Andrew Stegmann

Relo Originals: Solar Sustainability

Written by Quintin Coetzee

Now that we’ve entered springtime in South Africa, the weather is gradually getting warmer, and many of us are preparing for being back at the beach during summer at the end of the year. In a region like SA, we’re lucky enough to get lots of sunshine not only in summer, but year-round. This creates the perfect opportunity to be more sustainable, and make use of solar power. And that’s exactly what we’ve done at our head office in Cape Town.

Solar power

Solar power is the conversion of energy from sunlight into electricity, either directly using photovoltaics (PV), indirectly using concentrated solar power, or a combination. Concentrated solar power systems use lenses or mirrors and tracking systems to focus a large area of sunlight into a small beam. Photovoltaic cells convert light into an electric current using the photovoltaic effect.

Photovoltaics were initially solely used as a source of electricity for small and medium-sized applications, from the calculator powered by a single solar cell to remote homes powered by an off-grid rooftop PV system. Commercial concentrated solar power plants were first developed in the 1980s.

As the cost of solar electricity has fallen, the number of grid-connected solar PV systems has grown into the millions and utility-scale solar power stations with hundreds of megawatts are being built. Solar PV is rapidly becoming an inexpensive, low-carbon technology to harness renewable energy from the Sun.

The International Energy Agency projected in 2014 that under its “high renewables” scenario, by 2050, solar photovoltaics and concentrated solar power would contribute about 16 and 11 percent, respectively, of the worldwide electricity consumption, and solar would be the world’s largest source of electricity.

Our office

Our head office in Cape Town has, since early 2014, featured 25 photovoltaic panels on its roof, positioned to harness the most sunlight possible during daylight hours. These panels are connected to a smart charge controller, and the power is distributed throughout our building. Electricity usage can be monitored via a mobile app, which provides us with usage history, so that we can track our conservation efforts.

In addition to this, we also have battery units that keep the solar system running. In the event of a power outage, the batteries will keep our essential systems running. To date, we have converted 40.7 MWh of solar energy into usable electricity. All of this is made possible by a SolarEdge system. To read more about them, click here.

Aerial view of Relocation Africa’s head office in Cape Town, South Africa.

The importance of renewable energy

Renewable energy is energy that is collected from renewable resources, which are naturally replenished on a human timescale, such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, waves, and geothermal heat. Renewable energy often provides energy in four important areas: electricity generation, air and water heating/cooling, transportation, and rural (off-grid) energy services.

Rapid deployment of renewable energy and energy efficiency is resulting in significant energy security, climate change mitigation, and economic benefits.

In 2011, the International Energy Agency said that “the development of affordable, inexhaustible and clean solar energy technologies will have huge longer-term benefits. It will increase countries’ energy security through reliance on an indigenous, inexhaustible and mostly import-independent resource, enhance sustainability, reduce pollution, lower the costs of mitigating climate change, and keep fossil fuel prices lower than otherwise. These advantages are global.

We encourage other businesses to implement sustainable solutions to their power systems, over time saving both money and the environment.

 

For information as to how Relocation Africa can help you with your Mobility, Immigration, Research, Remuneration, and Expat Tax needs, email marketing@relocationafrica.com, or call us on +27 21 763 4240.

Sources: [1], [2], [3]. Image sources: Andreas Gücklhorn [1], [2].

Andrew Stegmann

From The Hippo’s Ears: Namibia

Facts you may not have know about Namibia:

Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean; it shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. Its capital and largest city is Windhoek, and it is a member state of the United Nations (UN), the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the African Union (AU), and the Commonwealth of Nations.

Namibia has a population of approximately 2.6 million, is a Unitary dominant-party semi-presidential republic, and gained independence from South Africa in 1990.

1.  When you first meet someone, how do you greet them?

The basic physical greeting is the handshake. In English, the common greeting is “hello”. In Afrikaans, it’s “hallo”. German speakers say “guten tag”, and in Oshiwambo it’s “Ongaipi”.

2. What languages are spoken in the country?

English is the only official language in Namibia. The most common language, spoken by around half of the population, is Oshiwambo. Other common languages include Nama, Afrikaans, Otjiherero, Kavango, Lozi, San, and German.

3. Do you use a twelve hour clock, or a twenty-four hour clock?

We use a 24-hour system.

4. What side of the road do people drive on? What do we need to know about driving in the country?

We drive on the left side of road. Due to low traffic volumes the majority of roads are not tarred.

