FNB warns 200,000 Zimbabweans living and working in SA: You have 100 days left, then we will…

Moneyweb – 8 September 2022

Nearly 200,000 Zimbabweans are at risk of deportation when the Zimbabwe Exemption Permit (ZEP) scheme ends in December.

Lawyers representing the permit holders say they are preparing to haul banks to court to prevent them from closing the accounts of any ZEP holder.

“Sadly, we have to go to court to protect our rights,” says Advocate Simba Chitando, who is representing the ZEP Holders Association (Zepha). This is the largest fraud ever committed by an African government on the citizens of another African country, and it must be brought to an end. One of the reasons cited by the Department of Home Affairs for suspending the ZEP system is the cost of administering the system. It says it only had R15 million available for exemption permits, yet Zimbabweans have paid hundreds of millions of rands to Home Affairs to obtain these permits,” says Chitando.

“Home Affairs has been bilking Zimbabweans, most of them poor, for more than a decade.”

Also targeted for legal action is VFS Global, owned by one of the world’s largest private equity firms, US-based Blackstone.

VFS Global is responsible for processing the exemption permits on behalf of Home Affairs.

Attorneys representing Zepha have written to VFS Global asking it to account for the number of applications it processed under the ZEP system, and its predecessor, the Zimbabwe Special Dispensation Permit (ZSP).

Zepha estimates that close to half a billion rand would have been paid over by Zimbabweans applying for these permits.

“We will not hesitate to take legal action against Blackstone, in the United States, using lawyers based there,” adds Chitando.

“We intend to mobilise civil society in the US to expose the practice of never-ending expensive applications and extensions, instead of simply providing ZEP holders with permanent residence permits.”

ZEP holders have started receiving notices from FNB bank that their permits will no longer be valid after 31 December 2022, and must be replaced with a ‘mainstream’ visa after the Department of Home Affairs decided to end the ZEP system.

The notice does not explain what will happen to those FNB customers who are ZEP holders and do not qualify for a ‘mainstream’ visa, though many fear their accounts will be closed, thereby throttling their ability to continue living and working in South Africa.

The ZEP system has been in operation in various forms since 2009, allowing Zimbabweans to live, work, study and conduct business in SA. It was introduced to legitimise the status of Zimbabweans in SA, many of whom fled the political and economic chaos at home.

Last year Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi announced the ZEP scheme would be terminated at the end of 2021. He then extended the termination period by a year to allow an estimated 178 000 permit holders to apply for alternative visas.

ZEP representatives in SA believe Home Affairs is responding to and fuelling xenophobia, already at dangerously high levels after massive job losses brought on by Covid lockdowns.

Motsoaledi’s decision to suspend the scheme is being challenged in three separate court cases brought by the Helen Suzman Foundation, the Zimbabwean Exemption Permit Holders Association (Zepha), and the Zimbabwe Immigration Federation.

All three are asking the courts to set aside the minister’s decision to suspend the ZEP system, pointing to the disastrous impact it will have on the region if potentially hundreds of thousands of people are forced to repatriate to a country with one of the highest unemployment rates in the world. These cases are likely to be heard in October.

One of the reasons cited by Home Affairs for suspending the permit scheme is to ease unemployment in SA – though this is refuted by the Zimbabwe Immigration Federation, which argues in its court papers that the 178 000 ZEP holders constitute just 0.3% of SA’s population of about 60 million.

There is some evidence of back-tracking by Home Affairs, after some ZEP holders received letters from the department’s director-general Livhuwani Makhode that ZEP ‘waiver applications’ are being reconsidered by the minister pending legal advice.

“It has come to our attention that the banks have been weaponised by the government to enforce the shakedown of ZEP holders, who risk their accounts being frozen if they do not apply for visas many do not qualify for, because Home Affairs has made documentation all but impossible,” says Chitando.

