Zimbabwe - quarantine for all arrivals

Tourism Update – 2 December 2021

New restriction for entry to Zimbabwe apply to all travellers and are effective immediately.

Vaccination does not feature in the regulations.

PCR testing at Robert Mugabe International Airport (Harare), Joshua Nkomo International Airport (Bulawayo) and Victoria Falls international Airport (Vic Falls) upon arrival is now mandatory, followed by a minimum quarantine period of 10 days.

The Health Ministry says it will establish airport PCR testing laboratories, and the PCR test will be done for a nominal fee, yet to be gazetted.

“All returning residents and visitors have to undergo PCR testing, and will be quarantined at own cost, even if they present negative PCR test results from elsewhere,” President Emmerson Mnangagwa stated in a live televised address on November 30.

Those who test negative must quarantine for 10 days at a site determined by the government, while those who test positive must quarantine for 14 days, a newly issued statutory instrument has now proclaimed.

Home quarantine is not permitted, according to a communication sent out by SAA. A list of quarantine centres will soon be published by the Zimbabwean Ministry of Health and Child Care (MOHCC).

Exemptions

PCR testing is not required for children under five years one month (61 months) old.

Travel News has had sight of a summary of the initial Cabinet briefing, which says that other exemptions to the requirement for PCR testing on arrival may only be issued by the Secretary of Health (for example, on the grounds of health or age), and there will be “official exemptions”.  These will include VIPs, diplomats and their families, envoys, and UN staff and their families. Official exemptions will have to quarantine at home.

Designated business travellers, for example those visiting the government, will be exempt from quarantine requirements (and proof thereof shall be required), said the summary.

It added that airline crew on night-stops (from airport of origin or in Zimbabwe) will be exempt. The 30-day validity period for each crew PCR HC is to be reviewed.

Concerning road transport, the summary said: “Measures for land borders remain unchanged. Essential goods drivers’ PCR HC validity is to be reviewed.”

Police to man quarantine centres

The summary said a list of quarantine centres would be published by the MOHCC. They will be lodges and hotels, who will provide transport (for the traveller’s account) to the quarantine centre hotel/lodge. Once tested, the traveller will proceed to their chosen quarantine centre, which may be pre-booked before arrival, or booked on arrival. Test results will be communicated to each person tested when results are ready.

The summary added: “People failing to afford quarantine accommodation and/or transport will be handed over to Government Social Welfare Department.

“Each quarantine centre will be manned by police,” said the summary. It added: “There are no new measures for tourists. These are yet to be published.

“Government is yet to come up with a plan on whether to secure passports during the entire duration of the quarantine or isolation and only release the passports at the end of such period.”

Additional new regulations in Zimbabwe include a curfew from 21h00-06h00, and admission to restaurants, licensed premises and nightclubs is restricted to those who provide proof of full vaccination.

SAA has confirmed that the carrier’s operations from Johannesburg to Harare are currently operating as per schedule.

www.samigration.com

03 December 2021 – Businesstech

The Department of Home Affairs will pilot a new appointment system in 2022 in a bid to cut down on excessive queueing and corruption.

Briefing parliament on Tuesday (30 November), the department said that the appointment system has been finalised and will be deployed in selected offices in the current financial year. It initially plans to pilot the system in five high-volume offices, it said.

The system is integrated with the national population register to allow clients to use their ID number to book a slot. This will prevent agents illegally operating in home affairs offices from blocking slots to sell them on.

The department has previously said that the new system will use a mobile app that will allow South Africans to enter their user details and schedule appointments.

This includes options to book an appointment at a specific home affairs office in each province, as well as an expected start and end time.

Users are also expected to fill out a declaration regarding their health and Covid-19 status for health and safety regulations.

The new system forms part of a wider push to improve service delivery at Home Affairs offices, including a plan to address ageing equipment and an unstable network which has led to infrastructure issues. The department also plans to improve internet speeds and system downtime through new technologies, it said.

In November, Home Affairs minister Aaron Motsoaledi confirmed that it will also expand its partnership with banks to offer additional services at branches across the country in 2022.

Motsoaledi said the department’s partnership with banks is being piloted and operated at 25 bank branches.  “The intention is to increase the number of the sites to 70 once the Public-Private-Partnership Agreements are signed with the banks,” he said.

Home Affairs initially introduced its banking pilot to assist with the reduction of long queues at DHA offices, to expand the service platforms, and to allow citizens to apply for Smart ID cards and passports online.

Applicants are only required to visit the bank branch to complete biometric requirements, thereby reducing the time spent in the bank or Home Affairs office.

www.samigration.com

Three home affairs officials arrested for ‘soliciting money from shop owners’

Times live 1 December 2021

The three suspects will face charges of corruption in the Ermelo magistrate's court.

Two immigration officers and an assistant director from the department of home affairs in Ermelo were arrested for alleged corruption on Tuesday.

The three suspects are expected to appear before the magistrate’s court in Ermelo on Wednesday on charges of corruption.

The suspects allegedly demanded money from foreign nationals who own shops in Ermelo. .

Provincial police spokesperson Brig Selvy Mohlala said a complainant reported the matter to the local police station and an investigation was launched by the Anti-Corruption Unit.

“An operation was conducted and the three suspects were arrested today after receiving trap money,” said Mohlala.

Provincial commissioner Lt-Gen Semakaleng Daphney Manamela said police would do everything in their power to root out corruption in the province.