5. How important is punctuality?

Punctuality is important in Namibia, with trying to arrive on time being part of the local culture.

6. Which types of music are popular? Who are some of the most popular musicians?

The music of Namibia has a number of folk styles, as well as pop, rock, reggae, jazz, house and hip hop. Folk music accompanies storytelling or dancing. The Namaqua use various strings, flutes and drums while the Bantu use xylophones, gourds and horn trumpets. The Namibian reggae platform has produced artist such as Ras Sheehama, Petu, Ngatu, who has been performing since 1994. Rock n roll is widely celebrated by the white communities of Namibia. Die Vögel is one of Namibia’s most outstanding rock n roll bands. Kwaito is also very popular in Namibia, with local artists including The Dogg, Gazza, Sunny Boy, Qonja, Tre Van Die Kasie, and OmPuff.

For a taste of Namibian music, listen to Ras Sheehama’s Inotila, and Makgona Ngwao.

7. Are there any Traditional Dances?

Traditional Namibian dance occurs at events such as weddings and at traditional festivals such as the Caprivi Arts Festival. Watch an example of traditional Namibian dance here.

8.  What traditional Festivals are celebrated in the country?

Lusata Festival
Lusata Festival is an annual festival for all Mafwe tribal people of Namibia and nearby countries. The Mafwe people are one of the largest ethnic groups in the Caprivi Region. The festival celebrates traditional values, commemorates the past, and looks forward to the future. It occurs annually in the last week of September. The festival’s name is a reference to the royal mace – an ivory-encrusted stick. Most people from all villages in Caprivi come to celebrate by dancing and feasting. It always is held where the king stays, in Chinchimani village, 6 km away from Katima Mulilo.

Bank Windhoek Arts Festival
Held every February, the Bank Windhoek Arts Festival celebrates local artists and their work. It encourages the development of artists, helping locals establish a name in the industry and giving people a vehicle to enjoy the local design scene. A variety of events from dance and theater to visual arts are held throughout the capital.

Windhoek Karneval
The biggest cultural event in Windhoek, and Namibia in general, is the Windhoek Kareneval or WIKA. A remnant leftover from German occupation, visitors in attendance will feel a distinct German vibe throughout the festival. Held in April, WIKA involves a number of events including musical performances and a masked ball for adults and carnival and Independence Avenue parade for kids.

Oktoberfest
Having formally been a territory of the Germans, Namibians naturally celebrate what has become one of the world’s best-known drinking events, Oktoberfest. Beer, fun and games attract people of all ages to the capital of Windhoek..

9. What are the seasons like?

The winter (June – August) is generally dry. Both rainy seasons occur in summer: the small rainy season between September and November, the big one between February and April. Rainfall is highly variable, and droughts are common. Weather and climate in the coastal area are dominated by the cold, north-flowing Benguela Current of the Atlantic Ocean, which accounts for very low precipitation (50 mm (2 in) per year or less), frequent dense fog, and overall lower temperatures than in the rest of the country. Efundja, the annual seasonal flooding of the northern parts of the country, often causes damage.

10. What are some interesting facts about the President?

President Hage Geingob has been President of Namibia since 2015. He previously served as the country’s Prime Minister, from 2012 to 2015, and its Minister of Trade and Industry, from 2008 to 2012. After obtaining a MA degree in International Relations in New York, Geingob was appointed SWAPO Representative at the United Nations and to the Americas. He served in this position until 1971.

Geingob is known to be an avid football fan, and has attended many high-profile games. He also regularly attends the Namibia Annual Music Awards (NAMAs), and in his youth sang in a choir, and played in a band.

11. What are the country’s major industries?

The largest economic sectors are mining, agriculture, manufacturing, and tourism. About half of the population depends on agriculture (largely subsistence agriculture) for its livelihood, but Namibia must still import some of its food. Namibia is the fourth largest exporter of non-fuel minerals in Africa and the world’s fourth largest producer of uranium. Tourism is a major contributor to Namibia’s GDP, creating tens of thousands of jobs directly or indirectly, and servicing over a million tourists per year. The country is a prime destination in Africa and is known for ecotourism which features Namibia’s extensive wildlife.

12. How do people spend their free time?

Locals spend their free time with family and friends, visiting the beach, taking road trips or off-roading, camping, or watching local sports matches. There are also a number of nature reserves to visit.

