Home Affairs Department said it is reviewing their options relating to the 22 Afghan nationals seeking asylum

The Home Affairs Department said it has asked for a legal opinion regarding the matter involving 22 Afghan nationals who were dumped in the country without being vetted.

`We are reviewing our options and have asked for a legal opinion in this regard,` said Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi’s spokesperson, Siya Qoza.

South Africans expressed concern over a security rush associated with the 22 Afghan nationals who are in the country; some even suspected that they might attack citizens.

Last week, the Pretoria High Court ruled in favour of the 22 Afghan nationals who are believed to be running from the `Taliban` and who wanted asylum in the country.

This was after the US NGO Lifeline Foundation took the department to court after the applicants were refused entry.

According to the website, the Lifeline Foundation is an expeditionary-focused, 501(c)(3) non-profit organisation providing humanitarian support, security, and logistics to rebuild communities around the world. It was established in 2021.

Last month, Motsoaledi said the department was challenging the court order because the asylum seekers could pose a risk to the country.

The department said on February 15, 2023, they received a letter from a firm of attorneys representing unnamed Afghan nationals demanding that asylum transit visas be issued to those unnamed individuals at Beitbridge Port of Entry.

When asked if he will challenge the ruling, Motsoaledi said they are going to hear what the lawyers tell them.

`By the way we have challenged it, they were supposed to arrive here on February 17 because we received that letter on the 15th and we challenged it in court. And after that, when it went to court for the second time, the judge said that you must allow them in to apply. So we will look into which areas, depending on what the lawyers advise us to do,` Motsoaledi said.

Motsoaledi said he was disappointed with the ruling, citing that no one goes to court not hoping to win.

After the ruling, the department said it would abide by the ruling, but Motsoaledi, in an interview with one of the broadcasters, said they are reviewing the decision because a number of colleagues in government are not convinced that the country should take it. He said they also looked at the implications to see whether this was going to open floodgates.

`So we are looking into an issue, including asking for legal advice from outside the department, outside the government,` he said.

He said they will abide because the court said they must allow the 22 individuals to come to the country to apply for asylum.

When asked about the whereabouts of the 22 individuals, Motsoaledi said the last time he checked, they were in Zambia.

`The last time we learned, they were in Zambia, and we believe that they are still there. Remember that in Zimbabwe, they entered as visitors who said they were on vacation. That`s what the Zimbabwean government informs us. We were given 30 days, and they were expiring. That is why they had to leave Zimbabwe, but we understand that they applied for the same visitor`s visa to Zambia, and they`re still there. I don`t know how long I heard the rumour that it was going to be for 25 days. I don`t know when it will expire. But they are still there,` Motsoaledi said.

Explaining the asylum process, Motsoaledi said the system says once one goes through the borders having been given the Section 23 permit, that means, in terms of Section 23 of the Immigration Act, you are given five days to represent yourself at the nearest refugee reception centre,

He said the country has five centres, one in Limpopo, two in Tshwane, Gauteng, one in Cape Town, one in the Eastern Cape, and one in KwaZulu-Natal.

He said they will find a kiosk at a refugee reception centre where people can just go and do renewals.

`Then during that process, a person called a refugee status determination officer will be interviewing you to see whether you qualify for refugee status in terms of the United Nations Convention 1951 and the United Nations Protocol of 1967 and the EU, now called the European Convention of 1969, and the domestication of all those laws, the domestication into the Refugee Act of South Africa of 1998,` said Motsoaledi.

ATM President Vuyo Zungula said the issue is our Constitution.

`People drafted the Constitution in the mid-1990s because they wanted to be the complete opposite of what happened during apartheid. Then this is abused by foreign nationals and other foreign bodies that want to achieve certain objectives in South Africa,` Zungula said.

According to media reports, these 22 individuals were willing to provide medical assistance at the Cape Flats in the Western Cape, a place known for violent crimes and gang-related incidents.

Motsoaledi said that is an insult to the medical fraternity.

`How does a person say, I’m coming to apply for asylum, and you must give it to me; after all, I’m going to help you, and I even know the area where I’m going to help you. Surely if we have a shortage of medical personnel, we are the ones, as a sovereign state, who must say so and even show you the area where you must go. They did not even mention what kind of medical qualifications they have,` Motsoaledi said.

He revealed that they have the passengers` manifest.

`But what we know about them is that the Americans themselves say these are the people who were helping the Americans during the time when Americans were in Afghanistan,` he said.

He said they are suspicious of the individuals and what is going on.

