitise current records. This is simply not feasible, given that citizens have reached peak displeasure with endless bureaucratic inefficiencies, long queues, and reams of paperwork.

The digitisation of these Home Affairs documents will streamline record keeping processes and eliminate much of the frustration. So, can it be done? With 10000 young people working on nothing else but the digitisation of Home Affairs records, it is anticipated that the project will be complete within three years.

Digitisation, with speed

To this end, more than R222 billion has been requested from the National Treasury for this project to cover equipment and salaries. The plan is to achieve digitisation within three years, and the Minister of Home Affairs has confirmed that this is not an internship programme but rather a recruitment drive that is open to all unemployed young people with IT qualifications. Largely digital natives, the youth is particularly suited to this type of work with an intuitive understanding of technology and digitisation.

Workforce on demand

However, 10 000 vacancies is not a small number of jobs to fill, and given the geographic spread of Home Affairs branches across South Africa, the most effective way to do it would be to tap into the databases and networks of outsourcing agencies.

Such organisations can be instrumental in providing the workforce needed at short notice. Outsourcing agencies can dispense with the time-consuming processes of screening and background checking candidates, as all individuals on their databases have already been pre-screened and background-checked for suitability. Cutting out this portion of the placement process means fewer delays and less time wasted.

Workplace experience and wider training

This programme is the ideal platform for young IT graduates to get a foot in the door and earn valuable experience in the workplace in addition to a decent stipend. Induction and training will need to take place before actual work can commence, but outsourcing agencies are well equipped to handle these processes.

Timing is important, considering the magnitude of the task at hand, and it will be necessary for all 10000 young people to be appointed at the same time to undertake the initial preparatory work of sorting, sub-sorting, and preparing records for scanning.

The workforce will be distributed among provinces based on the number of records per province, and there will be ongoing training and development programmes on offer to all 10000 candidates during their employment period. This includes training in business skills, coding, robotics, digital transformation, financial management, basic project management skills and credit bearing, along with imparting CV writing and interviewing skills, all of which will contribute to greater employability beyond the duration of the project. All of this can be easily managed by an outsourcing partner with a training capability and a national footprint.

More than just a digitisation project

For 10 000 young South Africans, this is so much more than just an entry-level data capturing job. This is an opportunity for each of them to gain experience and additional skillsets, all of which can lead to sustainable employment.

For South Africa’s government departments looking to digitise, this is an opportunity to do so in a manner that is cost-effective and time-efficient. Using an outsourced temporary employment services provider means that the DHA can access a workforce on demand without having to manage the compliance or employment burden of an additional 10 000 workers.

www.samigration.com

Foreigners flee Alexandra Mall as Home Affairs officials descend

18 May 2022 – Bulawayo News 24

Foreign street vendors have left Pan Africa Mall in Alexandra township South Africa after members of the South Africa Police Services and the Department of Home Affairs descended at the area to intensify their presence at the mall following clashes between locals and foreign nationals.

The Department of Home Affairs is the custodian, protector, and verifier of the identity and status of citizens and other persons resident in South Africa.

On Monday and Tuesday, several businesses in Alexandra had to close their doors after community members, who identified themselves as part of the Dudula Movement, forced shops to close their doors.

The community members were allegedly searching for migrant employees and shop owners who did not have valid paperwork.

Meanwhile, MMC for Public Safety in Johannesburg David Tembe has called upon closure of borders as a solution to illegal immigration.

www.samigration.com

Zimbabweans stuck in limbo in South Africa

Mail & Guardian - 16 May 2022

The special permits for Zimbabweans make it easier for Zimbabwean nationals to legalise their stay in South Africa by cutting red tape and dispensing with most of the ordinary visa requirements.

There are nearly 200 000 Zimbabweans in South Africa who are living on borrowed time.

They are in the country on a special visa, the Zimbabwean Exemption Permit (ZEP). This visa category was introduced more than a decade ago to accommodate an influx of refugees who were fleeing political persecution and economic devastation in Zimbabwe.

But late last year, South Africa’s home affairs department, amid rising Afrophobic sentiment among South African citizens, announced that it would not renew the ZEPs. This decision gives affected Zimbabweans a “grace period” until the end of this year to leave the country or risk being deported — unless they can find another visa to apply for.

Among their number is Thenjiwe Mhlanga*, who has been in South Africa since 2010. She is married to a Zimbabwean man who is a permanent residence holder, and they have children together. 

As things stand, she will have to leave the country by 31 December this year, and leave her family behind — as well as all the unemployment benefits that she currently receives. She is hoping to apply for a spousal permit through her husband’s permanent residency. Although she qualifies, she is unsure whether her application will succeed, given the inefficiency and corruption that is endemic to South Africa’s visa application process.

Rufaro Gwatidzo*, a distance learner who has lived in South Africa since he was six, does not qualify under any other visa categories. He believes himself to be South African and cannot imagine a life for himself in Zimbabwe.

Although stressed about his future away from all he has ever known, Gwatidzo said: “I’m not oblivious of the fact that when in Rome one must do as the Romans. And if they don’t want you, it’s not fair to impose on them because of your own personal needs and wants.”

Courtroom battle looms

There is one institution that may yet overturn the government’s decision not to renew the ZEP: South Africa’s courts. A legal challenge is being prepared by the Zimbabwean Exemption Holders Association, on the grounds that the decision was “irrational”.