13. What is a popular local drink?

Namibia has a strong beer culture, and produces many varieties of local beer, including traditional African millet varieties. Examples are Windhoek lager, DAS Pilsner, and Oshikundu. Despite the climate, the country also produces its own wine.

14. What is a popular local dish?

When you visit Namibia, you will find that the cuisine is very different and varied. Local specialities worth sampling are Swakopmund green asparagus (September to April), Luderitz oysters (all year round), Kalahari truffles (May and June if they appear), and Omajowa, the large fleshy mushrooms that appear for a brief period at the foot of termite hills north of Okahandja shortly after the rains in February.

A wide selection of home-made cheeses are made by Danis Kuche near Otjiwarongo and the production of Namibian olives — the Kalamata (black) variety as well as the green —has taken off well. In Swakopmund, Luderitz and Windhoek you can indulge in traditional German-style confectionery including classics such as Schwarzwälder, Kirschtorte, and Apfelstrudel as well as the renowned Springer chocolates produced in Windhoek. A favourite breakfast and light lunch are crisp bread rolls, referred to as Brötchen, filled with cheese, eggs, meat or salad.

15. What do you pay, on average, for the following? (1 USD = approx. NAD 14)

3 Course meal: NAD 250
Domestic beer (500ml): NAD 20
Cup of coffee: NAD 25
Coca cola (330ml): NAD 12
Milk (1l): NAD 18
Loaf of white bread: NAD 10
Apples (1 kg): NAD 30
Water (1.5l):NAD 17

16. Any general safety tips?

Namibia is generally very safe for travellers. Exercise the same precautions as you would back home: don’t have valuables on show, and don’t walk through the townships at night unless accompanied by a guide. It is safer to call a taxi than hail one on the street – your accommodation should be able to arrange this for you. Avoid driving outside of the towns at night – the roads are not lit and vehicles are in danger of colliding with roaming wildlife.

17. In conclusion, famous (and sometimes infamous) people from the country include:

  • Rosa Namises, a politician and human rights activist, and former member of parliament. A prominent voice on gender issues, human-rights violations, and violence against women and children in Namibia, she is the director of Woman Solidarity Namibia.
  • Frankie Fredericks, a former track and field athlete. Running in the 100 metres and 200 metres, he won four silver medals at the Olympic Games (two in 1992 and two in 1996), making him Namibia’s so far only Olympic medalist. He also won gold medals at the World Championships, World Indoor Championships, All-Africa Games and Commonwealth Games. He is the world indoor record-holder for 200 metres, with a time of 19.92 seconds set in 1996.
  • Trevor Dodds, a professional golfer. Turning pro in 1985, Dodds has compiled 14 wins on four different tours.
  • Samuel Shafiishuna Daniel Nujoma, a Namibian revolutionary, anti-apartheid activist and politician who served three terms as the first President of Namibia, from 1990 to 2005. Nujoma was a founding member and the first president of the South West Africa People’s Organization (SWAPO) in 1960. He played an important role as leader of the national liberation movement in campaigning for Namibia’s independence from South African rule. Nujoma led SWAPO during the lengthy Namibian War of Independence, which lasted from 1966 to 1989.

 

For information as to how Relocation Africa can help you with your Mobility, Immigration, Research, and Remuneration needs, email marketing@relocationafrica.com, or call us on +27 21 763 4240.

Sources: [1], [2], [3]. Image sources: Jonatan Pie [1].

Andrew Stegmann

What to Look Out For When Buying Property Overseas

Buying property abroad as an expat can require more research, and may involve more risks than buying in your home country. You should start planning the purchase well in advance, do some research on formalities such as visa requirements for buyers and mortgage conditions, and get expert advice when necessary. Expat.com has put together a guide to finding and buying the right property for you, whether it’s an investment solution, a holiday home, or a permanent residence.

Know why you want to buy a property

In all cases, a property is a type of investment, however, before purchasing real estate, define the main reasons behind such a costly move. If you are buying with investment in mind, look in tourist hubs or big cities which are popular among digital nomads, leisure, and business travellers. These properties tend to go up in value and secure a high rental income throughout the year. On the other hand, if you are searching to buy your permanent home abroad to settle in with your family, consider the cost and quality of life, accessibility, population of expat community, and facilities (e.g. hospitals, schools, entertainment) in different regions in the country before you conclude.