`We are still very suspicious about what is going on. In court, the explanation was that the people moved from Afghanistan to Pakistan and the Taliban followed them there. And then they went to Qatar. And they claim that Qatar sent them away. Then they went to Zimbabwe and never said they were being sent away; we are asking for asylum or protection. They said they were on vacation. Now they are in Zambia for a vacation. Why is it that out of all those countries, only South Africa has been targeted for this?` said Motsoaledi.

An activist known as `Sentletse` on Twitter asked DIRCO spokesperson, Clayson Monyela, if the country had any security background information on the 22 Afghan nationals.

`Nothing! They`re not vetted (their background and agenda are unknown). They arrived at Beitbridge, accompanied by some American citizens. Lawyers had already written to Home Affairs (reportedly briefed by an American-based NGO). We need to urgently review and tighten our immigration laws,` replied Monyela.

www.samigration.com

Govt probes Shein amid concerns over its rapid gains in SA

As parts of business and labour in SA sound the alarm that Chinese fast-fashion retailer Shein could be exploiting tax loopholes to undercut local retailers and manufacturers, the government has confirmed an investigation is underway.

Shein meanwhile says it is committed to ethical business and wage practices as well as abiding by the laws and regulations, but there are mounting concerns in some quarters about the rapid gains it is making the South African market.

Founded in 2008, Shein is a Chinese online retailer that ships to more than 150 countries. It markets its clothes primarily via social media, and has gained a fast-growing market in South Africa - as was evidenced by long queues outside its local logistics partner`s premises during the past festive season.

The retailer`s clothing sells at super-cheap prices, with dresses on offer from far below R100.

The company has been accused of violating worker rights, with reports of 75-hour working weeks. Being a seller of cheap fast fashion, it has also been criticised for adding to waste and environmental problems.

But central to the concerns of the Southern African Clothing and Textile Workers Union (Sactwu) and the National Clothing Retail Federation (NCRF), is a belief that Shein may be exploiting tax loopholes to bring in goods far more cheaply than other international players and local companies.

They also believe the Chinese retailer could be undermining both the manufacturing and retail aspects of the Retail-Clothing, Textile, Footwear, Leather Master Plan (R-CTFL), which the government and local clothing sector agreed on in 2019 to try and encourage more local content and jobs. 

Sactwu`s national industrial policy officer, Etienne Vlok, says the union has concerns about Shein`s growing impact in SA. 

`We think it is bad news for workers, it`s bad news for the economy and it`s bad news for the environment.`

He said the union and the NCRF, which represents top retailers such as Foschini owner TFG, Truworths, Woolworths, Mr Price, Pick n Pay Clothing, Queenspark, Cape Union Mart, the LA Group, Cotton On and Retailability, had raised their concerns with the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC).

They are hoping for a probe of whether there are any loopholes that could be helping Shein.

The DTIC confirmed to News24 that its investigation on Shein is progressing in partnership with organised business and labour.

Model concerns

Vlok said that the model Shein used appeared to be based on avoiding or paying reduced import duties, `exploiting the ecommerce loopholes`. 

`In terms of customs legislation if you bring in small packages, you don’t pay duties, that is because the duties are reserved for larger consignments. And so, what Shein seems to be doing is exploiting that loophole by exporting in very small quantities often directly to the customer or their local distribution warehouses. They also, we have been told, apportion the contents of packages so that they can be put in more than one smaller parcels, so they stay below the threshold for duties on small packages. This means they are paying much less import duty than they would otherwise do.`

SARS did not want to comment, saying it was not permitted to disclose the confidential tax affairs of any taxpayer.

Another issue for Vlok was that there did not seem to be any meaningful local investment in SA by Shein, adding that at best `there may be a couple of jobs in warehouses`.

As a result, there was no significant benefit to SA in terms of additional revenue, taxes or jobs being created and that the fiscus was also possibly losing out because import duties were `not being paid in the way that they were intended`.  

`Our concern is that this has a negative impact on the industry because those import duties are supposed to support local job creation and local investment. It has a negative impact on local clothing manufacturers and also on those businesses in SA who do comply with import duties. Now it means that suddenly, Shein is bringing in a garment for which they may be paying only a third or quarter of the duties payable, whereas its competitors, both local and international, may be paying the full duty.`

`This has an impact on the jobs of those businesses, but it could also mean that those local companies may start to use the same loopholes if they are legal and find other ways to ensure they are more competitive, which is a race to the bottom we should not be getting into.`

Questions over labour practices

Vlok said it was well-documented that Shein also used `sweatshop labour` to produce extremely cheap products.