FNB’s response

“FNB is monitoring developments regarding the status of Zimbabwean Exemption Permits (ZEPs) and communicates regularly to customers who may be affected. Our latest communication to customers who are ZEP holders aims to inform them about the most recent directive from the Department of Home Affairs and the options available to them.

“The term ‘mainstream visas’ in our customer communication generally refers to visas that are prescribed under the Immigration Act,” the bank states.

“We are committed to helping our customers to ensure that their bank accounts are used and managed in accordance with the relevant laws. Our customers can also contact us directly if they have any questions or need assistance with their bank accounts.”

Moneyweb reached out to VFS Global for comment, but had not received a reply by the time of publication. – Moneyweb

www.samigration.com

 

How can a mother with an expired visa register her children?

1)                How can a mother with an expired visa register her children?

2)                My children birth cannot be registered , I am illegal

3)                I have children born here but I am not documented

4)                I am a foreigner , my children born here but no papers what to do

Sa Migration -  09 September 2022

The short answer

There are a few possible options, but the best route may be to get legal help.

The whole question

My girlfriend is from Zimbabwe. Her visa has expired but her passport is still valid. She and her children (aged three and five) have been with me at my home for the last two years. Both children were born in South Africa but, for whatever reason, they were never issued with any registration papers - only the hospital card. We urgently need birth certificates or ID numbers for the children as the five-year-old needs to enrol in school. Currently they are both attending a registered creche that does not require any documents.

I have been in South Africa since 1984 and am a permanent resident with an ID number. I am prepared, with pleasure, to have the children under my name as we are living as a loving family. My girlfriend is worried about making noise at Home Affairs because of her visa status, even though we know that the Constitution guarantees an identification to every child born here regardless of the parents' race, nationality or status. 

Despite numerous attempts with Home Affairs, we have been unsuccessful. After queuing for four hours every time, we get mixed messages about what we need to do. The bribing option has been offered to us but we are law-abiding people and want to do this legally. 

The long answer

Firstly, as the children were not registered within thirty days of birth, as is required by law, you would need to apply for late registration of birth. If it is after 1 year but before 15 years, you would need to give Home Affairs the following documents:

• A completed Form, together with written reasons why the birth wasn’t notified, and as many as possible of the following documents to confirm the child’s identity as are relevant, given their age:

1. A certificate from the hospital or maternity home where the child was born. The certificate must be signed by the person in charge, and contain the institution's official stamp;
2. Official confirmation of the child's personal details, extracted from the school register of the first school attended by the child. The confirmation must be on the school's official letterhead, be signed by the principal, and contain the school's official stamp. (This could refer also to the creche they presently attend.);
3. The child's baptismal certificate – if relevant;
4. Sworn affidavits by the parents;
5. A clinic card.

There was a great constitutional victory for unmarried fathers on 22 September 2021, when the Constitutional Court declared Section 10 of the Births and Death Registration Act (BDRA) unconstitutional and ordered it to be deleted entirely from the BDRA. It was found to be unconstitutional because it did not allow unmarried fathers to register their children’s births in their name when the mother could not do so or was unwilling to do so, or when the mother could not be present. The judgment specifically mentioned the problem of undocumented mothers “…who live and give birth to children in South Africa and are unable to register the births of these children. Third, another difficulty arises as a result of the requirement that parents, who are non-South African citizens, must produce a certified copy of a valid passport or visa.”

All of the above left children without birth certificates.

The Centre for Child Law, which took the case to the Constitutional Court and was represented by Lawyers for Human Rights, said that children are vulnerable members of society who were even more vulnerable when they don't have valid birth certificates because, not only could they be excluded from education, social assistance and health care but, crucially, could be excluded from access to their nationality and become stateless.

As you rightly said in your email, the Constitution guarantees the right of every child born here to an identity, and the 2021 court judgment means that this right must now be realised. The Constitutional Court found that it was not justified to distinguish between children born to married parents and children born to unmarried parents when it came to deciding what surname could be given to a child. Section 10 penalised children born to unmarried parents and was thus unconstitutional. Unmarried fathers will now be able to register their children under their surname, in the absence of the mother or without her consent.

