Ladies and gentlemen of the media, thank you for once again taking the time to join us for our weekly media briefing.
Today, we would like to brief you on the deportation of Nigerians from OR Tambo International Airport, the status of litigation in which the department is involved as well as the immigration operation that was conducted in Cape Town last weekend.
Treatment of Nigerian foreign nationals at OR Tambo International Airport
The Department of Home Affairs joins Cabinet in expressing its shock and sadness at the manner in which Nigerian nationals were treated at the OR Tambo International Airport two weeks ago.
At the heart of the matter was the health issue of yellow fever certificates. In this regard, a number of Nigerians who allegedly were not in possession of yellow fever certificates were returned back to their country. The incident was indeed regrettable.
In this regard, we have noted suggestions that these Nigerians were deported by officers of the Immigration Branch of the Department of Home Affairs. Nothing is further from the truth. The Nigerians were returned to their country by health officials and not immigration officers. We hope this will put paid to these uninformed suggestions.
This arose from a directive issued by the Department of Health before the 2010 FIFA World Cup in which it was advised that no person without the requisite yellow fever certificate should be allowed into the country as part of international measures to prevent and control the possible spread of epidemics and disease.
In this context, Cabinet has set up a high-level Ministerial Task Team to get to the bottom of the matter and to ensure there is no repetition of such an occurrence. Minister of Home Affairs, Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma will participate in this task team.
Litigation in which the department is involved
As you know, department’s legal services is responsible for the drafting of legislation (new and amendments) administered by the department, provides legal opinions and legal support to line and other support functions in dealing with Memoranda of Understanding (MoU), International Agreements, Commercial Contracts, and provides support in the litigation process where civil litigation is instituted by or against the department.
In respect of its last mandate, the department’s legal services is currently engaged with a number of cases which have been brought against the department.
We would like to provide a brief update on some of these cases:
The appeal on the Dalai Lama judgment
Judge Dennis Davis of the Western Cape High Court on Friday, 3 February 2012 dismissed the application brought against the Department of Home Affairs by Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi and Mr Mosiuoa Lekota regarding the constitutionality of the government's decision to deny entry to the Dalai Lama. In this regard, the Judge declared the application as “moot.”
This was subsequently followed by another application by Prince Mangosuthu and Mr Lekota for leave to appeal the judgment to dismiss their application with costs.
Minister Dlamini Zuma has directed the department to appeal this application and it is expected that the matter will be heard by the Western Cape High Court on Monday, 19 March 2012.
The appeal on the Port Elizabeth refugee reception centre
Members of the media will be aware that the department was obliged to close its Port Elizabeth Refugee Reception Centre in November last year following an application by the business community in the vicinity of the Centre. The court found in favour of the business community and declared the Centre a “nuisance factor.”
This was followed by a further application against the department by the Somali Association of South Africa in which the court again found in favour of the applicants and declared that the centre should be re-opened immediately.
In this regard, the Minister and Director-General have filed an application for leave to appeal the Eastern Cape High Court's decision to order the Minister to re-open the Port Elizabeth Refugee reception office forthwith.
A date for the hearing is still awaited.
The Mavericks matter
Western Cape High Court Judge Siraj Desai on 3 February 2012 referred the matter of dancers employed at The Mavericks Club in Cape Town, to the Human Rights Commission for an investigation into the working conditions of exotic dancers at the club, saying these could constitute human trafficking.
This was in the context of the management of the Club bringing an application against the department after the department revoked 200 corporate permits which were issued to the dancers.
The second and third applicants (Diana Gorgos, Irina Yatsenko and Patrizia Meynet) have subsequently brought an application for leave to appeal the Western Cape High Court's decision to dismiss their application on 3 February 2012.
The Minister and Director-General have filed their opposition to this application.
The date of hearing is still awaited.
Adjudication of permits
The department has had to compensate for reduced human resource capacity in terms of the adjudication of permits. We have now, together with ensuring dedicated and sufficient human resource capacity, implemented a series of measures to ensure the timeous and expeditious adjudication of permits.
These include:
Daily adjudication
A dedicated team of adjudicators was established on 6 January 2012 to process all day-to-day applications. This allows the department to keep track of daily applications whilst dealing with the current backlog.
Backlog adjudication
A dedicated team of adjudicators has been established to manage the existing backlog. This includes applications that have not been adjudicated for longer than 30 days.
Study and work visa applications
A separate unit has been established in the department to process applications from Educational Institutions. This includes applications for Study and Work Visa from all recognised educational institutions in South Africa.
This unit further ensures that students are able to receive their study permits on time to begin their studies.
The unit also ensures that applications from teachers and lecturers are prioritised to allow applicants to take up teaching and lecturing positions at relevant educational institutions. This intervention is applicable to both the Basic Education and Higher Learning categories.
Strategic and time-bound visas (e.g. Treaty, Exchange, Medical, Retired) are finalised upon receipt at the Central Adjudication unit.
In the coming financial year (2012/13), the permitting transformation process will be implemented.
This process includes but is not limited to streamlining permit processes at front offices and the implementation of the new permitting structure to increase capacity of the adjudication unit.
The automation of the permitting processes will be implemented. This will ensure that applications are accepted and captured in real time, sent to the back office for online adjudication, finalised and online feedback sent back to the front office while the applicant will be informed of developments by Short Message Services (SMS).
