Between July and September 2024, the Department of Home Affairs finalised 31 disciplinary cases against its officials. The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) has dismissed a social media post claiming that it is conducting a nationwide audit of the Department of Home Affairs, covering all asylum, refugee, work, business, study, permanent resident permits and marriage certificates for all foreigners from 2004 to 2024. This claim is incorrect, said the SIU on Sunday. Although the SIU is investigating allegations of maladministration at the department, it is focusing on the issuance of Permanent residence permits, Corporate visas, Business visas, Critical/exceptional skills work visas, Study visas, Retired persons visas, Work visas and Citizenship by naturalisation. These investigations pertain to potential contraventions of the Immigration Act, 2002, and the South African Citizenship Act, 1995.The SIU urges the public not to share unverified information. Please verify accuracy through our official website and social media accounts. Sharing false information can cause confusion and harm. For accurate updates, rely on official SIU communication channels. SIU and Home Affairs On 19 February, President Cyril Ramaphosa has signed a proclamation authorizing the SIU to investigate allegations of serious maladministration in the affairs of Home Affairs and improper or unlawful conduct by officials or employees of the State entities, and to recover any financial losses suffered by the State. The SIU will also investigate improper or unlawful conduct by officials or employees of Home Affairs in relation to the installation of T200 firewalls. The Proclamation covers allegations of unlawful and improper conduct that took place between 12 October 2004 and 16 February 2024, the date of the publication of the Proclamation or before 12 October 2004 and after the date of the Proclamation that are relevant to, connected with, incidental to the matters or involves the same persons, entities or contracts investigated. Officials bust Between July and September 2024, the Department of Home Affairs finalised 31 disciplinary cases against its officials. According to spokesperson Siya Qoza, the disciplinary cases resulted in a range of sanctions. These include criminal prosecution, dismissal, suspension without pay and final written warnings. The officials faced transgressions relating to irregular recruitment, violation of the Citizenship Act and the violation of the Immigration Act. Eight of these cases came from the Free State, while six came from KwaZulu-Natal. One of the includes that of an official who failed to abide by the required standards of ethical conduct. His trial is set to start on 6 November, facing fraud charges. The official was dismissed from the department last year after the conclusion of disciplinary processes. He was implicated by the Counter-Corruption Branch in multiple fraudulent transactions that benefitted mostly Pakistani nationals. He allegedly committed fraud by manipulating the systems Home Affairs uses to administer immigration.

As end-of-year travel draws near, South African travel agents have reported a particularly disappointing high season.
The consensus is that a shift has taken place in the industry this December holiday season, and some agents are seeing an alarming lack of bookings.

“I don’t have a single December package booked for this year. Not one. And it’s the first time in ten years. I don’t know why,” said travel agent A (who preferred to remain anonymous). She said the problem began around April or May this year, when bookings for December usually start.

While travel agent A hypothesised that this lack of travel during peak season might be due to the American elections or global conflicts around the world, she noted that prices were simply “ridiculously expensive”.
Travel agent B agreed. “I’ve been an ITC for 20 years and I just find that a lot of my repeat clients that would normally travel every December said ‘no’ this year. It’s just got so expensive, they’re going to skip this year and do something local, and I don’t do local,” she said. Even for clients that booked in advance, prices were still unaffordable for many, she added.

“You can actually see it if you look at the flights that are available. I changed one of my client’s flights from December 3 to later and the flights were all open. I had another client booking to go to Australia on December 22 and there were lots of flights available.”
In previous years, this would have been impossible, according to this agent. Travel agent A added that there were still seats available for Mauritius, traditionally one of the top sellers for the December season, as well as domestic flights.

This price hike has mainly impacted families going on December holidays, according to agent B. “You’re always going to have your solo travellers or your professional person who’s got money in the bank, but for families it really hits them hard.”
Travel agent C said she had managed to weather the storm by specialising in a particular niche, but there were definitely fewer bookings than usual for the high season. “Let me say, there’s a lot less money around with more expectations.”
She said she had seen an increase in people who were on the fence as to whether or not they could afford to travel in December this year, and these types of clients were choosing to skip their December holiday plans.

