Hi everyone, I am sharing this to clear up any misunderstanding in this regard 

The ZEP waiver for general work visa applications issued /signed by current Minister on 6 August 2024 is not a blanket waiver. 

ZEP applicants still need to individually apply for DOL and if applicable SAQA to be waived AND receive the said waiver outcome before they can submit a general work visa. 

This is an excerpt from a response on the topic received from DHA (Senior Official Rachelle Reyneke). 

„The waiver referred to is not and was never intended to be regarded as a blanket waiver. In the case of a blanket waiver, it is clearly indicated as such in the subject line.

 The purpose of the circular, as can be seen from the contents of the attachment, was to correct the thousands of waivers already signed by the previous Minister, in which only one of the prescribed requirements was for a waiver, resulting in potential mass rejection of general work visa applications by ZEP holders. Another reason for the directive was for Minister to show leniency towards the 178 000, ZEP holders who have been allowed to reside and work in South Africa since prior to 2010. It is also a mechanism to attempt to address the court’s sympathetic stance towards the plight of ZEP holders and to at least mitigate the reasons advanced by the Helen Suzmann Foundations’ why ZEP holders should be allowed to continue to live and work in South Africa.

 As already indicated, the directive is not a blanket waiver and ZEP holders who are interested in applying for a general work visa are required to individually apply for a waiver. Should a general work visa application be submitted without a waiver letter, such application will be rejected by the Departmental Advisory Committee. There has not been many such rejections so far, but there has been some.“

China`s yuan is the most traded foreign currency in Russia, but its availability in the heavily sanctioned country may soon dry up.

That would threaten a critical lifeline for Russian businesses, which became heavily reliant on the yuan as trade with China ramped up after President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The war triggered Western sanctions that largely shut out Russia from the global financial system.

In June, the U.S. expanded its sanctions, forcing the Moscow Exchange and its clearing agent to halt trading in dollars and euros. A Treasury Department license that allows time for some transactions to wind down will expire on Oct. 12.

While Russia had already shifted away from Western currencies in favor of the yuan, the additional U.S. sanctions could have spillover effects on Chinese banks that engage in yuan transactions with Russia.

`The situation may change after Oct. 12,` a source told Reuters. `An abrupt shortage of yuan or a complete refusal to accept payments from Russia by Chinese banks is possible.`

That`s because all conversion operations, including for Chinese banks` subsidiaries, will stop, and all open foreign exchange positions via the Moscow Exchange will be closed, the report added.

`Accordingly, the situation with the supply of yuan liquidity will become even more difficult,` the source told Reuters.

On top of that, the Russian unit of Austria`s Raiffeisen Bank began refusing to make payments to China earlier this month, the report said.

Yuan liquidity in Russia was already under strain after the U.S. expanded its definition of Russia’s military industry earlier this year, widening the potential scope of Chinese firms that could get hit with secondary sanctions for doing business with Moscow.

As a result, Chinese banks have been reluctant to transfer yuan to Russian counterparts while servicing foreign trade payments, leaving transactions in limbo for months. With yuan liquidity drying up from China, Russian companies tapped the central bank for yuan via currency swaps.

But the Bank of Russia dashed hopes for more liquidity, saying that the swaps are meant only for short-term stabilization of the domestic currency market and are not a long-term source of funding.

Russian banks have more than halved their swap borrowings, which dropped to 15.4 billion yuan ($2.19 billion) on Wednesday from their high of 35.2 billion yuan in early September, according to Reuters.

“We cannot lend in yuan, because we have nothing to cover our foreign currency positions with,” German Gref, CEO of top Russian lender Sberbank, said at an economic forum earlier this month.

In the world’s first three-way destination marketing partnership, presented as a documentary-style travelogue. 

The City of Cape Town believes the collaboration with New York and Berlin will drive economic growth in the tourism sector and create opportunities for local communities 

Cape Town Tourism, New York City Tourism + Conventions, and visitBerlin have joined forces to launch the world’s first three-way destination marketing partnership.

The collaboration kicks off with One Small World, a documentary-style short film that “dissolves the barriers of time, distance, and geography to reveal the essence of TimeOut’s top three best cities”.

City showcase

The One Small World campaign is set to promote transformative travel experiences while highlighting each city’s unique features. Duminy emphasised that the partnership aligns perfectly with Cape Town’s values of inclusivity, sustainability, and cultural exchange.

“By showcasing the diversity of our city, from the vibrant streets of Bo-Kaap to the breathtaking views of Table Mountain, we can inspire travellers to open their hearts and minds to new experiences and perspectives.”

Nancy Mammana, interim CEO and chief marketing officer of NYC Tourism + Conventions, expressed enthusiasm for the collaboration: “We’re so excited to evolve our strategic tourism partnership with both Cape Town Tourism and visitBerlin with the world premiere of our One Small World short film in New York City.

LIMPOPO, A female Beitbridge Port of Entry immigration officer (56) and six illegal immigrants will appear before the Musina Magistrate’s Court today on various charges.

The woman was arrested by members of the Operation Vala Umgodi during a sting operation early on Sunday morning (September 29).

The woman was found in possession of R3 100 as well as six passports belonging to foreign nationals which she could not account for. 

The woman was found in possession of R3 100 as well as six passports belonging to foreign nationals which she could not account for. 

According to the police spokesperson Colonel Malesela Ledwaba, a team conducted an operation focusing on addressing corruption among officials.

“During surveillance, a complainant observed an individual approaching the immigration officer, leading to an exchange of money. Upon investigation, the officer was found in possession of R3 100, which she could not account for, as well as six passports belonging to foreign nationals,” his statement read.

The owners of the passports were traced and located on buses arriving from Malawi, awaiting processing at the border.

“All individuals, aged between 27 and 43, were interviewed and failed to provide satisfactory explanations regarding their passports and the cash found in the officer’s possession. The Limpopo Provincial Anti-Corruption Unit was alerted and both the money and the passports were seized and registered as evidence,” Ledwaba said.

The acting provincial police commissioner, Major General Samuel Manala welcomed the arrests and commended the team’s ongoing efforts to eradicate corruption within law enforcement ranks.

A bogus home affairs employee was arrested in Secunda for allegedly colluding with two Ethiopian nationals in passport fraud and theft, the Mpumalanga Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (known as the Hawks) said. The arrest comes after a tip-off was received that Lindiwe Kubheka, 45, was allegedly working with two Ethiopian nationals, Abdo Mustefu Musa, 44, and Mike Alex Abete, 38, to stamp expired passports. Provincial Hawks spokesperson, Captain Dineo Sekgotodi said after the information was received, an undercover operation was initiated and Abete was paid R20,000 to stamp expired passports. “An agreement was reached for the collection of the stamped passports but Abete did not honour the agreement,” said Sekgotodi. “A warrant of arrest as well as a search-and-seizure were authorised then subsequently executed on Monday, September 16, 2024.” Sekgotodi said that during the search, police found a large amount of documents from the department of home affairs as well as the department of transport. “The documents will be handed to the departments for analysis.” During questioning, Abete disclosed that the R20,000 and passports were given to Musa and when Musa was approached, he admitted to receiving passports and R5,000 from Abete which he then handed to Kubheka. Kubheka was approached and she told police that she only received passports and R2,500. “The team conducted a search and seizure operation and three passports were found as well as seized,” said Sekgotodi. Sekgotodi said the trio appeared before the Eerstehoek Magistrate’s Court at Elukwatini on Tuesday and were released on R3,000 bail each.