The ministerial review panel which investigated maladministration at the Government Printing Works (GPW) has found that there was a failure of management and supervision that led to the crashing of the server at the institution.
“All of this accompanied by a lack of support and maintenance contracts with service providers for the servicing of ICT-related equipment.
`Underpinning these issues, however, is a failure of management and supervision at various levels which are the ultimate cause of systemic failures at the GPW,” said panel chair Papati Malavi.
Home affairs minister Aaron Motsoaledi and his team briefed parliaments` committee on home affairs on the investigation on the financial data and loss of curriculum vitae (CVs) at GPW and an investigation by Hawks on the allegations of corruption levelled against the chief executive officer of the organisation.
Malavi said on February 4 2021 the server supporting corporate services and e-gazettes at GPW crashed.
“The crash resulted in the loss of critical data, a part of which, the ministerial review panel has been informed, may never be recovered. ICT division staff members informed the panel that the crash was caused by a surge in electricity when power resumed after a blackout/load shedding.”
However upon investigations with Eskom and City of Tshwane, it was established that there was no power outage on the said days. Subsequently it was discovered that the surge was caused by non-compliant electrical installations at pavilion 2, which housed the crashed server.
Therefore, he said: “The panel’s key direct finding is that the incident of 4 February 2021 was caused by poor maintenance of the ICT infrastructure due essentially to the fact that the CIO and his team did not know how to perform proper functions on the server.”
Malavi said this included the loading of discs, scrubbing them before loading new data, ensuring that there was proper back-up should there be a problem `because ICT equipment does fail`.
On consequence management, he said, disciplinary action should be considered against the acting CEO during 2017/2018, Thandi Moyo, in relation to “acting in reckless disregard of GPW business continuity in approving the business case for the termination of the contracts of the service providers who provided the

outsourced ICT skills and thus putting GPW’s business continuity at risk`.
He said disciplinary action for gross negligence should be considered against the chief information officer, Anele Apleni, as head of ICT. Apleni resigned after he was confronted with the damning allegations this year.
Former chief financial officer Josephine Meyer should be cautioned for her decision to appoint Kuberndran Moodley for two positions, namely the bid adjudication committee and bid evaluation committee, “which practice is against the principle of good governance, especially the code of conduct for bid adjudication committees issued in 2006 by the National Treasury,” said Malavi.
Disciplinary action should also be considered against the head of security for identified security breeches.
“Disciplinary action should be considered against the deputy director in infrastructure specialist, Kobus Bezuidenhout, and the deputy director database specialist, a Mr Jakuj, for failing to ensure that replacement disks to the crashed server were scrubbed and that data centres were adequately backed up,” Malavi told MPs.
He added that Bezuidenhout had since resigned from GPW.
Motsoaledi welcomed the recommendations, saying he will personally make sure that they are implemented and that a number of shortcomings were being dealt with.
He said he became suspicious when people like Apleni resigned after being confronted.
“I needed to stop it but I consulted experts who said you can’t stop a person from leaving an institution if they want to leave. We need to find a recourse to the law for somebody who makes damage and then leaves.”
While the panel did not find “a smoking gun of sabotage`, it found that there was gross negligence at GPW.
“In my view you can sabotage an institution by neglecting the things you are supposed to do and gross negligence can be a form of sabotage but unfortunately I cannot point out that there was sabotage. I made those comments on the assertion of somebody who was working there that this was an accident waiting to happen and that people were aware of it.”
www.samigration.com V.4321

One of the highlighted topics: Critical Skills Visa.

- Key Insight: Is your profession on the Critical Skills List? This visa is your fast track to working in South Afr...
- This matter relates to critical skills visa and its broader implications.
- Individuals are advised to seek professional guidance.

Is your profession on the Critical Skills List? This visa is your fast trac V.6139
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One of the applicants, Phindile Mazibuko, became a victim of identity theft in 2012 when fraudulent transactions occurred, using her personal details.