`There have been reports done on the conditions in their factories and the conditions seem to be very bad with people working weeks on end with one day off a month, sometimes working 18-hour days. A kind of return to old sweatshop models, quite different from what we`ve been seeing recently in China where employment conditions have been improving.`

As for the environmental impact, he said Shein`s fast-fashion model resulted in products being made that were `not of a high quality` and `not supposed to last beyond a couple of months`.  

`The result is the consumer is winning in the short term because they are getting a very cheap product, but that product does not last. Then the products have to get disposed of and new products have to be bought.  The disposed of clothes then land up in landfills, damaging the environment.`

Michael Lawrence, who heads up the NCRF, said his organisation thought that Shein`s practices in SA `may not be fair` and was concerned about the legality of its business model. 

He said if Shein was bringing in large containers of goods, NCRF did not know if these were `being correctly cleared through customs`. 

`They are a market disruptor at price points we don`t understand and I think may suggest that things are not being done in a fully compliant manner in terms of a fair and competitive environment,` said Lawrence.

Seeking accountability

Of central concern to Lawrence as well was that offshore online clothing platform sales like Shein is not accountable to the same standards as local retailers.

`We have no way of protecting the consumer, we have no way of verifying the integrity of manufacture, we have no way of verifying the integrity of products at all. It`s one thing to say `let the buyer beware`, but we live in an environment where we have come to accept that in SA we are trying to build a confident consumer base off an accountable group of goods and service providers. That will include imported duties. We don`t have any opportunities for accountability mechanisms for offshore platforms like Shein.`

He said the federation had approached the government for help because the R-CTFL master plan was put in place to create `a community of accountability to achieve certain ambitions`. 

He said the federation was not trying to take away `the competitiveness` or remove opportunities for improving quality and price for consumers, but that it wanted everyone who operated in the South African environment to be commercially accountable.

`And we don`t know whether Shein are or are not. What we are seeing is incredibly well priced product coming in that does not line up with our understanding of what is available in the international commercial retail market.`

Shein responds

A Shein spokesperson told News24 that the company was committed to respecting human rights and adhering to local laws and regulations in all its markets.

`Our suppliers must adhere to a strict code of conduct that is aligned to the International Labour Organisation core conventions.`

As for the environmental concerns raised, it claims its model was especially good at reducing wastage, because it avoid overproduction due to its on-demand model.  `As a result, we only respond with larger production to meet demand if it`s warranted, reducing the unsold inventory percentage to single digits (versus an industry average of 30%).

Shein said it had also begun `on-shoring and near-shoring, opening new distribution centres around the world` such as its one in Whitestown, Indiana, that will help it reduce the fuel it uses for shipping.

It was also committed to sourcing only `forest-safe man-made cellulosic fibres and paper packaging products` by 2025 and had launched programmes such as Shein Exchange, where customers can resell their products. 

`When we surveyed customers last year, more than two-thirds shared that they give Shein products to family or friends when they are done wearing them

www.samigration.com

Some Home Affairs mobile units not functioning in three provinces

Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi said three mobile units allocated to the Western Cape, Eastern Cape and Free State were not fully operational due to mechanical problems.

Motsoaledi said the fleet belonged to the old fleet that was procured in the 2005/6 financial year.

“Some of the units were previously involved in accidents,” he said.

Motsoaledi was responding to parliamentary questions from DA MP Adrian Roos, who asked about the number of the department’s mobile units that were fully operational and also deployed on a day-to-day basis.

He said there were a total of 110 mobile units and 105 those were functional.

He said all the mobile units were deployed with a planned day-to-day schedule.

“This averages a total of 95% of the total units deployed on a day-to-day schedule to close the gaps where there is no Department of Home Affairs footprint and render services in remote rural areas.”

Motsoaledi also said 464 areas were visited by the mobile units between April and September 2022.

A further 46 areas were visited during the ministerial service delivery outreach programmes in the Eastern Cape, Limpopo, Mpumalanga and North West to promote early birth registration and smart ID card products,” he said.

According to the minister, 111 916 smart ID applications were collected by the mobile units and 4 800 passport applications were allocated during the same period.

“A total number of 2 208 schools were visited by mobile units during the above period in different provinces,” Motsoaledi said.

Meanwhile, the department was saddled with a backlog of visa applications totalling 40 635, Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi said.

Motsoaledi said the accumulation of visa applications was due to restriction of travel during Covid-19 pandemic.

