Qualifying Angolan nationals will soon be able to apply for an exemption permit to live and work in South Africa

Ensight – 28 August 2021

The South African Department of Home Affairs has announced that it is inviting qualifying Angolan nationals to apply for an Angolan Exemption Permit.

This is good news for the many Angolan families who have lived and worked in South Africa for over two decades and were left without a definite route to status in South Africa, when the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) issued a cessation of refugee status for Angolans in 2013. 

As an interim solution to this dilemma, South African introduced the Angola Special Permit in 2017, affording the holder a visa valid for four years.

Angolan nationals falling into the below categories (including Angolan Special Dispensation permit holders) will be able to apply for the Angolan Exemption Permit:

• Angolans who were issued with the Angolan Cessation Permit but did not apply for the Angolan Special permit.
• Angolans who were issued with the Angolan Special Permit.
• All Angolan refugees or asylum seekers who were issued with section 24 or section 22 permits before 31 August 2013, the date when the Tripartite Commission Agreement was signed marking the end of the Civil War in Angola.

Spouses and children of the affected Angolan nationals will be allowed to apply for mainstream visas or permits after the main member has obtained their exemption permit. The Department forecasts that 5 000 Angolans could qualify to apply.

Although the holder of the new Angolan Exemption Permit may not apply for permanent residence when the four years expire, the permit will allow the affected persons to continue to live and work in South Africa, thus preventing them from losing their legal status in South Africa.

All applications must be submitted online at the VFS office nearest to the applicant, from 16 August 2021. The turnaround time for the Angolan Exemption Permit to be issued is eight weeks.

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Home Affairs believes technological capability not there yet for cryptocurrency travel rule

27 August  2021 – ZD Net

While a travel rule would be a 'game changer', both Home Affairs and Austrac believe more technology development is required before the rule is implemented.

The Department of Home Affairs on Friday said it agrees with submissions from industry that government currently does not have the technological capability for implementing a travel rule for cryptocurrencies.

A travel rule, if ratified, would require financial institutions to pass certain information onto another financial institution to provide more transparency regarding cryptocurrency movement.

The travel rule was recommended by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in May as it believed the rule would aid in preventing terrorists and other criminals from having unfettered access to electronically-facilitated funds transfers for moving their funds and for detecting such misuse when it occurs.

"I think it depends on the way that [the travel rule] is implemented so a technological solution that takes a lot of the legwork out of that would be a game changer. [But] we are not at the point where, globally, there is such a technological solution," said Home Affairs assistant secretary Daniel Mossop, who appeared before the Senate Committee on Australia as a Technology and Financial Centre on Friday afternoon.

Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (Austrac) national manager Bradley Brown shared a similar sentiment during the hearing, saying a solid basis for a technological solution for facilitating the travel rule would be required if the travel rule were to go live.

Brown's input to the committee is an update of Austrac's view of the travel rule. Shortly after the FATF recommended the rule, Austrac CEO Nicole Rose said her agency was interested in regulating the exchanges that "turn cash into cryptocurrency" and would consider the merits of implementing the rule within Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing regulation.

Later in the afternoon, the committee questioned Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) representatives about the scope of Australia's regulatory powers in relation to crypto assets. Commissioner Cathie Armour said ASIC's own powers currently were limited when regulating crypto assets, clarifying that it can only regulate crypto assets if they are a financial product.  

Armour added that Australian regulation of crypto assets has primarily been an exercise of crime enforcement rather than financial regulation.

Committee chair Senator Andrew Bragg then asked whether Parliament could enact custody arrangements for digital assets in the financial space that leverage existing rules.

Armour explained that this would be dependent on how Australia wants to regulate crypto assets.

"Is it as a separate category that they decide covers all digital assets? Or is it more an identification of which digital asset might fit into the existing categories of financial products better," she said.

"I think once your committee has considered what would be the best approach there, that could happen," Armour said.

The committee is currently in the last phase of its inquiry, which is focusing on removing more barriers to Australian growth as a technology and finance centre. The inquiry first kicked off in October 2019.

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Bongo’s removal is among several changes ANC chief whip Pemmy Majodina announced on Thursday

Bongani Bongo, who is facing corruption and fraud charges, has been removed as chairperson of parliament’s home affairs portfolio committee.

Bongo was removed from his powerful position months after he was suspended from the parliamentary position by the ANC leadership during strict implementation of its “step-aside” rule.

The party suspended Bongo in May after he refused to voluntarily step aside while facing fraud allegations, as per party guidelines.

However, he will remain an ordinary MP, serving on the home affairs committee.

According to several high-placed sources, Bongo’s removal was among changes announced by ANC chief whip Pemmy Majodina at the party’s caucus meeting on Thursday.

ANC caucus spokesperson Nomfanelo Kota said she was unable to comment. This story will be updated when her reaction is obtained. 