Create a budget

Owning property doesn’t only involve the cost of buying it — there are more expenses to consider beyond the price of the house. To complete a real estate purchase and to make the house livable or profitable, you will have to pay the broker’s and attorney’s fees, taxes, and spend money on furniture and appliances. For example, in Spain, a stamp duty, which is the tax you pay on any property purchase, is about one per cent of the purchase price, and a VAT tax is about ten per cent. Also, there is a yearly ownership tax which fluctuates from property to property and location to location; in Spain, it starts from 100 Euros and goes up to as much as 3,000. In general, you may end up spending an additional 2 to 5 per cent of the purchase price in closing fees.

Research the different regions

Before deciding on a specific location, it’s a good idea to understand what everyday life is like in the area. If you aim to rent out your property to holidaymakers, make sure the area is well-connected and has attractions, as well as activities for different ages and tastes. Also, do market research to check whether property values in the region have been declining or increasing in recent years. This will help you understand whether a property purchase in this location is a good investment or a risky one. The best way to get a clear picture of all the above is to rent a house for a few weeks and explore the area where you plan to buy with the mindset of a permanent resident.

Consider all types of properties

Do you prefer to buy a new construction property, which won’t require any refurbishment or a resale property in which you can apply your creativity and renovation ideas? There are also off-plan properties, which have been approved for construction by the local authorities, but it is likely that the house will not be built due to bureaucracy, the bankruptcy of the development company, or other reasons.

Hire a property agent and an attorney

Once you have decided on the region, type of property, and budget ask the help of a property agent, who will narrow down the options for you based on your criteria. However, keep in mind that a property agent may not always prioritise your best interest, but the sellers, as often it is the seller who pays the agent’s commissions. If you aren’t fluent in the official language of the country you want to buy property in, an attorney (who speaks your native language too and is registered with the local bar association) will guide you through the process and the local real property laws.

Organise the formalities

Depending on your expatriation plans, you will have to apply for a different visa to stay and purchase real estate in your host country. For example, if you wish to retire overseas, you will need a resident permit, which allows you to live in the country without working — as long as you can prove that your pension from back home is adequate to support you financially while abroad. Many countries such as Spain, Portugal, the Bahamas, and Mauritius offer residency in exchange for foreign investment in property, which is worth more than a certain amount.

Get a survey and an inspection done

Before you make up your mind about a property, book an inspection to find out about defects in the house that most likely aren’t obvious, and about structural improvements that you can make. A survey, which is also done by experts, will tell you where is the beginning and end of your property and land; also you will find out about the exact locations of underground cables and pipes.

Negotiate the contract

Before signing the contract for your property purchase, make sure that you have no unanswered questions left. Among other details, the contract has deadlines, both for you and the seller, for different stages of the process depending on the type of property you are buying. Some information you should see on the contract is the date of completion for an off-plan construction, scheduled repairs and the person in charge to cover the cost, taxes, etc.

Close on the property

To close on your desired house, you should be able to pay an initial deposit, which varies from one country to another. In Europe, it’s about ten per cent, whereas in the USA and Australia it’s up to 20 per cent. In general, a bigger deposit increases the chances of the approval of your loan and means borrowing less money, thus paying less interest to the bank. This final stage of your purchase should take place at a notary’s office, and if you cannot be there in person, you have the option to send a representative.

 

For information as to how Relocation Africa can help you with your Mobility, Immigration, Research, Remuneration, and Expat Tax needs, email marketing@relocationafrica.com, or call us on +27 21 763 4240.

Sources: Expat.com [1], [2]. Image sources: rawpixel [1], [2].

Andrew Stegmann

Frustration Over SA Home Affairs Situation

The situation at the Department of Home Affairs is chaotic, says parliamentary portfolio committee chairperson Paul Chauke — from failure to properly implement years-old Supreme Court of Appeal rulings on refugee centres to lax security at departmental offices.

Delays and deliberations by the Department of Home Affairs over instructions issued by the parliamentary portfolio committee on Home Affairs raises questions about Parliament’s ability to conduct oversight of the executive when it comes to managing immigration.

Committee chairperson Paul Chauke expressed frustration at the continued absence of the minister and deputy minster at the committee’s meetings and also wanted know why the Minister of Public Works was not present.

The meeting was mostly about the draft Immigration Bill, but the committee had also called for a report-back from the department on its progress in reopening refugee centres in Port Elizabeth and Cape Town, where it had shut down or cut back on services for immigrants.

This follows rulings by the Supreme Court of Appeal, in cases brought by the Legal Resources Centre, on behalf of the Scalabrini Centre, the Somali Association for South Africa and other civil society groups, that these offices be reopened.

