‘Be patient’ with home affairs mess

Parliament has been urged to be “patient” as investigations into visa and permit fraud at the department of home affairs unfold.

Officials from the department appeared before parliament’s portfolio committee on home affairs yesterday to provide an update about the progress made on the Lubisi report’s recommendations.

The report emanated from a ministerial committee established by Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi to review all the permits and visas issued since 2004.

A multi-disciplinary task team (MDTT) was assigned to implement the report, and has been operational since March last year.

Briefing the committee, forensic investigator Peter Bishop, who is part of the team, reminded MPs the report recommended that foreign pastors and prophets such as Shepherd Bushiri be investigated.

Bishop said the team has recovered data sets to run data analysis tests.

“A number of matters have been referred to the DPCI [Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation or Hawks] criminal investigation,” he said.

The investigator told the committee that all permanent residence permits that were approved, but had been declined previously due to false documentation, having been submitted were still being investigated.

All issued visitors visas status change to permanent residence permits while in South Africa, as well as business permits, underage visas, work visas and study visas were also being looked at.

“All visa applications that were processed after hours, over weekends and public holidays on [the visa adjudication system] by home affairs officials, each case needs to be investigated to avoid any manipulation of data,” Bishop said.

The same passport number used by multiple people was also being investigated, he said. Even passports that were processed and approved within a day or less will be under scrutiny.

Bishop told the committee that the department received a legal opinion in November last year, which suggested visas must be annulled in cases where applicants possess a document obtained through fraudulent means and face deportation in terms of the Immigration Act.

The holders of fraudulent permanent residence permits will suffer the same fate.

All affected parties holding fraudulent visas or permanent residence permits should be informed about the revocation of their documents.

“Once adequate notice has been given, the applicants should be added to [the prohibited person list] and deported,” Bishop said.