East London, when GroundUp visited people said they had been queuing outside the Department of Home Affairs since 5am.

People are still having to queue for hours, and sometimes all night, for social grants or documents from the Department of Home Affairs, in spite of warnings by health officials that this is contributing to the spread of Covid-19 in the Eastern Cape.

In their epidemiological report for 12 November, the Eastern Cape Health Department and the National Institute for Communicable Diseases warned that “self-defeating tendencies or practices by government departments, including long queues with no social distancing during the payment of social grants, at the Department of Home Affairs and full load taxis are all contributing to the fast spread of the virus”.

GroundUp reporters found long queues at SA Social Security Agency (Sassa) pay points and Home Affairs offices in Port Elizabeth and East London.

When GroundUp visited earlier this month, about 300 SASSA beneficiaries queued at Kenako Mall’s Post Office in Port Elizabeth with no social distance between them. It was raining and everyone took cover next to the shops. Some people were chatting with their masks under their chins, while some had no masks at all.

Joseph Ngeyana from KwaDwesi Extension said, “I left my house at 3:30am and walked here to get my R350. The nearest Post Office to me in KwaDwesi is always full. “

Lindile Tyali from Soweto-on-Sea said, “I have been in this queue since 6am. There is no food at home. People are frustrated and are more concerned about their money than keeping social distance. Almost everybody here is wet because we don’t have taxi fare to come here.”

Some people had slept outside the main entrance to the Motherwell Shopping Centre in order to collect their Covid-19 grant from the post office, braving the drizzle through the night.

Most had face masks but there was no social distancing and when the office opened people jostled each other to hand over their IDs to officials.

Anele Gaba and his brother had joined other beneficiaries to huddle around a fire made from old car tyres collected from a nearby business.

“I am concerned that many people will get infected with Covid-19 due to the exposure to the bad weather and most people did not wear masks when we were around the fire,” said Gaba.

“People are dying in Motherwell and other areas around the metro from the Covid-19 pandemic but poverty and desperation are forcing people to risk contracting the disease.The conditions are very bad and expose beneficiaries to the risk of contracting the disease and spreading it to their families and communities,” said Gaba.

Gaba, who works as a security guard, said some people were going out of Motherwell to places where queues were shorter but he and his brother did not have money for transport.

Luzuko Qina, Sassa provincial spokesperson, acknowledged the problem.

“Sassa is concerned and will continue to make efforts to minimise the spread of the virus. Beneficiaries are urged not to come to Post Offices without having received a text message calling them to collect their grants on a specified date and branch,” he said.

He said SASSA had come up with a system where people could apply for a grant, have their application approved and be paid without having to visit an office. But “on payment we were faced with numerous challenges chiefly emanating from the population we seek to serve. The majority of this targeted group does not have bank accounts nor do they have cellular phones.”

He said this had compelled Sassa to use the Post Office to pay these beneficiaries.

In East London, when GroundUp visited people said they had been queuing outside the Department of Home Affairs since 5am. There was no social distancing. Everyone had masks because entry without a mask was prohibited, but in the queue few people were wearing them. People said they couldn’t breathe properly or couldn’t talk with a mask on.

This is the only Home Affairs in East London that issues IDs.

Sizeka Ndontsa, from Mooiplaas just outside East London, said there were already people queuing when she arrived at 5am. She was there to collect her ID book which she has been waiting for since July. There were no marks on the ground and no social distancing.

“The sad thing about this Home Affairs is that their system is always down now. Instead of standing in a line we ended up sitting on the pavement. Hence you find us all sitting close to each other. We want to be closer to the door so we can hear when the staff comes out to talk to us,” she said.

She said she would only wear her mask when she went inside.

GroundUp travelled in two “amaphela” taxis which carry four people. Neither driver was wearing a mask, and not all the passengers. One driver said he only put his mask on when he saw police officers.

www.samigration.com

 

 

Cape Town - Human trafficking in South Africa and the rest of the continent is continuing unabated despite the coronavirus, resulting in hundreds of victims unable to get assistance, according to Interpol.

Unlike other regions in Africa where human trafficking is multidimensional, in Southern Africa, South Africa serves as the transit and destination point for human trafficking.

Despite travel restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic, Interpol Secretary General Jürgen Stock says the land route for human trafficking from the Horn of Africa to South Africa continues to show signs of worrying activity.