“We did accumulate a lot of backlogs during the state of disaster as some services such as applications for permanent and temporary residence were closed due to the fact that international travel was suspended.

“In addition, in order to adhere to the Covid-19 regulations, we had to drastically reduce staff on duty to enable social distancing,” Motsoaledi said.

He said the backlogs were now standing at 40 365 since 2016.

The minister said his department has appointed 18 additional adjudicators who have since started work.

“They will spend the first 30 days in training and will start tackling the backlog on April 1, 2023. Managers from provinces have been mobilised to help with quality control,” he said.

Motsoaledi also said the department was currently reviewing the immigration permitting delegations as well as standard operating procedures.

www.samigration.com

Suspected Islamist militants kill 19 people in village raid in eastern DRC

Suspected Islamist militants killed at least 19 people and burnt a medical facility in a raid on a village in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) early on Sunday morning, said two regional officials and a resident. 

The attack, which occurred around 1am (23:00 GMT) in the village of Kirindera in North Kivu province, took place just a few kilometres from another attack on a village that killed at least 35 people last week.

The army blamed last week’s attack on the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a Ugandan armed group based in eastern Congo that has pledged allegiance to Islamic State. A resident of a nearby village and a member of local civil society blamed Sunday’s attack on the ADF.

“The ADF arrived, they set fire to a hospital after looting it with medicines, and they set fire to a hotel,” said Sadame Patanguli, the resident.

He said the militants kidnapped several others, who are now missing. The details of the burned buildings and the death toll were confirmed by two regional officials.

The ADF was created in Uganda before moving to eastern Congo in the 1990s, and has been blamed for thousands of deaths in the last decade.

The killings have continued despite efforts by the army, which is also fighting the rebel group M23, whose offensive in recent months has displaced 600,000 people. Congo says the group is backed by neighbouring Rwanda, which Rwanda denies.

Meanwhile, public support for the United Nations’ peacekeeping mission in eastern Congo, known as Monusco, has plummeted because of what local residents say is its inability to stem the violence.

A delegation from the UN Security Council toured North Kivu this weekend, including to a camp for displaced people.

“There are no magic solutions, it’s not the United Nations that will solve the problem on its own,” said Nicolas de Riviere, the French ambassador to the UN. “We need a political negotiation, we need a security solution

www.samigration.com

Life in prison for murderer who threw a 23-year-old man out of seventh-floor

A 37-year-old man has been found guilty of murdering 23-year-old Shaun Douglas Chabalala, who was thrown out of a seventh-floor window of a block of flats in central Pretoria in 2018.

Dumkele “Ekere” Onyeghani appeared in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court on Monday, where he stood in the dock expressionless as the judgment was read out.

Magistrate Thembinkosi Ndwandwe started his judgment by going through the testimony of the State witnesses, followed by the version of the defence.

Ndwandwe accepted the version of Chabalala’s business partner, Given Mzamane, who was the only witness to the killing.

Mzamane testified that he and Chabalala had seen an online advert for a luxury camera that was being sold in Sunnyside.

They contacted the seller and they drove from Johannesburg to the Tamboti block of apartments in Sunnyside.

Once there, Onyeghani, who was at the entrance, greeted them and took them to his flat on the seventh floor.

As the two men entered the flat, they were met by two other men and attacked.

Mzamane managed to get away, but not before he witnessed two men throwing Chabalala out of the window.

Onyeghani pleaded not guilty to charges of murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances and contravening the Immigration Act. He is a Nigerian national. 

Onyeghani claimed he was not at the flat on the day and that it was his flatmate who killed Chabalala.

His flatmate was arrested, but went missing after being released on bail in 2019.

Onyeghani`s version was rejected by the court, which took into account that he was identified within three seconds at an identity parade and that after the murder he went into hiding.

Police managed to track Onyeghani down to a house in Pretoria West through an informant.

When they tried to effect the arrest in October 2019, Onyeghani hid in the ceiling of the house, but was discovered after police brought the K9 unit in.

Ndwandwe found Onyeghani guilty of murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances and for being in the country illegally as his permit to reside in South Africa had expired long before his arrest.

Straight after judgment, the court listened to sentencing arguments and proceeded to sentence the accused to life imprisonment for murder and 15 years for the robbery charge.

For contravening the Immigration Act, Onyeghani was sentenced to 12 months behind bars wholly suspended on the condition that he is deported once he has served his sentence for the murder and robbery counts.

www.samigration.com