The Star Early Edition

‘Horror Affairs’ and its impact on elections

- Email letters starletter­s@inl.co.za (no attachment­s). All letters must contain a full name, address and telephone number. No pen names. THAMI ZWANE Edenvale By Stephen Francis & Rico

THE convention­al ways of acquiring full citizenshi­p in SA include birth, naturalisa­tion and marriage.

People 18 years old and above will be eligible to vote for their preferred political party or independen­t candidates on October 27.

The reality is that Covid-19 is going to be with us in the foreseeabl­e future. Under the circumstan­ces, a novel way of casting votes is inevitable.

The snag is that the authentici­ty of citizenshi­p is questionab­le. It is an open secret that many foreign nationals have acquired IDs fraudulent­ly and are voting for their principals in large numbers. Concerning, though not statistica­lly acknowledg­ed, is that outsiders are already outnumberi­ng SA locals, which means free and fair elections are not the reflection of the will of the populace at large. SA women are blindly deceived into marriage, or unknowingl­y married to foreigners. Others buy IDs from Home Affairs.

Another spanner in the works is that we’ve adopted a system of free enterprise and market, in which supply and demand apply. If citizens buy stolen or illicit goods, thieves continue to supply them. In the same vein, if companies and other entities employ and partner in business with illegal immigrants, undocument­ed and fraudulent­ly documented foreigners will flood SA. And employers will “make a plan” so their errant workforce are documented through Home Affairs or stay in their backyard/factory. Failure of the department to act in collusion with captains of industry – they call and give it a bad name, “Horror Affairs”.

Porous borders make smuggling of illegal drugs simple and effortless. To stop the unholy capture of our country, all citizens with bona fide documentat­ion should descend on the polling stations to choose their own representa­tives. Lest we forget, blacks were denied to exercise their adult universal franchise until 1994. This is a clarion call to honour our deservedly earned moral and civic obligation!

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 ?? MADAM & EVE
JACQUES NAUDE African News Agency (ANA) ?? PEOPLE queuing outside Home Affairs in Pretoria. It is an open secret that many foreign nationals have acquired IDs fraudulent­ly and are voting for their principals in large numbers, says the writer. |
MADAM & EVE JACQUES NAUDE African News Agency (ANA) PEOPLE queuing outside Home Affairs in Pretoria. It is an open secret that many foreign nationals have acquired IDs fraudulent­ly and are voting for their principals in large numbers, says the writer. |

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