“Human trafficking, whether for sexual or labour exploitation, is already complex to detect in ‘normal’ times. The novel coronavirus pandemic has only pushed human trafficking deeper into the dark and its victims further from possible detection and assistance,” said Stock.

According to Mohamed Daghar, a researcher at the Institute for Security Studies, human trafficking routes in Africa are as complex as the trade itself.

Trafficking routes differ and are irregular depending on the type of trafficking.

“Human smuggling which is controlled by smugglers is different from human trafficking which is driven by traffickers. This is an important distinction to note especially when looking into routes used,” says Daghar.

“In some cases the routes of trafficking are the same as the routes of smuggling but not the other way round. With trafficking, routes differ and are irregular depending on the type of trafficking. However, they sometimes use smuggling routes,” said Daghar.

He said In West Africa, countries serve as a source, transit, and destination for trafficked victims.

While in the East African region, women are mostly trafficked for prostitution in the Gulf States. Kenya serves as a source, transit and destination country for trafficking of young girls and women to and from Europe.

All countries in the northern region of Africa serve as source, transit and destination countries for trade in human commodity.

It is estimated that about 9.24 million individuals are enslaved in all of Africa, making up 23% of the total global enslaved population.

According to the 2019 ENACT Organised Crime Index, human trafficking is also prevalent in Libya, Sudan, Nigeria Eritrea and DRC. It is less prevalent is Sao Tome and Principe, Mauritius, Cabo Verde, Namibia and Lesotho

Daghar says that the following smuggling and trafficking routes currently exist in Africa ;

– Eastern Route – from the Horn to Yemen and possibly onwards to Saudi Arabia.

– Southern Route – from the Horn of Africa to South Africa with Kenya as a transit point.

– Sinai Route – from the Horn to Israel through Egypt.

– Northern Route from both the Horn of Africa, Central Africa, West Africa and the Sahel to Europe.

The continued growth of human trafficking on the continent has also resulted in actions from the African Union (AU) in an effort to subvert the human crisis.

Sabelo Mbokazi, head of the African Union's labour, employment, migration and social affairs department, says the AU has prioritised the issue of combating human trafficking.

“We have identified North Africa as one of the active corridors where the scourge has increased therefore the AU has established what is called the AU-Horn of Africa initiative, this is to work with countries in the horn of Africa and come up with policies that can help combat human trafficking. We are also establishing Africa’s operation centre in Khartoum Sudan, this centre will collect data from across the continent,” Mbokazi said.

www.samigration.com

Human trafficking in SA continuing despite coronavirus, says Interpol

Iol – 25 November 2020

Cape Town - Human trafficking in South Africa and the rest of the continent is continuing unabated despite the coronavirus, resulting in hundreds of victims unable to get assistance, according to Interpol.

Unlike other regions in Africa where human trafficking is multidimensional, in Southern Africa, South Africa serves as the transit and destination point for human trafficking.

Despite travel restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic, Interpol Secretary General Jürgen Stock says the land route for human trafficking from the Horn of Africa to South Africa continues to show signs of worrying activity.

“Human trafficking, whether for sexual or labour exploitation, is already complex to detect in ‘normal’ times. The novel coronavirus pandemic has only pushed human trafficking deeper into the dark and its victims further from possible detection and assistance,” said Stock.

According to Mohamed Daghar, a researcher at the Institute for Security Studies, human trafficking routes in Africa are as complex as the trade itself.

Trafficking routes differ and are irregular depending on the type of trafficking.

“Human smuggling which is controlled by smugglers is different from human trafficking which is driven by traffickers. This is an important distinction to note especially when looking into routes used,” says Daghar.

“In some cases the routes of trafficking are the same as the routes of smuggling but not the other way round. With trafficking, routes differ and are irregular depending on the type of trafficking. However, they sometimes use smuggling routes,” said Daghar.

He said In West Africa, countries serve as a source, transit, and destination for trafficked victims.

While in the East African region, women are mostly trafficked for prostitution in the Gulf States. Kenya serves as a source, transit and destination country for trafficking of young girls and women to and from Europe.

All countries in the northern region of Africa serve as source, transit and destination countries for trade in human commodity.

It is estimated that about 9.24 million individuals are enslaved in all of Africa, making up 23% of the total global enslaved population.