However, ANC insiders have revealed that, in the main, portfolio committee chairpersons aligned with suspended ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule have been moved around and, with the exception of one, replaced by people sympathetic to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s dominant faction.

Among them are those whose election was opposed by opposition parties and criticised by civil society, who objected because they were implicated at the state capture commission.

Despite initial objection to her election in July 2019, Faith Muthambi, who has been leading the cooperative governance and traditional affairs committee, is credited for its tough approach towards floundering municipalities.

She has swapped roles with former Eastern Cape MEC Fikile Xasa, who will now chair her committee, according to sources. Xasa was the chairperson of the environment, forestry and fisheries oversight committee.

The outspoken Tandi Mahambehlala, who led her committee’s criticism of international relations and cooperation minister Naledi Pandor’s handling of the suspension of department of international relations and cooperation (Dirco) director-general Kgabo Mahoai on Wednesday, has been swapped with former North West premier Supra Mahumapelo, who has chaired the tourism portfolio committee since June 2019.

The Dirco committee, under Mahambehlala, has been tough on Pandor, especially over her perceived inaction against officials implicated in the controversial purchase of a dilapidated New York building for R118m.

MPs have been critical of Pandor for placing Mahoai on precautionary suspension, saying she was using him as a scapegoat in the matter. They have also clashed with the minister for not always explaining her decisions on the matter.

“You must spare yourself from self-importance — your utterances, I find them very arrogant,” Mahambehlala told Pandor during a heated meeting of the committee in February.

Former #FeesMustFall leader Nompendulo Mkhatshwa is said to be the new chairperson of the committee overseeing higher education. This follows the promotion of the committee’s chairperson, Philly Mapulane, to Ramaphosa’s executive.

Mapulane was appointed deputy minister of communications and digital technologies earlier this month.

In the National Council of Provinces, Zolani Mkiva, an ANC delegate from the Eastern Cape, will replace former Buffalo City mayor Zukiswa Ncitha, who stepped aside earlier this year while facing fraud charges in the so-called Mandela funeral scandal.

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Axe finally falls on Bongani Bongo as ANC shakes up parliamentary caucus

26 August 2021 – Times Live

Bongo’s removal is among several changes ANC chief whip Pemmy Majodina announced on Thursday

Bongani Bongo, who is facing corruption and fraud charges, has been removed as chairperson of parliament’s home affairs portfolio committee.

Bongo was removed from his powerful position months after he was suspended from the parliamentary position by the ANC leadership during strict implementation of its “step-aside” rule.

The party suspended Bongo in May after he refused to voluntarily step aside while facing fraud allegations, as per party guidelines.

However, he will remain an ordinary MP, serving on the home affairs committee.

According to several high-placed sources, Bongo’s removal was among changes announced by ANC chief whip Pemmy Majodina at the party’s caucus meeting on Thursday.

ANC caucus spokesperson Nomfanelo Kota said she was unable to comment. This story will be updated when her reaction is obtained. 

However, ANC insiders have revealed that, in the main, portfolio committee chairpersons aligned with suspended ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule have been moved around and, with the exception of one, replaced by people sympathetic to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s dominant faction.

Among them are those whose election was opposed by opposition parties and criticised by civil society, who objected because they were implicated at the state capture commission.

Despite initial objection to her election in July 2019, Faith Muthambi, who has been leading the cooperative governance and traditional affairs committee, is credited for its tough approach towards floundering municipalities.

She has swapped roles with former Eastern Cape MEC Fikile Xasa, who will now chair her committee, according to sources. Xasa was the chairperson of the environment, forestry and fisheries oversight committee.

The outspoken Tandi Mahambehlala, who led her committee’s criticism of international relations and cooperation minister Naledi Pandor’s handling of the suspension of department of international relations and cooperation (Dirco) director-general Kgabo Mahoai on Wednesday, has been swapped with former North West premier Supra Mahumapelo, who has chaired the tourism portfolio committee since June 2019.

The Dirco committee, under Mahambehlala, has been tough on Pandor, especially over her perceived inaction against officials implicated in the controversial purchase of a dilapidated New York building for R118m.

MPs have been critical of Pandor for placing Mahoai on precautionary suspension, saying she was using him as a scapegoat in the matter. They have also clashed with the minister for not always explaining her decisions on the matter.

“You must spare yourself from self-importance — your utterances, I find them very arrogant,” Mahambehlala told Pandor during a heated meeting of the committee in February.

Former #FeesMustFall leader Nompendulo Mkhatshwa is said to be the new chairperson of the committee overseeing higher education. This follows the promotion of the committee’s chairperson, Philly Mapulane, to Ramaphosa’s executive.

Mapulane was appointed deputy minister of communications and digital technologies earlier this month.

In the National Council of Provinces, Zolani Mkiva, an ANC delegate from the Eastern Cape, will replace former Buffalo City mayor Zukiswa Ncitha, who stepped aside earlier this year while facing fraud charges in the so-called Mandela funeral scandal.

www.samigration.com