Travel agent B said the dynamic was making the travel industry a highly competitive environment to work in at the moment. “It’s creating this situation where people shop around from five agents at a time and if one’s R100 cheaper, they’re going to go with that one. I’m very fortunate to have repeat clients and years behind my back, but there are a lot of agents out there that are new in the industry so when they come in, they're cut-throat. They’re willing to do whatever they need to do to get the booking.”
Travel agent A said the lack of bookings, and therefore a lack of income, was spoiling the Christmas season. “It’s not helping us feel festive. It’s not helping us agents feel relaxed. I haven’t even bothered to put up a tree.”

China is encouraging its electrical vehicle manufacturers to invest in South Africa as it seeks to broaden ties between the two nations.
“We encourage the Chinese companies to consider, very seriously consider, to move some of their assembly lines or value added in South Africa,” the Asian nation’s ambassador to South Africa Wu Peng said in a Bloomberg interview in Johannesburg on Wednesday.
South Africa’s automotive industry, which accounted for more than R271 billion in exports last year, currently depends on shipments to the European Union, where legislation is expected to gradually reduce demand for vehicles that run on diesel and gasoline.
Chinese companies operating in South Africa are also expected to expand cooperation in critical areas such as infrastructure, new energy and mineral processing, Peng said in an address ahead of the interview attended by dignitaries.
“I’m convinced that in the future, more and more Chinese enterprises will come to South Africa, invest in South Africa, and build for South Africa,” Peng said. “Together, China and South Africa can further unlock market potential.

As the City of Cape Town expects to become the most populous metropolitan area in South Africa over the coming years, it is preparing its transport infrastructure for the influx of vehicles through several road innovations that have never before been implemented in the country.

Taking hints from international best practices and applying them locally, Cape Town authorities have found innovative ways to transform limited space and budgets into safer roads that can accommodate more traffic.
“The City of Cape Town is at a pinnacle point for transport innovation – be it in the recycled material we use to resurface roads, artificial intelligence to improve road safety and facilitate traffic flow, or bold steps to ensure uninterrupted power supply and infrastructure resilient to vandalism and theft,” said the city.

It highlighted bold innovations currently being implemented, or which have already been instated, as the first to be pioneered by any municipality in South Africa.

Thermal pedestrian sensors
Cape Town has installed thermal sensors at key pedestrian crossings to detect whether there is any pedestrian movement.
Should the pedestrian leave the detection zone before the pedestrian cycle is activated, the pedestrian request will be cancelled altogether. Thus, vehicles will not be stopped unnecessarily.

“This innovative system is widely used in Europe to improve traffic,” said the city.
These sensors are situated at four pedestrian crossings in Blaauwberg – along Marine Drive opposite Milky Lane, along Otto du Plessis Drive opposite Seal Road, along Otto du Plessis Drive at Shell Road, and along Otto du Plessis Drive close to Hill Road, opposite Doodles.

Reversible road
In June 2024, Cape Town activated a first-of-its-kind (for the country) reversible bus lane along the R27 between Loxton Road and Broad Road in Milnerton.

This bus lane, for exclusive use by MyCiTi vehicles, permits inbound travel towards the Civic Centre in the morning and outbound travel towards Table View in the afternoon.

The alternating direction flows are controlled and monitored through a technological system designed and implemented by the City.
Two thermal Artificial Intelligence-powered cameras have been installed at the entrances of this lane to detect unauthorised vehicles, reverse entry, and entry-without-exit.

The system is monitored from the Transport Management Centre (TMC) using a custom bus-lane dashboard.
Operating personnel at the TMC manage the system and actively monitor the lane for safety concerns. If any problem is detected, both red bus lane signs revert to closed and an alarm is raised at the TMC.

Underground theft protection
To protect valuable infrastructure such as traffic signal controllers and uninterrupted power supply (UPS) systems at traffic intersections from vandalism and theft, Cape Town is piloting underground storage chambers, also referred to as prefabricated underground utility manholes.