-The Pretoria High Court found that the department of home affairs had violated constitutional rights without due process.
-Only half of Lawyers for Human Rights` test group has been unblocked, while 385 000 identities remain blocked nationwide.
-LHR appeals extension, urges affected people to seek help now.

Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) are intensifying pressure on the department of home affairs over the national ID-blocking crisis, accusing the state of acting too slowly to unblock qualifying individuals despite a landmark court ruling.

In January last year, the Pretoria High Court found that the department`s practice of blocking IDs without due process was unlawful and unconstitutional. One of the applicants, Phindile Mazibuko, a Swati citizen and South African permanent resident since 1998, fell victim to identity theft in 2012 when fraudsters used her personal details.

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The Border Management Authority (BMA) has doubled its staff at Airports in South Africa , including immigration officers.

What does this mean for travelers? V.6128
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The Border Management Authority (BMA) has doubled its staff at Airports in South Africa , including immigration officers.

What does this mean for travelers? V.6129
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A Washington state mother and her 6-year-old son have been released after spending more than three weeks in US immigration detention due to a brief trip to Canada and a small paperwork mistake, her attorney told CNN on Saturday.

Sarah Shaw, a New Zealand citizen who has lived legally in the US since she arrived in 2021, was detained at the Blaine, Washington, Customs and Border Protection checkpoint when returning home after dropping her two oldest children off at the Vancouver airport for a flight to visit their grandparents in New Zealand. Shaw, 33, chose the flight out of Vancouver because it was direct and she didn`t want her children to have to navigate a layover alone, her attorney Minda Thorward, told CNN.

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On 22 July 2025, the Gauteng High Court dismissed Sitrusrand Boerdery`s review of the Department of Employment and Labour`s refusal to issue a Working Conditions and Salary Benchmarking Certificate, an essential precondition for obtaining corporate visas under the Immigration Act.

Acting Judge Kekana AJ held that the Department`s decision was lawful, rational and procedurally fair. This judgment illustrates how businesses can - and must - structure their corporate visa applications to meet statutory requirements, and how legal practitioners should prepare robust review challenges when administrative authorities decline to recommend foreign-work permits.

 V.6131
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The United States could forfeit an estimated 9.4 billion dollars in visitor spending over the next three years following the introduction of a new 250 dollars `visa integrity fee,` according to industry groups, who warn the policy risks undermining tourism and costing thousands of jobs.
The United States’ decision to introduce a 250 dollars `visa integrity fee` on international visitors has triggered sharp criticism from the global tourism industry, with officials warning that the measure could deter millions of travellers and cost the U.S. economy billions.
The 250dollar `visa integrity fee,` part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act signed on July 4, 2025, will take effect later this year. According to immigration law firm Envoy Global, it applies to all nonimmigrant visa holders which include students, tourists, temporary workers, and business visitors particularly from African countries. V.6132
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The Border Management Authority (BMA) has doubled its staff at Airports in South Africa , including immigration officers.

What does this mean for travelers? V.6127
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1. Right to Legal Representation•You have the right to consult with a legal representative.•Contact an immigration practitioner, legal aid clinic, or attorney urgently.•Do not sign any documents without understanding them fully. 2. Section 34 of the Immigration Act•You must be brought to court with 48 hours to confirm arrest but you can remain locked up very long as courts figure out what to do with you •If you`re found to be illegally in South Africa, you may be detained for up to 30 days (extendable by a magistrate) pending deportation.•BUT this cannot happen arbitrarily. You must be informed of your rights, and Home Affairs must follow due process.- becomes a nightmare , you could lose your job , business , place to stay V.6121
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Driving for Bolt, Uber, Mr D, or Checkers Sixty60?If you`re undocumented, you`re risking more than just your income.The Risks if You`re Not Legal: - Vehicle impoundment - Heavy fines - Arrest & deportation - Permanent bans from working in SA V.6122
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