NOTHING HAS CHANGED IN SA IMMIGRATION LAWS

Source: Swazi Times, 12/11/2015

WHEN I heard the Ministry of Home Affairs speaking through the
Principal Secretary telling this nation the fiasco at borders
involving children travelling to South Africa was finally over I
celebrated!


But my celebration was short-lived this past weekend, Saturday to be
exact, when a relative of mine was turned back in my presence for want
of an affidavit from the other spouse and an unabridged birth
certificate (whatever that means)! It was sad watching this ordeal
unfold for my relative and looking at them they had dismay written all
over their faces. And rightfully, so.



I mean here, their anguish of a ruined weekend in South Africa was but
a nightmare; but I think it was not about the demands made by the
Immigration officers, who as might be expected were uncompromising,
but rather that they were misled by the Ministry of Home Affairs into
believing things have reverted to normality; when they had not. Again
you ask, why would the ministry go to the media to make such
misleading announcements without consulting, at least, the SA High
Commissioner 500 metres away. I mean these were sweeping
changes.


The whole thing about the new Immigration laws in South Africa has
been a subject of much debate. The minister of Home Affairs (in SA) is
under extreme pressure, and the way he was being grilled by other
parties there has been serious enough to make him budge, and budge he
did for foreign nationals visiting SA, but not for neighbouring
States. For the neighbouring States the requirement for unabridged
birth certificates for children accompanying parents and affidavits
for the other parent are still intact.



When we engaged the Immigration officer about this fiasco, he put it
candidly, saying our government should have approached the SA High
Commissioner to verify the change before running to the media to score
cheap political points at the expense of citizens. I mean, ever since
this announcement was made by the ministry a great number of parents
have been inconvenienced by being turned back at the border;


and to think this has still not reached the ministry is
inconceiviable. Unless of course whoever tried to report this was
given the same cold shoulder given to the MP, of `Phuma kimi`. And
that, by the way was uncalled for to happen in the august House as
they call it.


It is the same attitude that turns people away from reporting mishaps
such as these. And without complaints you cannot improve service to
clientele. I think to obviate problems such as these, there has to be
more cooperation between the Immigration, home affairs ministries of
the two countries. I mean some of us have heard stories of people
blacklisted from visiting SA just because they over stayed by a few
days, but the penalties to such offenders are so harsh and
disproportionate when looking at the offence. I mean some people have
talked of fines of as high as R8 000 plus blacklisting for up to 12
months. And that is absurd!! And talking of neighbourliness this is
not one way of showing it. And people to learn hospitality must come
to our own Ministry of Home Affairs. A friend of mine was here
recently and having spent a month in the country was worried because
she had not finished her mission. I said to her she should get an
extension of stay. She went there, she was in and out in 10 minutes,
paid I think a lousy E10 or E50 (I forget) and she had her extension
of stay extended by another month.



And that is what I call hospitality - and the ministry deserves a
commendation there.


And now border hours extended to midnight at Oshoek, commendable work
again, but the information is not getting out to citizens. I didn`t
know and on two occasions I rushed to the border thinking I was late
only to find that I still had two hours to spare. It seems to me the
ministry may well be on the right track, it`s only when it takes
everybody by surprise, even shocking MPs by registering children in
their mothers` maiden names! and you ask yourself, where did that come
from?



We know SA meant well in the new Immigration laws as relates to
children to curb trafficking, but to relax or abolish these procedures
for foreign nationals but keep these intact for neighbouring countries
was bound to cause confusion. I know it was a question of which side
the bread is buttered.


Distant nations like the APR (the Chinas of this world) bring serious
tourism to SA and the pressure from Hanekom and his stakeholders may
have been unbearable, but the neighbouring States do matter as well in
SA tourism; the reason I advocate a similar relaxation of SA`s
Immigration laws with its neighbours.