Home Affairs Minister, Leon Schreiber has announced that he has signed a historic agreement granting visa free access to South Africa for Ukrainian holders of diplomatic, official and service parts and vice versa.Schreiber made the announcement on social media platform X on Sunday evening.I am honoured to announce that, in my capacity as Minister of Home Affairs representing the Republic of South Africa, I have signed an historic agreement granting visa free access to our country for Ukrainian holders of diplomatic, official and service passports - and vice versa, the minister wrote.We continue to see Ukraine as a valued ally, as a valued friend, who supported us right from the beginning, from the days of our struggle against apartheid, right through to now.Home Affairs Minister, Dr Leon Schreiber. File Picture: Ayanda Ndamane / Independent Newspapers I look forward to President (Cyril) Ramaphosa adding his signature to this agreement in the coming week, so that we can conclude this important step forward for relations between our two peace-loving nations, Schreiber posted, adding the flags of South Africa and Ukraine.Before midnight on Sunday, the ministers post had ignited almost 2,000 comments as reactions with many questioning the move  just days after Ramaphosa was in Russia for the 16th BRICS Summit hosted by President Vladimir Putin.Apart from attending the Russia-held summit, Ramaphosa also held a closed-door bilateral meeting with Putin.South Africa and Russia have deep historical ties dating back to the fight against apartheid rule in South Africa.As the flurry of comments swelled on Schreibers post, one of the reactions was from Ramaphosas spokesperson Vincent Magwenya who questioned the ministers actions.The president (Ramaphosa) is yet to sign the minute authorising the minister to sign the agreement with Ukraine. It is unclear how the minister can announce signature of an international agreement without prior formal authorisation to do so, said Magwenya in response to Schreiber.On the other hand, on Sunday night the Democratic Alliance welcomed Screibers move.The DA welcomes an announcement by Minister of Home Affairs, Leon Schreiber, that the Republic of South Africa intends to grant visa-free access to our country for Ukrainian holders of diplomatic, official, and service passports.This development is a poignant show of solidarity by South Africa with the people of Ukraine, an Eastern European country which served as a haven for many anti-apartheid activists during the struggle, and where many exiled South Africans advanced the fight against a racially oppressive regime from abroad with the aid of Ukrainian resources and support, said Member of Parliament Ryan Smith, who is also the partys deputy spokesperson for international relations and cooperation.He added that the DA also welcomes this announcement as a crucial move to advance South African diplomacy and positions South Africa as a diplomatic authority in the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine South Africas recognition of Ukraine and its right to sovereignty is a far better approach to addressing this invasion than the ANCs open support of Russian President, Vladimir Putin, and his conquest of Russian empire which is a clear violation of international law, said Smith.He reiterated that Ukraine has always been an ally in the fight against the systemic disenfranchisement of South Africas black majority by the apartheid government.The move to grant visa-free access to Ukrainian diplomats, officials, and service men and women is a long overdue recognition of this countrys immense contribution to the fall of the apartheid state, said Smith.By granting Ukraine equal diplomatic standing within our own borders, this development would give effect to South Africas constitution, and the principles of democracy and human rights enshrined within it, to strengthen our diplomatic arm to promote peace and stability, and a respect for State sovereignty around the world.Last week, IOL reported that as Ramaphosa and fellow BRICS leaders met in Russia to boost economic development in the Global South, the DA, a key player in the Government of National Unity (GNU), lashed out at Ramaphosas stance towards Russia.In a statement on Wednesday, DA leader John Steenhuisen condemned Ramaphosa for referring to Russia as a valuable ally and friend during an engagement with Putin.None of the DAs Cabinet ministers travelled with Ramaphosa to attend the 16th BRICS Summit.Steenhuisen, who serves as Minister of Agriculture in the GNU, said: The Democratic Alliance distances itself from recent comments made by President Ramaphosa during bilateral engagements with Russian President Vladimir Putin, where he stated that Russia is a valuable ally and friend.