“No-one is above the law. Anyone found to be in breach of the law will be arrested, irrespective of the position he or she holds. Mpumalanga must be a crime-free province”

www.samigration.com

Finally! Home Affairs gearing up for in-house online booking system 

New24 – 30 November 2021

• The Department of Home Affairs is gearing up for the test phase of an online appointment booking system. 

• It already has an online system which allows uploading of documents and filling in of applications, and an online full service partnership with banks. 

• It is doing this amid post freezes due to Treasury cuts, and the growing queues for service outside its offices. 

The Department of Home Affairs is gearing up to test an in-house online appointment booking system. 

It was doing this amid the growing queues for vital identity documents the department issued. 

"We are moving fast," said Thulani Mavuso, the department's Deputy Director-General for Institutional Planning. 

The online booking system would be tested at certain offices and would be formally announced when it's ready for roll out. "But the system is complete," said Mavuso.

He was part of a team briefing the Western Cape legislature's Standing Committee on the Premier and Constitutional Matters. 

An online booking system was already available at some Nedbank, Standard Bank, FNB and Absa banks around the country. 

At these outlets, applicants had their fingerprints and photos taken. An account with the institution was required. 

The department already had its own partial online application system, with applicants uploading documents, then going to the department to provide the fingerprints and to take a picture. 

Designed

The committee heard that queues outside Home Affairs' offices were a problem, with the buildings not designed for people waiting outside. 

Homeless people had also carved out a niche market which involved sleeping in queues for a fee, but the department was trying to stamp this out by keeping a list of names from early in the day and only letting those with business in the building through the door. 

The department said that one of its problems was not being able to replace staff who left after Treasury budget cuts. 

Yusuf Simons, the department's provincial manager for the Western Cape, said only priority posts could be filled.

In the meantime, the green ID book was still being issued in some areas where systems were not linked to the live Home Affairs systems. 

Committee chair Regan Allen, in his capacity as DA Western Cape acting spokesperson on Premier and Constitutional Affairs, said that an online booking system will not work with its current reputation for being offline. 

He added that 500 staff members are not enough to meet the demands of the seven million residents of the Western Cape.

"Unless systemic deficiencies in the IT service is addressed and the infrastructure is updated and protected, automating services will not address the growing demand," said Allen. 

"The root of the problem and the solution remains the IT system, and this must remain the top priority of Minister Motsoaledi."

www.samigration.com

News 24 – 30 November 2021

• The Border Management Authority needs close to R3 billion to pay staff salaries for a fully operational service.
• Another R5.2 billion is needed for goods and services, which does not include future technology requirements.
• On Tuesday, BMA commissioner Nakampe Masiapato briefed Parliament on the authority's rollout and funding.

South Africa's Border Management Authority (BMA) needs close to R3 billion to pay staff, while another estimated R5.2 billion would be needed for goods and services.

According to BMA commissioner Nakampe Masiapato, the estimated expenditure on the compensation of employees and goods and services was to establish a fully operational BMA.

On Tuesday, Masiapato and several Home Affairs officials briefed Parliament's home affairs committee on the BMA rollout plan and funding.

"It should be noted that the above costing is indicative of an estimated cost of the BMA. However, this cost does not include the cost of the future ICT requirements," Masiapato said.

Following discussions between the BMA leadership, National Treasury and Department of Public Service and Administration, it was agreed that until March 2023, the BMA would remain "incubated" within the Department of Home Affairs.

"Between 1 January 2022 to May 2022, all key positions filled and the oversight committees constituted. In June 2022, BMA will make budget submissions to National Treasury inclusive of transferred budgets from proclaimed departments as discussed. In July 2022, the Department of Public Service and Administration is to announce the listing of BMA as a Schedule 3A Public Entity," Masiapato said in his presentation.

After budgetary processes in October 2022, and February 2023, the BMA would exit the department to operate as a public entity from 1 April 2023.

It would report to the Minister of Home Affairs.

The BMA would be responsible for:

• Facilitating and managing the legitimate movement of persons and goods within the border law enforcement area and at ports of entry;
• Dealing with all kinds of inter-jurisdictional crimes, such as human and wildlife trafficking, movement of counterfeit goods, and the illegal border crossings; and
• Co-operate and co-ordinate its border law enforcement functions with other agencies like police, the SA National Defence Force and the SA Revenue Service.

"Considering this mandate, juxtaposed against the long-standing national problem of 'porous borders',  it is therefore critical to fast track the operationalisation of this BMA, of which this presentation seeks to provide an update to that effect," Masiapato said.

The BMA logo was developed with the support of the Government Communications Information System (GCIS) and approved in October. Uniform specifications for the BMA were finalised in June 2021, and so far, 15 Toyota Land Cruisers had been bought.

Masiapato said that members of the Immigration Inspectorate would be deployed along with soldiers to conduct joint operations this festive season.

"In addition, plans are at advance stages for the deployment of additional capacity of the SANDF reserves at the borderline. BMA leadership is finalising discussions with the SANDF Command Council for the secondment of the reserve force of the SANDF. This will serve as the preparations towards the introduction of the BMA Border Guards along the borderline," he said.

Masiapato said they were aiming to sign a memorandum of agreement with the SANDF by no later than November.

"Given the current discussions, we envisaged to launch the BMA Border Guards sometime early next year (2022)," he said

www.samigration.com.