• The Department of Home Affairs has told Parliament that their officials irregularly facilitated SA passports for foreigners while the country was in lockdown.

• The department is also investigating nearly 300 000 unauthorised cross-border movements which were registered on its central management system.

• On Tuesday, MPs were briefed on the department’s effort to root out corruption in the issuance of visas and permits.

When the country was in the chokehold of the Covid-19 lockdown, rogue home affairs officials irregularly facilitated South African passports for foreign nationals.

On top of this, investigations into nearly 300 000 unauthorised cross-border movements are under way and over 3 000 retirement visas have come under the microscope.

As the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) continues to unravel a litany of illegal and irregular actions, the figures paint a clear picture of corruption running deep within the government’s most important departments.

On Tuesday, Parliament’s Committee on Home Affairs was briefed on the progress made by the department to investigate the illegal issuing of visas and other documents.

Former top civil servant, Cassius Lubisi, chairs a task team established to review all permits issued since 2004 - the year in which the Immigration Act came into operation.

Forensic investigations specialist Peter Bishop, who is part of the task team, told MPs they uncovered transactions on the movement control system (MCS) that were created by the irregular users.

Bishop said:

Investigation has commenced, and 285 427 matters were identified for further investigation and action, ostensibly involving unauthorised DHA users that processed movements across South African borders.

He also said some DHA officials allegedly assisted foreign nationals to obtain South African passports irregularly.

This occurred during the height of the Covid-19 lockdown. 

“So far, 111 matters have been identified for further investigation,” he said.

Bishop said there was a significant increase of applications for retirement visas between 2016 and 2018. 

He said an investigation into the issuance of retirement visas had commenced.

He added that 3 530 visa matters were identified for investigation `relating to retirement visas or permits for young applicants, work or a spousal relationship visa to entitle the applicants to work in South Africa`.

Bishop also reported that visa applications were rejected due to fraudulent documents submitted but then new applications were approved.

“All 4 160 applications that were rejected due to fraudulent documents submitted but applicants later applied for other visa and permit types which were approved,” he said.

Regarding this, he said 10 matters were under investigation; and six criminal referrals were en route to the Hawks.

Bishop also said investigations into missing visa or permit control numbers had started.

According to him, 1 115 visas were ostensibly issued to foreign nationals, where it appears that certain visa labels may not have been issued by the DHA.

Deputy Home Affairs Minister Njabulo Nzuza said criminals and syndicates were not sitting back.

He said:

When we improve our systems, they also try to improve ways in which they can break our system. Our fight is consistent, and our approach is now that we always have to be a step ahead. This panel has really helped to be steps ahead and prevent some of the things that occurred.

He also said the notion that only junior officials were being targeted was skewed.

“The organisational structure of home affairs, the majority [of the] people that you employ are at junior level. As you go up in the ranks, you have fewer and fewer people. In the permitting division, we had a chief director and we dealt with that matter. 

“You have to deal with that one chief director or deputy director-general responsible. This is why it seems like we are less interested in deal[ing] with the top structure because we have less officials to deal with. You deal with one, you deal with the problem,” he said.

ANC MP Bongani Bongo said the department needed to move with visa and permit applications as there were several outstanding.

He also said the only officials targeted for disciplinary proceedings were the “extremely junior ones”.

“They are not talking about the officials of the higher levels. Big instructions involved directors and DDGs,” he said.

DA MP Adrian Roos said the longer investigations took, the more the department’s capacity to produce legal visas and permits were limited.