Home Affairs caught fiddling the numbers

Source: DESTINY Man Reporter, 13/07/2015

The Department of Home Affairs is in hot water as it emerges that it
may have grossly exaggerated some numbers used to justify the new visa
laws
During a recent parliamentary sitting, Home Affairs Director-General
Mkuseli Apleni told Parliament`s Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs
that 30 000 children are trafficked through South African border posts
annually.
This shocking figure formed part of the department`s justification for
the controversial new visa regulations that have ruffled many feathers.
In June, the department introduced new laws that require the consent
of both parents, and the presentation of an unabridged birth
certificate for any child crossing a South African border post.
The department said the implementation of this new regulation was a
response to the growing number of child trafficking cases.
Further probing by Times Live has found that the total number of
reported child trafficking cases may only stand at 23 incidents in the
last three years.
National Director for Lawyers for Human Rights, Jacob van Garderen,
said in an interview that the department`s figures may be inaccurate
and that "human trafficking is a serious human rights violation, but
there is no credible data or research that shows it is a serious
concern in South Africa".
Times Live further reports that the African Centre for Migration and
Society at Wits said on its website that: "At present there is no
systematic research available that provides comprehensive insight into
the prevalence or patterns of trafficking into or out of South Africa
or Southern Africa" – further debunking the department`s claims.
No one at the department responded to requests for comment.
Apart from the laws relating to travelling with children, another new
visa law has had a serious impact on tourism figures. Earlier this
year it was announced that tourists must apply for a South African
visa in person at a South African embassy, and have their biometric
data captured.
A report released by accounting company Grant Thornton last week,
revealed that South Africa has lost about R1,6 billion in direct
spending from overseas tourists.
The company, which based its findings on tourist figures from the
first three months of this year, said these figures showed the worst
decline to be recorded in more than two decades.