But although this was a crucial victory for children and unmarried fathers, it will not solve your problem with Home Affairs as you are not the children’s biological father.

Given that the visa of your Zimbabwean girlfriend and mother of the children has expired, she obviously does not wish to expose herself to possible deportation by going to Home Affairs to do the late registration of birth for the children. It would seem that your choices are either to sort out her visa with Home Affairs, which may well be a difficult and lengthy process involving your girlfriend returning to Zimbabwe and re-applying for a visa from there, or to legalise your own relationship with the children. This could be by adopting them.

Adoption of South African children is done in terms of the Children’s Act, 2005 (Act 38 of 2005) and is administered by the Department of Social Development, while the notice of adoption must be recorded by Home Affairs in the birth registration of the children.

Under the Children’s Act, written consent to the adoption must be given by the parent or parents or legal guardian of the children. This consent (Form 61) must be signed in the presence of the presiding officer of the Children’s Court who will then attest to the signature. This written consent can be withdrawn by the person giving it within 60 days if they change their mind.

Alternately, if you were to marry your girlfriend to legalise your relationship with the children, the following documents would be required by Home Affairs to marry you, according to their website:

"On the day of the marriage a couple must present the following documents to the person officiating at the wedding:

• Identity documents (for each person getting married);
• If a foreign national is marrying a South African citizen, they should both present their valid passports as well as a completed BI-31 Form (Declaration for the Purpose of Marriage, Letter of no impediment);
• If any of the persons getting married are divorced, then the final decree of divorce should be furnished;
• If any of the persons getting married are widowed, the deceased spouse’s death certificate must be submitted.

Because these are all weighty matters, perhaps you should approach an organisation like Sa Migration , us to advise on your best options, given their extensive experience in dealing with Home Affairs. They have a special statelessness unit in Johannesburg.

www.samigration.com

 

1)                How can a mother with an expired visa register her children?

2)                My children birth cannot be registered , I am illegal

3)                I have children born here but I am not documented

4)                I am a foreigner , my children born here but no papers what to do

Sa Migration -  09 September 2022

The short answer

There are a few possible options, but the best route may be to get legal help.

The whole question

My girlfriend is from Zimbabwe. Her visa has expired but her passport is still valid. She and her children (aged three and five) have been with me at my home for the last two years. Both children were born in South Africa but, for whatever reason, they were never issued with any registration papers - only the hospital card. We urgently need birth certificates or ID numbers for the children as the five-year-old needs to enrol in school. Currently they are both attending a registered creche that does not require any documents.

I have been in South Africa since 1984 and am a permanent resident with an ID number. I am prepared, with pleasure, to have the children under my name as we are living as a loving family. My girlfriend is worried about making noise at Home Affairs because of her visa status, even though we know that the Constitution guarantees an identification to every child born here regardless of the parents' race, nationality or status. 

Despite numerous attempts with Home Affairs, we have been unsuccessful. After queuing for four hours every time, we get mixed messages about what we need to do. The bribing option has been offered to us but we are law-abiding people and want to do this legally. 

The long answer

Firstly, as the children were not registered within thirty days of birth, as is required by law, you would need to apply for late registration of birth. If it is after 1 year but before 15 years, you would need to give Home Affairs the following documents:

• A completed Form, together with written reasons why the birth wasn’t notified, and as many as possible of the following documents to confirm the child’s identity as are relevant, given their age:

1. A certificate from the hospital or maternity home where the child was born. The certificate must be signed by the person in charge, and contain the institution's official stamp;
2. Official confirmation of the child's personal details, extracted from the school register of the first school attended by the child. The confirmation must be on the school's official letterhead, be signed by the principal, and contain the school's official stamp. (This could refer also to the creche they presently attend.);
3. The child's baptismal certificate – if relevant;
4. Sworn affidavits by the parents;
5. A clinic card.