Leading this challenge is advocate Simba Chitando. His detractors describe him as a maverick of Johnny Cochrane proportions — not necessarily a compliment in the legal profession. Chitando is confident that the courts will overturn the government’s decision to let the ZEPs lapse.

“The minister of home affairs believes cancelling 180 000 ZEP holders from the job market would solve unemployment in the country and increase jobs for South African citizens. The truth is it will do the opposite,” Chitando said. 

“I would advise Zimbabweans, ZEP holders, and sympathetic South African nationals, to be calm in the face of this crisis and allow the court process to run its course. There are many who are lobbying the government to change their obviously bad decision.”

Not everyone is convinced that a legal challenge will work — especially if it is led by Chitando, who has close links with Zimbabwe’s ruling party, Zanu-PF. His uncle, Winston Chitando, is Zimbabwe’s minister of mines and Chitando is the head of Zanu-PF’s Sandton branch in Johannesburg.

For the many Zimbabweans who fled political persecution, this is an unwelcome connection. In a WhatsApp group organised by Zimbabweans to keep abreast of the ZEP court matters, one person said: “Tirimuno muSouth Africa pamusaka pavo [we are here because of them (Zanu-PF)]. Can we trust that they’ll even do a decent job?”

Others fear that Chitando’s Zanu-PF links will make the case political, and agitate the South African government, which will in turn “punish” Zimbabweans with even more stringent visa rules no matter what the courts say.

A court date has not been set yet.

Uncertain futures

While ZEP holders wait for the legal process to take its course, many are already dealing with the fallout from the decision. Some banks, although aware of the grace period, are refusing to replace lost bank cards or open accounts and some traffic departments will not renew the driving licences of ZEP holders.

Those who are looking to apply for another visa will have to navigate South Africa’s corrupt application process. A 2016 report by the Corruption Watch watchdog organisation described a “cartel-like” network of officials, runners and facilitators who prey on those seeking assistance.

Ironically, for some ZEP holders, this corruption may be their only hope of staying in the country legally. “If kana zvanetsa, and things become difficult, I will just ‘lose’ my passport and start again. I just want to take care of my family. It’s like they want to push you into doing criminal acts to survive,” said one ZEP holder, who asked to have his name withheld.

South Africa’s Home Affairs Department did not respond to repeated requests for comment for this story.  

www.samigration.com

Lebogang the Bangladeshi caught in Home Affairs’ anti-graft net

Sunday World - 17th May 2022

Weeks after Home Affairs raided dens housing a passport syndicate, a Bangladeshi citizen tried to leave the country with a fraudulent passport with the name Lebogang Ndlovu

Lebogang Ndlovu. Sounds like a South African name, right? Not if you illegally buy your citizenship. This is the name a Bangladesh citizen, who was arrested at OR Tambo this week, christened himself with.

Ndlovu, real name Fahim Kazi, was picked up as he tried to leave the country on Wednesday night.

The Department of Home Affairs, which has embarked on a massive clean-up campaign, found the Bangladeshi had unsuccessfully applied for asylum in 2015.  He is said to have been based in Kimberly, Northern Cape.

Minister Aaron Motsoaledi pleaded with South Africans to value their documents and not sell them to the highest bidder.

“We have traced where this passport was issued and which corrupt Home Affairs official issued it. The corrupt official who issued it is one of those who are under the radar of the department’s counter-corruption branch, hence another arrest is imminent,” Motsoaledi said in a statement.

“We will not tire or be dissuaded from fighting to eliminate corruption in all areas of Home Affairs, whether perpetrated by a foreign national or a South African. We will continue arresting all of them.”

Sunday World reported last month that an explosive report prepared by the department’s top brass lifted the lid on the extent to which the recently uncovered fake passport syndicate has penetrated the department, a “serious” security breach for the republic.

The report shows how a criminal network – which includes 13 foreign nationals and 13 South Africans spanning Gauteng, Limpopo, KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape, Western Cape and Mpumalanga – weaved itself into Home Affairs using corrupt officials.

The report, prepared for Motsoaledi, shows that at the Maponya Mall in Soweto, three officials – including an office manager – helped more than 50 foreign nationals obtain fake passports. At the Germiston office, two officials helped 15 foreign nationals get fraudulent
passports.

Other places where the syndicate operates include the Vereeniging large office, where an official assisted seven foreign nationals to get passports through a photo-swapping scam, while in Western Cape’s Nyanga and Atlantis offices, officials have been fingered for working with the criminals to issue seven fake passports.

In an interview with Sunday World last month, Motsoaledi said they would be recruiting 12 more members for the department’s anti-corruption unit as part of the war against graft, “which can’t be lost or otherwise we risk the country’s DNA being destroyed”.

The minster said he was working around the clock to ensure that the appeals process for documents – which has resulted in some foreign nationals not qualify to stay in South Africa for extended periods – becomes more effective.

Meanwhile, the magistrate’s court in Krugersdorp on Friday granted R2 000 bail to 26 of the 27 people arrested for allegedly being a part of a fake passport syndicate, and postponed the case to July.

One of the accused was denied bail because the court heard he is a flight risk as he allegedly gained entry into South Africa illegally and obtained his asylum fraudulently. His status has since been revoked.

www.samigration.com