The prefabricated chambers are installed a few meters below the surface and are attached to a concrete base.
The traffic signal controllers and UPS system are stored inside the chamber, which is then sealed with a coded mechanical locking system.
The chamber is non-metallic and ribbed for strength and has no resale value. Given that it is underground, attached to concrete, and can only be opened by trained technicians, this new innovation is a solution to the ongoing theft and vandalism of expensive City equipment at hotpot intersections.

Sky circle
Cape Town recently announced it is about halfway through the construction of a freestanding elevated traffic circle at the intersection of Govan Mbeki Road (M9) and Jan Smuts Drive (M17) in Lansdowne.
This project forms part of the ongoing roll-out of the MyCiTi service to the metro-south east.

It’s described as a hollow circle standing 6.2m off the ground, letting in light to the intersection below.
Once complete, the so-called “sky circle” will be for the exclusive use of the MyCiTi buses.
“The free-standing elevated circle will be the first in South Africa, demonstrating civil engineering at its best, to the benefit of all road users,” said the city.

“By separating the MyCiTi buses from general traffic, the City will ensure the service operates optimally between Mitchells Plain and Khayelitsha and Wynberg and Claremont without being delayed by the traffic or congestion at the ground level of the intersection.”
This design will benefit MyCiTi commuters as it will reduce travelling time to their destinations.

Key Takeaways
•    Germany and Austria will no longer process asylum applications from Syrian nationals.
•    This decision follows the seizure of the Syrian capital by rebels and thousands of Syrian nationals heading back home, which, in the eyes of the EU, makes Syria's political future "uncertain".
•    Germany will not be processing 42,270 applications, as it is the top recipient country of asylum seekers from Syria.

Representatives of the German and Austrian governments have announced that their respective countries will no longer process asylum applications filed by Syrian nationals due to recent political developments.

Hundreds of Syrian refugees are returning to their homes after the fall of President Bashar Assad’s government; despite being perceived as positive among Syrians, the EU authorities point out the close ties between the rebels who have won and the Taliban in Afghanistan, which is viewed as concerning for the EU national security, Schengen.News reports.

Due to Syria’s political future, which is considered ‘uncertain’ by a spokesperson of Germany’s Federal Office for Migration and Refugees, a total of 47,270 applications will not be processed. Those who have already been decided on will not be impacted by the measure, as the local authorities have confirmed.

Austria Freezes 7,300 Asylum Applications Filed by Syrian Refugees
The Austrian Interior Minister, who is led by Gerhard Karner, has confirmed that the authorities will not process a total of 7,300 asylum applications filed by Syrian nationals.

Chancellor Karl Nehammer today instructed Interior Minister Gerhard Karner to suspend all current Syrian asylum applications and to review all cases in which asylum was granted.

Austrian Interior Ministry
Rebels have seized Damascus after 13 years of civil war in Syria, while President Assad has fled to Russia. During this period, millions of Syrians had to leave the country, many of them relocating to Central Europe, especially Germany. It is estimated that Syrian refugees are the number one nationality group to seek asylum in the EU the most throughout the years.
The Austrian Interior Minister also pointed out that he had taken measures to address the new changes but had not elaborated in further detail.

I have instructed the Ministry to prepare a programme of orderly repatriation and deportation to Syria.

Gerhard Kerner, Austrian Interior Minister
German Govt Receives Public Backlash for Its Stances Regarding Syrian Refugees
Lamya Kaddor, a member of Germany’s Green Party, has expressed that she is shocked how it is being called for deportations of Syrians, highlighting that this can impact many German Syrians as well.

I think that’s more than cynical and, to be honest, populist. And it misses the point of the lives of many German-Syrians and people who come from this region.

Lamya Kaddor, Germany's Green Party
According to data from the European Union Agency for Asylum, there were 13,634 first-time applications for asylum filed by Syrian nationals in August of 2024, while the total number of applications by this time had reached 14,045.
Germany received 48 per cent of Syria’s applications, which represents a total of 6,753, while Austria received 739 or five per cent of the total.