There was a great constitutional victory for unmarried fathers on 22 September 2021, when the Constitutional Court declared Section 10 of the Births and Death Registration Act (BDRA) unconstitutional and ordered it to be deleted entirely from the BDRA. It was found to be unconstitutional because it did not allow unmarried fathers to register their children’s births in their name when the mother could not do so or was unwilling to do so, or when the mother could not be present. The judgment specifically mentioned the problem of undocumented mothers “…who live and give birth to children in South Africa and are unable to register the births of these children. Third, another difficulty arises as a result of the requirement that parents, who are non-South African citizens, must produce a certified copy of a valid passport or visa.”

All of the above left children without birth certificates.

The Centre for Child Law, which took the case to the Constitutional Court and was represented by Lawyers for Human Rights, said that children are vulnerable members of society who were even more vulnerable when they don't have valid birth certificates because, not only could they be excluded from education, social assistance and health care but, crucially, could be excluded from access to their nationality and become stateless.

As you rightly said in your email, the Constitution guarantees the right of every child born here to an identity, and the 2021 court judgment means that this right must now be realised. The Constitutional Court found that it was not justified to distinguish between children born to married parents and children born to unmarried parents when it came to deciding what surname could be given to a child. Section 10 penalised children born to unmarried parents and was thus unconstitutional. Unmarried fathers will now be able to register their children under their surname, in the absence of the mother or without her consent.

But although this was a crucial victory for children and unmarried fathers, it will not solve your problem with Home Affairs as you are not the children’s biological father.

Given that the visa of your Zimbabwean girlfriend and mother of the children has expired, she obviously does not wish to expose herself to possible deportation by going to Home Affairs to do the late registration of birth for the children. It would seem that your choices are either to sort out her visa with Home Affairs, which may well be a difficult and lengthy process involving your girlfriend returning to Zimbabwe and re-applying for a visa from there, or to legalise your own relationship with the children. This could be by adopting them.

Adoption of South African children is done in terms of the Children’s Act, 2005 (Act 38 of 2005) and is administered by the Department of Social Development, while the notice of adoption must be recorded by Home Affairs in the birth registration of the children.

Under the Children’s Act, written consent to the adoption must be given by the parent or parents or legal guardian of the children. This consent (Form 61) must be signed in the presence of the presiding officer of the Children’s Court who will then attest to the signature. This written consent can be withdrawn by the person giving it within 60 days if they change their mind.

Alternately, if you were to marry your girlfriend to legalise your relationship with the children, the following documents would be required by Home Affairs to marry you, according to their website:

"On the day of the marriage a couple must present the following documents to the person officiating at the wedding:

• Identity documents (for each person getting married);
• If a foreign national is marrying a South African citizen, they should both present their valid passports as well as a completed BI-31 Form (Declaration for the Purpose of Marriage, Letter of no impediment);
• If any of the persons getting married are divorced, then the final decree of divorce should be furnished;
• If any of the persons getting married are widowed, the deceased spouse’s death certificate must be submitted.

Because these are all weighty matters, perhaps you should approach an organisation like Sa Migration , us to advise on your best options, given their extensive experience in dealing with Home Affairs. They have a special statelessness unit in Johannesburg.

www.samigration.com

 

SA's new visa system in a nutshell

Fin24 – 08 September 2022

On 8 June 2022, the Minister of Home Affairs announced a complete overhaul of South Africa's immigration system.

The first area of change is long-term visa applications by foreign nationals wishing to stay for over three months in South Africa. However, these changes have already caused a backlog in processing visa applications.

Visa submissions by this group previously went through Visa and Permit Facilitation Centres (VFS Centres) or through South African Missions. Then, one of the two centres would process applications and send the outcomes directly to the foreign national.

What's new? 