Only an immigration officer may arrest a person deemed an illegal foreigner The process of deporting illegal foreigners in SA is governed by the Immigration Act, which empowers the home affairs department to arrest, detain and deport people who are not entitled to stay in the country. In a reply to a parliamentary question, home affairs minister Leon Schreiber said the department spent close to R53m between April and August to deport 19,750 illegal foreigners.The Scalabrini Centre of Cape Town, a nonprofit organisation which helps migrant communities and displaced people, has detailed the process that must take place after someone has been found to be illegally in the country. The centre says there are certain groups of people who may not be detained for the purposes of deportation. These include asylum seekers and refugees, who are protected against deportation as this might lead to them being persecuted back home. The Immigration Act defines an illegal foreigner as a foreigner who is in the republic in contravention of the Immigration Act, or someone who does not have an asylum-seeker permit, formal recognition of refugee status or a refugee ID, or a valid permit or visa in their passport. The centre said to facilitate deportation, the department worked with the authorities of the foreign nationals country of origin to ensure they would be received upon return. The law is clear: only a police officer or an immigration officer may take a person suspected of being an illegal foreigner into custody. Only an immigration officer may arrest a person who is determined to be an illegal foreigner, or cause them to be arrested by a police officer. Only an immigration officer is able to determine that a person is an illegal foreignerin terms of the Immigration Act, the centre said. Detained people will usually be held at some police stations, prisons, detention facilities and offices under the management of the department. Those detained for deportation may be transferred to the Lindela Repatriation Centre in Krugersdorp, the countrys only immigration detention facility. Lindela is managed by facilities management company EnvironMongz, which also provides security services on behalf of the department.Scalabrini alleged many people detained at Lindela were not able to access the rights entitled to them.Detainees are frequently subjected to unlawful detention periods (including over 120 days), illegal sentencing, restricted access to legal representation, a lack of availability of interpreters, corruption and bribery, and the use of force. One of the latest issues that brought a legal challenge from Scalabrini earlier in 2024 was the alleged detention and deportation of asylum seekers before they could make an application for asylum. Scalabrini said the disturbing new practice of unlawfully arresting asylum seekers at refugee reception offices across SA began nationwide in November 2023. Last month, the Western Cape High Court granted an interim order interdicting the department from initiating any process to deport any foreign national present in SA if that person had indicated their intention of applying for asylum, until their asylum application was determined on its merits.   Part B of the case, which will be heard at a later date, will address the constitutionality of the contested provisions.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said the newly expanded BRICS group showed that a multipolar world is being created, in a challenge to the US-dominated global order.BRICS meets the aspirations of the main part of the international community, the so-called world majority, Putin said Wednesday at the formal opening of the leaders summit in Russias Kazan. Its especially in demand in the current conditions, when truly dramatic changes are taking place in the world, and the process of forming a multipolar world is underway. Russia is hosting the first summit since BRICS expanded to nine members in January, with the United Arab Emirates, Iran, Egypt and Ethiopia joining Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa in the organization. More than 30 nations ranging from Thailand to Algeria and NATO-member Turkey have expressed interest in joining BRICS, though existing members are split over the wisdom of further expansion for now.It would be wrong to ignore the unprecedented interest of the countries of the Global South and East in strengthening contacts with BRICS, Putin told his fellow leaders. At the same time, it is necessary to maintain a balance.Putin is due to hold separate talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Irans Masoud Pezeshkian on the sidelines of the summit later Wednesday.BRICS clout is growing. Its nine members account for 26% of the world economy and 45% of the worlds population versus the Group of Sevens 44% of global gross domestic product and 10% of its inhabitants. Brazil will host next months G-20 summit, following Indias presidency last year and ahead of South Africas in 2025.Russia is under unprecedented sanctions from the US and its G-7 allies over Putins full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The Russian leaders seeking to reduce the impact on its economy by pushing for BRICS states to reduce reliance on the dollar as a global reserve currency by boosting trade in national currencies. While many BRICS members favor greater use of national currencies in bilateral trade, they dont have the same incentive to escape the dollar-based system. Some, including India, South Africa and the UAE, also oppose any perception of BRICS as an anti-US body. The three-day event is the biggest gathering of world leaders in Russia since it began the invasion of Ukraine, and the summit is being billed by the Kremlin as proof that Putin is not an outcast despite Western efforts to isolate him.  Putin stayed away from last years BRICS summit after South Africa warned it would have to comply with an arrest warrant against him for alleged war crimes in Ukraine issued by the International Criminal Court in March last year.