According to the 2019 ENACT Organised Crime Index, human trafficking is also prevalent in Libya, Sudan, Nigeria Eritrea and DRC. It is less prevalent is Sao Tome and Principe, Mauritius, Cabo Verde, Namibia and Lesotho

Daghar says that the following smuggling and trafficking routes currently exist in Africa ;

– Eastern Route – from the Horn to Yemen and possibly onwards to Saudi Arabia.

– Southern Route – from the Horn of Africa to South Africa with Kenya as a transit point.

– Sinai Route – from the Horn to Israel through Egypt.

– Northern Route from both the Horn of Africa, Central Africa, West Africa and the Sahel to Europe.

The continued growth of human trafficking on the continent has also resulted in actions from the African Union (AU) in an effort to subvert the human crisis.

Sabelo Mbokazi, head of the African Union's labour, employment, migration and social affairs department, says the AU has prioritised the issue of combating human trafficking.

“We have identified North Africa as one of the active corridors where the scourge has increased therefore the AU has established what is called the AU-Horn of Africa initiative, this is to work with countries in the horn of Africa and come up with policies that can help combat human trafficking. We are also establishing Africa’s operation centre in Khartoum Sudan, this centre will collect data from across the continent,” Mbokazi said.

www.samigration.com

The Home Affairs Inspectorate officials, supported by SAPS, the City of Cape Town, the Departments of Social Development and Health are currently performing an operation at the temporary shelter called Wingfield in Maitland, Cape Town.

This temporary facility was set up on 7 April 2020 for protesting asylum seekers and refugees in Cape Town, in compliance with the Disaster Management Act.

The authorities are at the shelter to ensure a successful execution of the functions of the Standing Committee for Refugee Affairs (SCRA) and the Refugee Appeals Authority (RAA).

They are also there to identify and verify, in terms of Refugees Act and Immigration Act, the status of foreign nationals, who moved into the temporary facility on and after 2 April 2020.

"Since the country moved to Alert Level 1 of the lockdown, the officials of the SCRA and RAA have been able to process and finalise the appeals of the affected asylum seekers.

"The operation is progressing smoothly and the department will communicate the outcome of this operation after all processes have been concluded," the Department of Home Affairs said.

www.samigration

Claim

There are 15 million undocumented foreigners in South Africa

Source: South African politician and businessman Herman Mashaba (November 2020)

Verdict

Explainer: Data from Statistics South Africa and the United Nations put the number of foreign-born migrants in the country at around 4 million.

Mashaba pointed to a newspaper article from November 2019 which claimed 15 million people in South Africa were "unregistered".

According to a 2018 World Bank dataset, there were 15.3 million people without identification documents in South Africa, but these are not necessarily "undocumented foreigners".

Statistics South Africa estimates there are 3.9 million foreign-born people living in South Africa in 2020.

Researched by Cayley Clifford

Herman Mashaba, former mayor of South Africa's largest city, Johannesburg, caused a social media stir in November 2020 when he tweeted that there were 15 million "undocumented foreigners" living in South Africa.

The country has a population of 59.6 million.

This is not the first time Mashaba has cited startling migration figures. In 2017 he claimed that 80% of Johannesburg's inner city residents were undocumented migrants. Available data did not support his claim.

Several Africa Check readers asked us to check if Mashaba's figure of 15 million undocumented migrants was correct. Here's what the latest data shows.

Unregistered vs undocumented

When pressed for a source, Mashaba shared a link to a news article from the online news website, the Citizen. The article, published in November 2019, was headlined "15 million" people in SA are unregistered, and many are "stateless children".

The article said that "the World Bank claims that the country has more than 15 million unregistered people".

A 2018 dataset from the World Bank does provide estimates of the total number of adults and children in 151 economies who do not have "proof of legal identity".

The bank says there isn't a universally accepted definition of "proof of identity". To get around this, it uses a combination of administrative data and other sources such as voter data.

The data shows that there were 15.3 million people without identification documents in South Africa in 2018. The figure refers to both citizens and residents of the country.

But the data set does not provide information on the number of "migrants, refugees and stateless persons" without South African identity documents. These people may have other official forms of identification, such as a passport from their country of origin.