Going forward, these visa applications will be processed through a centralised adjudication system to achieve consistency and uniformity in the visa adjudication process.

In essence, a foreign national will still apply through the VFS Centre or South African Mission, but these two institutions will scan and email the application to the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) office, headquartered in Pretoria.

The process

The DHA's adjudicating team will receive the application and verify the documents. A recommendation will then be drawn up, and the application, along with the recommendation will be sent by the DHA to the Director for quality assurance.

The Director must confirm that compliance has been met, they make a further recommendation as to whether to approve or reject the application. The Chief Director or the Director General receives the recommendation and makes the final decision to approve or reject the application.

After this decision is made, the application is sent back to the adjudicating team to capture the decision and upload what is known as the manual route cover, which includes the decision, onto the system.

The outcome is then printed and routed back to the Director General to sign off.

The final document is captured on the Movement Control System (MCS) which is the system that facilitates the entry and exit into a country by a foreign national. It is a digital system that records entries and exits and is also used to view a person's complete travel history, records, and corresponding documents.

The outcome is finally dispatched to the original High Commission or VFS Centre.

How long does all this take?

The DHA cannot confirm how long processing times will take in the new system; however, given challenges such as staff shortages and rotational work arrangements, frequent system failures, communication issues, and existing backlogs, an initial delay in processing times may result from the change.

On 27 June 2022, the DHA introduced temporary measures to address the impact that the increased backlog in processing visa applications has on foreign nationals. 

The measures provide a blanket temporary extension of foreign nationals' current visa status until 30 September 2022 for those awaiting visa application outcomes. 

Foreign nationals who wish to abandon the process and leave the country instead may also do so until 30 September 2022.

Following the Minister's announcement on 8 June 2022 in respect of the immigration system, it is likely that further official changes will be revealed in the coming weeks. 

www.samigration.com

 

 

Home Affairs official convicted for selling fraudulent work permits

SundayWorld – 07 September 2022

The Nelspruit Specialised Commercial Crimes Court on Wednesday sentenced a former immigration officer at Home Affairs to four years in jail for corruption.

National Prosecuting Authority regional spokesperson Monica Nyuswa said the accused, Robert Reginald Booth, 53, was in cahoots with 35-year-old Barry Victor Welgemoed, who is an ordinary member of the public.

Nyuswa said the pair was caught red-handed on CCTV footage selling fraudulent work permits to 11 foreign nationals at R5 500 each. According to Nyuswa, the crime was committed on March 16 2022 at Kingston Valley Farm near Karino in Nelspruit.

The duo was concomitantly arrested following a sting operation conducted by the Hawks.

“One of the employees reported the matter to the Hawks, and a sting operation was arranged. Both accused were caught red-handed and their activities were recorded on CCTV and voice-recording,” said Nyuswa.

She said the convicts pleaded guilty and were sentenced to eight years behind bars, half of which was suspended for five years on condition that they are not convicted of a similar offence during the period of suspension.

Nyuswa explained: “In court, the pair pleaded guilty to a charge of corruption. Senior state advocate Henry Nxumalo addressed the court about the seriousness of the corruption offence, and that there is a huge outcry in society that the courts must address corruption by imposing appropriate sentences. He further told the court that corruption is a threat to the democratic order.

“Corruption is one of the key priorities for the National Prosecuting Authority, and we applaud all the partners involved in ensuring that justice is served without fear or favour.”

In July, Home Affairs dismissed two officials for selling fraudulent South African identity documents to foreign nationals.

Home Affairs spokesperson Siya Qoza said at the time that Phathisani Outshiki from the Benoni office and David Motsamai from Germiston were dismissed after they were found guilty of gross misconduct for illegal processing of documents.

According to Qoza, Outshiki processed 98 passports and 13 IDs at a fee of R1 000 per application while Motsamai processed 13 passport applications ranging from R2 500 to R5 000 per application.

