Cape Town - Eight Home Affairs officials have been fired while four were hauled before a disciplinary hearing over issuing of fraudulent passports since the start of the year.
This according to Home Affairs Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi, who said his department had investigated 185 passports and their numbers were blocked on the National Population Register, and placed on the Movement Control System’s V-Stoplist since January.
He also discovered that the department had reversed 553 fraudulent marriages since January.
Motsoaledi said whistle-blowers’ allegations pertaining to fraudulent passports were followed up and they also profiled the user IDs of the implicated officials, which revealed that more passports were issued fraudulently.
Twelve officials were charged with misconduct, with eight dismissals, and the remainder of the disciplinary hearings were still pending.
“The officials and members of the public involved have also been charged criminally for fraud, corruption, money laundering, racketeering and contravention of the Immigration Act with the cases still pending in court,” he said.
According to Motsoaledi, 500 passports were identified as fraudulent over the past three years.
Earlier this year, a Pakistani national was arrested with fraudulent SA travel documents at the Cape Town International Airport when he tried to leave the country in March.
The suspect had been on the radar of the Counter Corruption Branch for his alleged involvement in suspected fraudulent activities in Gauteng, Kwa-Zulu-Natal and the Western Cape.
In another breakthrough a Pakistani national working with some South African citizens and Home Affairs officials in Krugersdorp were arrested over fraudulent SA passports.
“Each time an investigation uncovered a fraudulently issued passport, they were referred for blocking of the passport numbers on the National Population Register so that the holders thereof cannot be able to use them.
These were also referred for V-listing on the Movement Control System, which means that should the holders thereof attempt to use them at a port of entry, an immigration officer will be alerted.”
The minister said that the department had plans in place to combat fraudulent passports by intensifying the security measures, which would be implemented in phases.
These include passports being collected strictly from the office where they were applied for, and only the person who applied for that passport being able to collect it thanks to the use of fingerprint confirmation.
“The department has also revised its standard operating procedures, manuals and policies regarding lost and stolen passports, and these are being implemented.”
Other measures were also under way at the Government Printing Works facility to continue to secure the passports.
“The department will make a determination and will make further announcements on the implementation of the further plans to be implemented in due course, when the ABIS (Automated Biometric Identification System) programme has been completed.”
On the 553 fraudulent marriages since January, Motsoaledi said: “Due to the number of fraudulent marriages reported every year, the department has implemented measures that have largely contributed in reducing the number of fraudulent marriages.”
A new marriage register form, which requires a photo and thumbprint of the couples for verification purposes, has now been introduced.
“The department requires prospective couples to make an appointment with the nearest front office to verify the marital status and to subject themselves for brief interviews prior to registration of the marriage,” he said.
Scalabrini Centre legal adviser James Chapman said: “Any action by a government department to investigate and combat corruption and thereby improve efficiency, fairness and justice in the provision of government services, is positive and encouraged.”
Additional reporting by Chevon Booysen
Cape Times