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.

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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.

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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.

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Brussels / Berlin (dpa) – After the bloody attacks in France, Austria and Germany, EU interior ministers are today discussing a common line in the fight against terrorism.

In addition, Federal Minister of the Interior Horst Seehofer and his colleagues want to promote the reform of EU asylum and migration policy. As Germany currently holds the presidency of the EU states, the CSU politician is leading the video discussions with his colleagues.

A series of Islamist attacks have rocked Europe in recent weeks. The interior ministers therefore wish to set out in a joint declaration how the EU states can collaborate more closely in this area. The document, which the German News Agency has in its provisional form, mentions, for example, better cooperation between national authorities, a reform of the Schengen area which is in fact free from any control and stricter controls at external borders.

Among other things, it is said that the travel trafficking of the so-called threats is a major challenge for the security authorities. The authorities need to know who is entering and leaving the Schengen area. External borders must be effectively controlled. They also want to strengthen the security inside. Cooperation with third countries is just as important to be able to better deport dangerous people. German police describe people as “threats” to whom they attribute a politically motivated crime of considerable importance – like a terrorist attack.

In their statement, the ministers also underline the importance of access to data. It is essential that police officers in Europe have access to the information they need anytime and anywhere – always with respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. The ministers also underline the importance of highly controversial data retention.

Seehofer initially scheduled deliberations on Friday to move the difficult asylum reform negotiations forward. However, due to the recent terrorist attacks in Dresden, Vienna, Nice and near Paris, the topic of terror was briefly discussed.

In order to resolve the long-standing blockade of EU migration policy, the European Commission presented a new reform package in September. Among other things, the proposals provide that countries like Greece and Italy, especially with enhanced border protection and with repatriation assistance for refused protection seekers, are relieved. Countries that refuse to accept migrants would be responsible, for example, for returning failed asylum seekers. A compulsory distribution of migrants, which is a red rag for some countries, should only exist in absolute exceptions.

Until the end of the German Presidency of the Council of the EU, Seehofer is determined to take the issue forward. At least on sensitive issues, an agreement should be found at the meeting of interior ministers in early December.

www.samigration.com

 

 

President Ramaphosa on Wednesday confirmed that international travel restrictions will be lifted. Here's what we know.

We had our “My Fellow South Africans” talk again this evening; President Ramaphosa updated the country about the sale of alcohol, lockdown regulations and international travel.

Everyone in the tourism industry, and most people in general, had been wondering when international travel would resume, especially as we are nearing the festive season.

International travel amid COVID-19

Tourism industry took a blow

It’s a critical time for the tourism industry. We reported earlier this month that low loads in November resulted to flight cancellations. Most airlines are struggling to fill their flights, especially international flights.

This, in turn, results in airlines having to cancel flights or combine flights in order to make flying those routes economically viable. At the time, EgyptAir regional general manager, Hossam Zaky, explained:

“Our load factor is very low in November and does not exceed 18% and 28% for our flights on November 12 and 13. December [is usually] a high season for South Africa. Despite this, our flights during this month are still almost empty”.

International travel resumes

President Cyril Ramaphosa said the economic recovery has to occur across all sectors. He explained that level one regulations will be amended to restore normal trading hours.

He also confirms that we will finally see a lift on the international travel ban. Therefore, it’s now more important than ever for travellers to follow safety protocols to limit the spread of the disease.

Ramaphosa said that international travel will be open to all “countries subject to the necessary health protocols and the presentation of a negative COVID-19 certificate”.

Relief for the tourism industry

He added that by “utilising rapid tests and strict monitoring, [the governement] intends to limit the spread of the infection by those who would be travelling to South Africa”.

“We expect that the measures we are going to take will greatly assist businesses; particularly in the tourism and hospitality sectors. We are focusing relentlessly on the implementation of our plan”.

He assured South Africans that the team will be pursuing a few priorities with the highest impact and “ensuring that they deliver on these”. The news will come as a relief to embattled airlines and hospitality businesses.

Following the president’s address, Tourism Business Council of SA CEO Tshifhiwa Tshivhengwa said those in the industry “are quite excited to start working again”.

He reiterated that the tourism industry contributes “around R120 billion into the South African economy and “it’s important that we give certainty to this market”.

COVID-19 safety protocols

International travel will still be subject to strict health protocols. Travellers must present a negative COVID-19 test from no less than 72 hours before departing their country of origin.

One concern will be depending on the country, test results would have varying waiting times. It’s unclear how travellers who were tested days before receiving their results would be admitted into the country.

The revised travel restrictions do however make provision for mandatory quarantine for certain travellers. This will be at their own cost when entering the country.

While the change to the restrictions on international travel will be welcomed, trends around the world still show that travellers are still very reluctant to travel.

The immediate benefit will be for business travel with the lifting of restrictions allowing businesses to once again connect with their clients and subsidiaries around the globe where necessary.

www.samigration.com