“Fortunately, all the fraudulently processed IDs and passports were flagged as fraudulent and were removed from Home Affairs records thus rendering them useless and unusable by the people who acquired them. None of these documents were ever used,” Qoza said.

Meanwhile, an information technology specialist, Simphiwe Hlophe, was on Friday dismissed for negligence.

www.samigration.com

 

 

FACT CHECK | No, MEC Ramathuba, poor management is killing Limpopo hospitals - not immigrants

 News 24 – 07 September 2022

 

Limpopo Health MEC Phophi Ramathuba has sparked a storm of controversy after the emergence of a video showing her telling a woman that migrants from Zimbabwe were a "huge strain" on the provincial healthcare system.

• Data from the Limpopo health department shows it is not foreign nationals who are "killing" the health system, contrary to Health MEC Phophi Ramathuba's comments. 
• Poor management and lack of internal controls - and not foreign nationals - are to blame for the limited resources. 
• Annual reports, analyses by the Office of the Auditor-General and statistics show that Ramathuba's comments towards the patient were incorrect and misguided.

Mounting medico-legal claims, lack of consequence management, irregular expenditure and shocking vacancy rates is what is "killing" hospitals and healthcare in Limpopo, official statistics and audit reports show. 

This in contrast to Limpopo Health MEC Phophi Ramathuba's verbal assault of a Zimbabwean patient in a local hospital in which she assailed a woman, claiming an influx of undocumented foreigners are "killing" hospitals.

"You are killing my health systems," she tells the patient, as her colleagues cackle in the background, a video showed.

According to Ramathuba, out of 5.7 million people in Limpopo, 91% depend on the state for medical services which, according to her, was instead eaten by foreign nationals. "You are even illegal [and] you are abusing me. It's unfair," she tells the patient.

"So, sisi, you won't be discharged until you settle your bill," is her final parting shot. 

According to annual reports, analyses by the Office of the Auditor-General, and numbers and statistics in the public domain, however, there were no indications of any significant adverse impact of foreign nationals on the healthcare system in the province, but enough evidence of poor management and weak financial controls contributing to a system in distress. 

The reports show:

• Since Ramathuba took up her position in 2015, medico-legal claims against the department have increased to billions, posing a serious threat to the province.
• Staff vacancies for critical posts, like specialists and nursing, have also increased, yet more than half of the department's budget is spent on compensating employees.
• While irregular expenditure is on a downward trend, a lack of consequence management appears rife, opening the door for continued deflection of resources.
• The money is there - billions allocated to the department every year - yet consistent underspending per programme and a deviation of money from critical resources means there is little impact in clinics and hospitals. 

Had Ramathuba taken a closer look at her own data, she would have observed it is not foreign nationals who are "killing [her] healthcare system", but her own management. 

Enormous medico-legal claims - not foreign nationals - could potentially put the department, and the province, at risk if not checked, and although contingent, could land the province under administration, Risham Maharaj an MPL and DA Limpopo spokesperson for health said.

The data shows an increase of billions from 2016 to 2021 relating to medico-legal claims against the department.

Many of these cases are related to cerebral palsy at birth and, according to Professor Alex van den Heever, chair of social security systems administration and management studies at the University of the Witwatersrand's School of Governance, the ratio of maternal deaths in facility per 100 000 was a good indication of the state of health services. 

According to the 2020/21 annual report, R9 billion in cerebral palsy claims made up part of the R12 billion claims against the department.

"That is quite large, and it is liability to watch, and it might be, although unconfirmed, suggestive of negligent practices within the province. It does correlate with maternal mortality ratios as cerebral palsy happens in delivery," Van den Heever said.  

He added the international metric for maternal mortality ratios should be between 30 and 40 per 100 000.

Limpopo's figures were not terrible - showing an improvement before Covid-19 - the province's health services "are not a catastrophe". 

Van den Heever said there was uncertainty about what was really fuelling the medico-legal claims.