South Africa plans to ease visa rules for visitors from India and China within days to lure tourists from the worlds two most populated nations, who have been deterred by red tape. Travellers from many Western nations, including the US and UK, dont need visas for short visits to South Africa. Tourists from India and China who are part of the BRICS group  require authorisation before they travel, which is a deterrent. The Department of Home Affairs will implement a so-called Trusted Tour Operators` system from January, home affairs minister Leon Schreiber said. The tour operators, which will be vetted by the African nations authorities, will be responsible for the tour groups from the two countries. Easier visa rules have helped countries including Thailand attract Indian tourists. Nations such as Peru and Morocco are opening or expanding travel offices in Indian cities. Saudi Arabia, which says it wants 7.5 million Indian tourists annually by 2030, up from 1.5 million last year, has opened visa offices, and introduced a four-day stopover visa for Indians on long-haul flights with transfers in the kingdom.`Tourism is one of South Africas natural advantages, its one of the things we should be excelling at,` Schreiber said in an interview with Bloomberg TV. `Yet we have seen in terms of the statistics that South Africa lags behind in terms of major source markets, China and India specifically.`The government eventually plans to move to an electronic travel authorisation system, the minister said, adding that the Trusted Tour Operators` programme is temporary. The changes to tourism visas are part of wider reforms to South Africas legislation and attitude toward migration. Since Schreiber took the post at the end of June, he has eased work permit laws to simplify a byzantine system that had resulted in processing times exceeding a year. The aim is to tackle a chronic skills shortage in the country.The difficulty in obtaining tourism visas is reflected in the countrys visitor statistics. Last year about 350 000 tourists each arrived from US and the UK, as well as 245 000 from Germany, according to Statistics South Africa. Arrivals from India totalled about 80 000, while 37 000 came from China.`We believe thats low hanging fruit that can really boost the South African economy,` Schreiber said.

In a bid to root out corruption, the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) has said that it has finalised 31 disciplinary cases against errant officials between July and September 2024 ` with more arrests on the way.In a statement on 15 October, the DHA said that these disciplinary cases have resulted in a range of sanctions, including criminal prosecution, dismissal, suspension without pay and final written warnings. Issues of corruption have been hampering the effectiveness and institutional integrity of the DHA for years.In 2022, the Lubisi report confirmed issues of theft, fraud and corruption being instigated by officials and unscrupulous syndicates within the DHA, with an estimated 45,000 fraudulent visas and permits issued between 2014 and 2021 by the Department.The reports key recommendation was to establish a Multi-Disciplinary Task Team (MDTT), comprising forensic investigators, data analysts, and legal professionals, to investigate fraudulent permits and visas. The MDTT, set up during the tenure of former Minister Aaron Motsoaledi, has been focused on retrieving potentially fraudulent documents, pursuing legal actions against offenders, and conducting disciplinary hearings within the Department.These actions reflect the Departments intensified commitment to enforcing ethical governance and accelerating disciplinary and criminal sanctions against officials engaged in maladministration, said the DHA. Looking at the progress between July and September 2024, the officials faced transgressions relating to irregular recruitment, violation of the Citizenship Act and the violation of the Immigration Act. Eight of the cases came from the Free State, followed by six cases from KwaZulu-Natal.DHA Minister Leon Schreiber said that while we are committed to empowering the many officials who uphold ethical governance and dignified service delivery within Home Affairs, we have zero tolerance for unethical conduct or corruption.As our accelerated action against errant conduct demonstrates, officials who fail to heed this message will soon find themselves out of Home Affairs and on their way to prison, he added.The minister highlighted two key examples.One DHA official facing trial for fraud charges, set to begin on 6 November, was dismissed from the Department at the end of 2023 after being implicated in multiple fraudulent transactions benefiting primarily Pakistani nationals by allegedly manipulating the systems used to administer immigration.Another case involves a suspended Border Management Authority official who was arrested in Beitbridge for attempting to smuggle six foreign nationals into the country. Her bail hearing began on 14 October in Musina.Further arrests are expected as Home Affairs, the Special Investigating Unit (SIU), assisted by the Directorate of Priority Crimes Investigations (the Hawks), progresses with the implementation of Proclamation 154 of 2024. The proclamation empowers the SIU to investigate serious maladministration and improper conduct in the Department relating to the issuance of various permits.These cases make us even more determined to pursue digital transformation to close opportunities for manual and paper-based processes to be exploited towards corrupt ends, said Schreiber. Digital transformation holds the key to uprooting corruption in our systems, while enhancing the efficiency of service delivery, he added.The Lubisi report also called for legislative amendments to improve the immigration system, as outlined in the White Paper. This has been seen to be set in motion.Recently, Schreiber gazetted far-reaching reforms for South Africas visa regime.The gazetting of the Remote Work Visitor Visa and the new Points-Based System for Work Visas on 9 October 2024 is said to remove bureaucratic hurdles which have hampered South Africas visa regime.Schreiber said that the fit-for-purpose and market-friendly reforms would reposition South Africa as a world-class destination for investment and tourism to create thousands of new jobs.Back in May 2024, former Home Affairs minister Aaron Motsoaledi re-gazetted amendments to South Africas immigration laws, which included the new points-based system for critical skills and a remote work visa.However, various elements have been amended since.The minister said that this includes that the new points-based system also introduces a transparent framework to adjudicate visas to tackle corruption. Our determination to root out corruption is absolute, as winning this fight is essential to our vision of turning Home Affairs into a respected and ethical institution that delivers dignity to all our clients, said Schreiber.