Committee members expressed concern that there appeared to be little urgency in the Department of Home Affairs’ efforts to comply.

In March 2015, the Supreme Court of Appeal ordered Home Affairs to reopen the Port Elizabeth refugee reception centre and gave it until 1 July 2016 to comply. The same court ruled in September 2017 that Home Affairs must reopen the Cape Town reception centre by the end of March 2018. Yet the committee heard that as at August 2018 neither offices were fully operational.

Committee members expressed concern that there appeared to be little urgency in the department’s efforts to comply. One described the response as “insufficient”.

“We are not working in an urgent way as public servants. We must work with urgency. This is an emergency.”

The Department of Public Works, which is responsible for rolling out accommodation for government departments, also came in for a tongue-lashing from the committee. Members said that it “is holding all [government] departments hostage” and that Home Affairs is forced to “beg the Department of Public Works” to provide accommodation even though “we are paying the department a lot of money… They must go and do their job”.

Chairperson Chauke said the committee discussions were about the department’s role in national security and its capacity to manage immigration. He bemoaned the absence of government ministers, leaving communication from the department to Deputy Director-General of Immigration Services Jackson McKay. Chauke observed that McKay was clearly “demoralised” in the face of the enormity of the task, and the lack of resources.

By the end of the four-and-a-half-hour meeting Chauke also sounded somewhat demoralised and frustrated at the lack of progress:

“This is high security we are talking about here,” he said.

He reminded the department that Home Affairs offices were National Key Points, where people and information were supposed to be protected. Yet, in their oversight visits what the committee had seen instead was “chaos”.

“You lock a spaza shop. Every spaza shop is highly secured. But at Home Affairs, a National Key Point, where information about the formation of this country is stored, there is a problem, not only about the security of this country, but about the security of this department,” Chauke said.

The committee resolved on the need for another meeting with Public Works and Home Affairs.

“We need to try to reach an agreement to treat this as a National Key Point department,” he said.

Home Affairs argues that foreigners should in the main be processed as close as possible to the northern borders, where 90% of immigrants usually enter, to ensure that they cannot make their way across the country as far as Port Elizabeth and Cape Town without legally applying for refugee status.

McKay said that as soon as foreign nationals were registered as refugees they should appear on the national population register and could then make use of the normal services of local Home Affairs offices. The feeling was that there should then be no need for refugee centres throughout the country.

However, McKay conceded that the courts had decided that there was a need for these centres and said Home Affairs would be assessing the situation and would raise it with the minister and the deputy minister.

This comment does, however, raise questions: what is still to be discussed once the court has already ruled and Parliament has demanded Home Affairs compliance with the court ruling? Parliament is mandated to oversee the executive. Intra-department discussions with the minister surely come before, not after, the parliamentary committee has reached a decision.

Meanwhile Mandla Madumisa, Chief Director: Asylum Seeker Management at Home Affairs, briefed the committee on efforts so far to reopen the Port Elizabeth and Cape Town refugee reception offices, as well as a proposed new refugee facility in Lebombo, Mpumalanga.

He reminded the committee why the centres had been closed in the first place, referring to reports of abuse of clients, corruption and “the nuisance factor” that had led to court action. In Gauteng refugee reception centres were forced to close their doors because they were found not to be in compliance with local bylaws. The centre in Port Elizabeth was closed after the Department of Labour declared the facilities were not fit for human use.

He made the point that the decision to close these offices was an executive prerogative, and was made after taking into account the centres’ location, financial implications, the plight of clients, available suitable accommodation, effective management and service delivery, among other things.

“These offices have been closing and opening for the past couple of decades,” he said.

A Public Works official confirmed that the keys were handed over to the Port Elizabeth office on 31 May, and he said Home Affairs was busy “buying the chairs”. Security cameras have to be set up and “we are busy with the IT”, the official reported. He said the office will be fully functional by 31 October. This date was decided on after an appeal to the courts by civil society groups, who felt the process had been taking too long.

The office has 22 officials, compared to the 62 employed before the closure. Its staff now include two “status determination officers” and three inspectorate officials, who are responsible for enforcement of the conditions stipulated on refugee permits. This prompted Chauke to ask about the “effectiveness of your office [given] the volume of applications”.

Madumisa reminded the committee of the Treasury’s ceiling on staff appointments and explained that the department had observed a drop in demand for services at the Desmond Tutu and Musina offices. Staff was being redeployed from there. However, moving staff has proved costly. The reopened centre costs about R500,000 a month to run, he said. With a full staff complement, the salary bill alone would amount to about R4-million a year.