While these claims have been increasing as a contingent liability (and was dependent on the outcome of the claims), the number of claims paid was low, according to him, especially compared to other provinces.

The extent to which medico-legal cases are hurting the department is unclear, since settlement amounts paid to claimants are not reflected in annual expenditures yet. 

And Maharaj said no clarity had been forthcoming regarding these claims. 

"The response we get continually is that they have an action plan and are working towards this. We stand at a risk, because of medical negligence claims, where the province could be placed under administration … we cannot afford to pay it." 

While Ramathuba told the Zimbabwean patient 91% of Limpopo's population relied on state healthcare, massive vacancy rates placed uncertainty on whether the department could adequately service the population.

Since 2016, a year after Ramathuba's tenure, staff vacancy rates have been increasing, with more than half of all posts going unfilled by 2021.

Critical occupations like specialist positions, professional nurses, allied health professionals (like dental hygienists, dietitians and occupational therapists) have continuously remained half-staffed. 

Yet, according to Maharaj, the department had spent 70% of its resources on compensating employees, despite this staff shortage. This leaves little resources for services.   

Data shows since 2016, the department has been operating at half its capacity, leading Maharaj to conclude "the MEC's statements are irrelevant, uncalled for and incorrect". 

"The fact is that the department is spending 70% of its budget on the cost of employees - salaries and wages - and yet the vacancy rate is extremely high. This is because staff that are appointed are employed at the highest salary brackets. 

"This is eating into the budget. When the MEC says that foreign nationals are eating into the budget, she does not take [this] into account," Maharaj said. 

According to Van den Heever, while the staff profile was unusual, it indicated the department had not adjusted its organisational structure to be in line with its budget.

"It does not imply that they actually have a 50% vacancy rate, it means they do not have proper organisational structural - it is not clear, and they are not using the vacancy rate as part of the strategic management of the system.

"[This is because] having organisational structures that are double what you can afford is problematic," he said. 

While a chunk of Limpopo's budget is spent on employees, resources suffer further when internal controls over finance are lacking.

The department's annual reports reflect weak consequence management for accounting failures, with continuous recommendations from the province's standing committee on public accounts (Scopa) to discipline the accounting officer and chief financial officer for material misstatements and anomalies in the finances as per the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) and failing to develop and implement an adequate system of internal controls.

Only "corrective action" had been taken although not specified. Despite this, irregular expenditure and fruitless and wasteful expenditure has decreased since 2016. 

"There is very little consequence management," Maharaj said. 

"In my opinion, this relates more to malicious compliance in the department - a rap on the knuckles irrespective of the transgressions that have occurred." 

Without consequence management, the department will continue to rack up irregular and wasteful expenditure - critical resources wasted, however, not at the hands of foreign nationals. 

The data is a reality check for the MEC and an indication her statement to the Zimbabwean patient is misguided.  

Maharaj said:

We have a health system that is failing in the province. We have a huge vacancy rate, equipment that is malfunctioning and poor infrastructure, so for the MEC to make these statements is not factual.

It was not the MEC's place to berate a patient, Van den Heever said, regardless of the issue. 

"It is not that patient's fault, it had nothing to do with her. The MEC is out of her lane - a doctor or nurse can talk to the patient, but not her," he added.  

"It is not up to her to judge that patient, embarrass her and sit in a position of power and lord it over her. It is completely appalling. To feed into the xenophobic narrative is deeply problematic and prejudicial." 

Van den Heever said the issue of migrants using South Africa's public health services and cross-border compensation had been discussed since the country's transition, but not having taken any action on it by 2022 was not the fault of the patient - it was the government's fault for not creating a solution. 

"The fact that government don't even collect [patient] data shows that they have no interest in solving this problem. If you don't get down to doing your own job, don't go shout at a patient." 

Governments have the money and ability to change things, individual patients did not, he added. 

www.samigration.com