Home Affairs official sold us fake papers`

Source: By Siyabonga Kalipa – Argus, 13/10/2015

INDEPENDENT MEDIA Two identical fingerprints on two different asylum
seeker temporary permits were sold to two Zimbabwean brothers.
Picture: Henk Kruger
Cape Town - It took less than a working day for two Zimbabwean
brothers to secure asylum seeker temporary permits after a Home
Affairs official reportedly sold them the sought-after documentation
for R1 600 each.


The brothers visited the department last week after their documents
had expired.


One of the brothers, aged 29, said they were "losing out on a day`s
wages", standing in queues.


"Administrative staff kept telling us to come back the next day.
Already, we had taken time off from work, which meant we were
effectively losing a day`s pay.


"A Home Affairs official approached us and asked us if we wanted to be
helped quickly. We agreed but he then said we needed to pay him R2 000
each. We managed to talk him down to R1 600."


The construction worker said he and his brother had to wait for over
four hours to receive their documents.


The official "spoke to a security guard who allowed them into an
office through a back entrance".


He said he knew what the official was doing was unethical, but thought
of his family in Zimbabwe who depended on his income. "It is the
reason why I decided to pay the official."


But their employer noticed something amiss when he inspected their
documents.


"Last week our boss asked us why our fingerprints on the documents
looked the same. It was only then that we realised the documents were
fraudulent. Now we are without work until we can sort out this
mess."


The construction company manager, who noticed the irregularities, who
only identified himself as Grant, said: "It is against the law for us
to employ foreigners who don`t have the proper documentation.


"We had to tell the brothers to renew their paperwork. When they
brought back the documentation, I noticed that the fingerprints were
the same and the signatures were at the exact same place on both sets
of documents, which is not possible. Also, the documents had the same
bar code."


Grant quizzed the two men who admitted to paying R1 600 each for their
documents. "If I hadn`t checked the papers thoroughly, I wouldn`t have
known and the business might have faced a fine of R200 000 if
government officials found out that we had illegal foreigners working
for us."


He said the Department of Home Affairs was not educating companies how
to recognise fraudulent documents.


He was also not sure how to proceed now that he had uncovered the
fraud.


A spokesman for the Department of Home Affairs, Mayihlome Tshwete,
said: "The department receives information and tip-offs continually
about fraud and corrupt practices relating to our services.


"However, in certain cases, it is not always our officials involved in
these practices but members of the public who deceive asylum seekers
into believing that they work for Home Affairs.


"In this regard, the department is not in a position to quantify cases
of this nature at this moment."


Tshwete said in July, Minister Malusi Gigaba launched Operation Bvisa
Masina ("Throw out the rot" in Tshivenda) to ensure that those found
to be involved in "callous acts of fraud and corruption face the full
might of the law".


So far, 27 suspects – including Home Affairs officials and members of
the public – have been arrested.


"We wish to send a stern message to those involved in these acts to
desist as the department has adopted a zero tolerance approach towards
fraud and corruption," Tshwete said.


"The entire process of applying for asylum is free of charge.


"The Department of Home Affairs does not engage the services of
brokers or agents to assist asylum seekers with their
applications."


Tshwete said that anyone who solicits money in relation to the
application of asylum should be reported to the refugee reception
office management or the nearest police station.
Cape Argus