Our Viewpoint | Cleaning up home affairs

The Department of Home Affairs sits at the heart of some of South Africa’s most pressing challenges, from identity fraud to illegal immigration. For too long, weaknesses within the system have enabled both. The Department of Home Affairs’ crackdown of corruption from within its doors, with Minister Leon Schreiber reporting that arrests are now happening on a weekly basis, therefore, signals an encouraging shift towards accountability that has long been overdue.

Corruption within Home Affairs does not exist in isolation; it feeds directly into broader criminal networks. When officials are willing to sell identities, manipulate records or turn a blind eye, the consequences ripple far beyond paperwork. Identity fraud, for instance, is not a victimless crime.

Cases of criminals impersonating law-abiding citizens, often through stolen or fraudulently issued IDs, devastate livelihoods, destroy credit records and entangle innocent people in legal nightmares. Similarly, the sale of South African identity documents to undocumented foreign nationals not only undermines border control but fuels public anger and mistrust. The abuse of the system in this instance enables illegal immigrants with criminal intentions to infiltrate the country, which subsequently fuels the growing anti-immigrant sentiment that is now increasingly spilling into dangerously indiscriminate and sometimes violent vigilante action against foreign nationals, regardless of their legal status, as is unfolding on a national scale, prompting strong response from other African countries.

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As government pushes ahead with ambitious plans, such as the R12,5 billion border management project, its success will hinge not just on infrastructure, but on integrity. Systems are only as strong as the people who run them. Recent arrests, including that of a Pinetown Home Affairs employee last week, are a step in the right direction.

But consistency is key. Like the Department of Transport’s crackdown on corruption on the roads, Home Affairs must maintain momentum until a zero-tolerance culture is firmly entrenched.

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