CAPE TOWN - Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi has detailed how some immigration practitioners have corrupted Home Affairs officials to get the applications of their clients expedited, saying they were so brazen that they did not hide their corrupt tendencies.
Some were even advertising shorter turnaround times than the Home Affairs stipulated periods to process documents, he said.
They did this presumably because they were confident of their abilities to leverage their corrupt networks to prioritise applications for them.
Motsoaledi made the remarks when welcoming the 15-year direct imprisonment sentence handed to a corrupt immigration practitioner and an Ethiopian national who tried to commit fraud for South African permits.
The Pretoria Magistrate’s Court sentenced Nasi Seqola, an immigration practitioner, and her accomplice Biru Yosef Alem, an Ethiopian national who is a holder of a permanent residence permit, to 15 years behind bars without the option of a fine.
In this scheme, Alem is said to have recruited foreign nationals who do not qualify for South African permits, and for a fee, brought them to Seqola who completed a fraudulent permit and then used her corrupt contacts at the Home Affairs to insert such a permit into the database, according to the department.
“Some immigration practitioners have had a corrosive effect on Home Affairs service delivery. They corrupted a lot of Home Affairs officials and by extension, tried to launch an attack on the sovereignty of our country,” said Motsoaledi.
Seqola also tried to recruit an official from Government Printing Works (GPW) to print 5 000 blank permits. In return, the official was to be given R150 000, according to the department.
The official reported Seqola’s advances to the Counter Corruption Branch, which worked with other law enforcement officials to set up the sting.
The 5 000 blank permits were printed by GPW and handed over to law enforcement officers. These permits were used in the sting and Seqola paid R150 000. The law enforcement officers moved in after the payment, and took the cash and the permits. The permits were returned to GPW.
“We congratulate the patriotic GPW official who resisted huge amounts of money and remained honest to his job and his country. It must be noted that immigration practitioners are not employees of the Department of Home Affairs. They must not be confused with immigration officers who are uniformed Department of Home Affairs officials. Immigration practitioners are private businesses that assist foreign nationals to apply for permits, acting as third parties in the application process. Alarmingly, some do not have verifiable business premises.”
He said anyone who needed a Home Affairs service could apply directly and did not need to involve a third party.
After serving his sentence, Alem will be deported to Ethiopia.
Cape Times