Africa Check clarifies if SA is home to the highest number of unresolved asylum cases in the world.
Researched by Richard Stupart, edited by Laura Grant and Nechama Brodie
With more than 3.2-million refugees and asylum seekers displaced in 2015 alone, is it possible that South Africa is home to the highest number of asylum seekers in the world?
When Africa Check was asked to investigate similar claims back in 2013, it found that asylum seeker data supplied by both the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and South Africa’s Department of Home Affairs was “flawed, inaccurate, and sharply contradictory” – and that statements made to South African media, that the country had received the “highest number of asylum applications worldwide” – were unproven. Despite this, international media reports continue to list South Africa as being the country with “the most asylum seekers awaiting determination”.
In June 2016 the UNHCR published a new report on global trends in forced displacement, based on 2015 data. According to the report, by the end of 2015 the number of asylum claims in South Africa had risen to 1,096,063 – a rather startling figure considering that, in the previous reporting period (2014), South Africa had listed only 463,900 pending asylum claims. The UNHCR report was quickly picked up by local media, with headlines stating that there were “1-million asylum-seekers” in South Africa.
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13 Things You Didn’t Know About Informal Cross-Border Trade In Africa
Most informal economic activity in most African countries involves cross border trade Informal cross-border trade constitutes the majority of informal activity in most African countries. In the 15-member Southern African Development Community (SADC), for example, informal cross-border trade makes up an estimated 30-to-40 percent of total intra-SADC trade, with an estimated value of $17.6 billion. Informal trade involves smuggling goods and avoiding formal border processes. It is practiced by companies of all sizes, by individuals unemployed in the formal economy, and by people who have jobs but wish to supplement their salaries.
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“My life is on standstill thanks to Home Affairs”
Luzuko Gijana (27) from Cofimvaba Magwala Village near Queenstown recently found out that someone else was using his name, surname and identification number.
He said he went to Home Affairs in Cofimvaba, who confirmed that there was another Luzuko Gijana with the same date of birth and ID number. The other Luzuko Gijana lives in Libode just outside Mthatha.
Gijana said the officials at Home Affairs in Cofimvaba advised him to apply for another ID which he did last year July but it never came back. He said he went back again after two months but was again advised to apply for another ID.
Department of Home Affairs in Cofimvaba has called people to visit their offices to fix their duplication identification books. This comes after GroundUp sent a media inquiry regarding a Cofimvaba man who’s been waiting months for Home Affairs to fix his duplicate ID.
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FACT CHECK: IS SA HOME TO MORE THAN A MILLION ASYLUM-SEEKERS?
Africa Check clarifies if SA is home to the highest number of unresolved asylum cases in the world.
Researched by Richard Stupart, edited by Laura Grant and Nechama Brodie
With more than 3.2-million refugees and asylum seekers displaced in 2015 alone, is it possible that South Africa is home to the highest number of asylum seekers in the world?
When Africa Check was asked to investigate similar claims back in 2013, it found that asylum seeker data supplied by both the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and South Africa’s Department of Home Affairs was “flawed, inaccurate, and sharply contradictory” – and that statements made to South African media, that the country had received the “highest number of asylum applications worldwide” – were unproven. Despite this, international media reports continue to list South Africa as being the country with “the most asylum seekers awaiting determination”.
In June 2016 the UNHCR published a new report on global trends in forced displacement, based on 2015 data. According to the report, by the end of 2015 the number of asylum claims in South Africa had risen to 1,096,063 – a rather startling figure considering that, in the previous reporting period (2014), South Africa had listed only 463,900 pending asylum claims. The UNHCR report was quickly picked up by local media, with headlines stating that there were “1-million asylum-seekers” in South Africa.
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South Africa’s uncoordinated border management vulnerable – Home Affairs
Five uncoordinated organs of state are currently involved in managing the country’s borders, resulting in a large influx of undocumented foreigners and contraband goods, Parliament’s home affairs committee heard on Tuesday.
Just under 9 000 employees were involved in border management and the various players focused on their own mandates at the expense of border security, Home Affairs Director General Mkuseli Apleni said.
He was making a presentation to MPs on the draft Border Management Authority (BMA) Bill, which would see a single border authority set up at South Africa‘s ports of entry.
President Jacob Zuma referred to efforts to establish a new border control authority in his State Of the Nation Address in 2009. In June 2013, Cabinet approached Parliament to draft legislation.
Apleni said South Africa received among the highest number of asylum seekers in Africa and the country’s border management was vulnerable. Border security globally had been increased and it was not an issue unique to South Africa.
Over 39-million people moved through South Africa‘s borders annually. The country’s borders stretch for 4 471 km, including the landlocked border with Lesotho, and have 72ports of entry.
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