Stats SA: 3.9 million foreign-born people

Migrants are often referred to as "undocumented" because they may not have legal permission to be in the country or may have overstayed their legal right to remain in the country.

It's difficult to account for every undocumented migrant, but available datasets point to a figure much lower than 15 million.

South Africa's most recent census is from 2011 and showed that approximately 2.2 million foreign-born people were living in South Africa.

Using the country's 2020 mid-year population estimates, Stats SA estimates the number of foreign-born people living in South Africa at around 3.9 million, Diego Iturralde, chief director of demography and population statistics at Stats SA, told Africa Check.

"This includes naturalised South Africans, all major categories of migrants with permits and visas, as well as undocumented migrants," he said.

UN: 4.2 million international migrants

The United Nations population division estimates that there were 4.2 million international migrants living in South Africa in 2019. This, it said, represents 7.2% of the country's total population.

While estimating the number of undocumented migrants is complex, Iturralde previously said, an influx of undocumented migrants would leave behind a demographic footprint.

"You would see a surge of deaths and of births to female migrants in the relevant age groups and in the regions where migrants are found."

Facts (and correct numbers) matter

After linking to his source, Mashaba added that "ultimately the exact number matters less than what [the Department of Home Affairs] is doing to address this concern".

But numbers do matter, particularly when they are being shared by public figures.

"South Africa faces severe challenges of inequality and insecurity," Loren Landau, professor of migration and development at Oxford University's Department of International Development, told Africa Check.

"Neither of these is due to immigration and they cannot be effectively addressed without first identifying their sources and realistic solutions."

Offering up international migrants as the "bogeymen" responsible for South Africa's shortcomings draws attention away from the very real difficulties they face, he said.

Research shows inaccurate information contributes to negative stereotypes around foreign-born migrants in South Africa and can reinforce often unfounded fears that the country is "overrun" by immigrants.

Conclusion: Number cited refers to people without proof of legal identity

Former mayor of Johannesburg, Herman Mashaba, recently claimed that there are 15 million "undocumented foreigners" in South Africa. But the number he cited refers to both citizens and residents who do not have "proof of legal identity".

According to Stats SA, the number of foreign-born people living in South Africa in 2020 is around 3.9 million. This includes both the documented and undocumented. The UN population division put the number at 4.2 million in 2019.

While working out the exact number of undocumented migrants in the country is complex, the latest estimates do not support Mashaba's widely shared statement. We rate his claim incorrect.

www.samigration.com

Cape Town – Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi has described the agreement reached between his department and Bosasa on the use of the Lindela Repatriation Centre as ’’stupid“.

Motsoaledi was on Wednesday asked about claims made by Angelo Agrizzi that the Lindela Repatriation Centre was a cash cow and that the Auditor-General had found that the department paid R20 000 per inmate per month

"It was a stupid deal between Home Affairs officials for the past number of years with Bosasa whereby the facility can carry 4 000, but it was agreed that when the payments are made, there must be a minimum whereby the Department of Home Affairs could pay 2 500 people," he said.

He said they have removed that clause in the present bid.

"As to whether it was done as a matter of corruption, it was an agreement and it has been signed. We believe it is a stupid one," Motsoaledi said.

The minister also said the R100 million allocated to purchase the Lindela Repatriation Centre has not been spent yet.

"What happened is that an amount of R73m is held in a trust at the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure because this is the amount pledged to buy the Lindela facility on auction that has taken place sometime early this year before Covid-19," he said.

Motsoaledi said there was a court case which reversed the sale of facilities of Bosasa on auction and that the facilities could not be sold. He said the department was still using the facility.

"We pay rent to whoever is in charge of it. At the moment it is the liquidator."

Motsoaledi also said they were finalising a bid process for service providers for food, health and security services regardless of whoever owned the property.

He said he did not know when the bidding process would be finalised, but it started sometime in August.

Asked about building capacity in order to provide services to the facility, Motsoaledi said they were security, which they presently don't have the capacity to provide.

Regarding moving towards ensuring cost-efficiency instead of having to rent, the minister said it was his wish that the department's buildings were state-owned.

He said they had attempted to get a government building to replace the Lindela Repatriation Centre but could not find any.

"I have approached the head of infrastructure in the Presidency to look at this issue about us building our own offices with state money and owning them like hospitals, clinics or police stations.

"That process is on," Motsoaledi said.

www.samigration.com