In Cape Town, Public Works had been notified to find accommodation after the court ruling. That was in January and a Public works official told the committee that a procurement process had begun after receiving ministerial confirmation.

He said two options were under consideration. One was the use of a state-owned property in Maitland where the plan was to install interim or “park” homes while the idea of having a permanent refugee centre in Cape Town was debated.

The other option is signing a lease agreement with a private company. The department gave the timelines: Adverts would be placed in September and applications closed in October, at which point a decision will be taken. That will be followed by “tenant installation” which was estimated to take about four to six weeks. Home Affairs would then embark on its own installation process, setting up IT systems, putting furniture in place, and so on. The committee heard that this normally takes Home Affairs about eight weeks, prompting a committee member to ask how it could possibly take eight weeks to lay out the furniture.

“If all goes according to plan,” the Public Works official declared, the new refugee centre could open for business at the beginning of April 2019. Using the property in Maitland would be quicker, he said, but the property had only been viewed once and a decision has not yet been reached.

“We need to go through our internal processes for approval,” he said.

At this point the committee chairperson interrupted to ask when the next monthly progress report was due, insisting that the committee receive it, “so that we are able to make a copy and check if you are really complying. Parliament must do its oversight”, he said.

The last office still to be opened is the proposed purpose-built refugee centre in Lebombo. The committee was told permission to proceed with building had received ministerial authorisation, but it was accompanied by an instruction to find a public-private partnership “as there was not enough in the coffers”. This proposal is now with Treasury, which imposes strict compliance on PPPs. The Public Works official said he hoped a tender would be appointed “around 2020”, and if compliance with Treasury requirements was met construction could start in 2021 or 2022.

Chauke also wanted to know if, in the process of installing IT systems, the new offices are complying with the committee’s earlier request to make sure that the systems in different offices are linked and “able to talk to each other”.

Directing this question to McKay, he asked if the details of any person who presented themselves at any Home Affairs office “would be picked up. If you are not doing this, why are you not doing this”?

McKay assured the chairperson that the system was capable of linking all offices in a single database, but said: “That is a system we have not activated due to corruption and control.”

He went on to say Home Affairs “took a decision not to allow that. We have to discuss with our political principals how we deal with that particular issue.”

This again raises questions about the committee’s oversight role. It suggests that the departments of Home Affairs and Public Works may not readily recognise Parliament’s constitutional duty to conduct oversight over the executive or pay sufficient heed to instructions from the committee.

A department official pushed back: “The real reason there is so much pressure on Home Affairs and refugee reception offices is that it takes forever for an asylum seeker’s permit to be dealt with. That is where the logjam is. [It takes about two years to process an asylum application and] that person will have to return to the office about a dozen times in those two years. There are thousands of people in the same situation, that is why you have these long queues and we spend an enormous amount of money trying to meet the demand for an impractical system.

“Twice we went to the Constitutional Court and we lost for whatever reasons, and all that money [for those Constitutional Court cases] is down the drain.”

Further frustration was expressed by department officials who reminded the committee that in Cape Town, for example, refugee centres in Maitland and later in Nyanga had to be closed because of complaints about queues of foreigners and allegations of crime and corruption. Naked racism and xenophobia were cited as some of the reasons for such complaints.

A shortage of funds was raised, and the point made that there were only 713 inspectorate officials appointed to manage migration throughout the country.

“There are more employed at OR Tambo airport,” an official said, who added that the corruption among the Home Affairs inspectorate officials “makes us even weaker”.

“There are holes in the bucket,” said one official, referring to illegal immigrants who managed to make their way across the country, accessing grants and places in schools that they are not entitled to. The department appealed for an increase in its budget, saying:

“Capacitate Home Affairs to do its job.”

Mackay said the department’s budget was a serious constraint.

“R7.9-billion is not enough for the department, yet it is at the centre of the government. Treasury should capacitate the department in this regard.”

Additional information on this Home Affairs Committee meeting can be found on the website of the Parliamentary Monitoring Group at https://pmg.org.za/committee-meeting/26934/.

 

For information as to how Relocation Africa can help you with your Mobility, Immigration, Research, Remuneration, and Expat Tax needs, email marketing@relocationafrica.com, or call us on +27 21 763 4240.

Sources: Moira Levy via Daily Maverick [1], [2]. Image sources: [1], [2].