Pretoria – The Department of Home Affairs’ Operation Bvisa Masina - which is Venda for "throw out the rot" - aimed at rooting out corrupt officials at the department is slowly bearing positive results.
On Tuesday, a Home Affairs front office clerk was arrested in King Williamstown, in the Eastern Cape, for facilitating fraudulent marriages involving illegal foreign nationals.
An investigation by the Home Affairs Counter-Corruption Unit, SAPS Crime Intelligence and the Hawks led to the arrest of the official together with a foreign national suspected of leading the illegal operation.
A search of the foreign national's house led to the discovery of copies of passports, identity documents, marriage certificates, temporary residence permits, visitors’ permits, asylum seeker permits and many blank Home Affairs face value documents.
Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba, when he launched Operation Bvisa Masina in July this year, warned that corrupt officials will not be tolerated.
“There is no place for corrupt officials at Home Affairs. We will not rest until we ‘throw out the rot’ from our system, by dealing decisively with fraud and corruption and those found guilty of such offences,” he said at the time.
Between April 2015 and July 2015 various project-driven investigations have resulted in eight arrests, five of which were of department’s officials and three non-officials.
A Pakistani national was arrested for various immigration violations and bribery of Home Affairs officials at Byron’s, BVR and OR Tambo Airport, a Byron Office official was arrested for taking a bribe in exchange for assisting an illegal immigrant, an official was arrested for ID fraud at Eshowe, an official was arrested for selling fake unabridged birth certificates to foreigners in Nongoma, an official and two members of the public were arrested for ID fraud at Umngeni office and an official at Maseru Bridge was arrested for illegal stamping of passport.
According to the department, the selling of Identity Documents by corrupt officials cost government about R2 billion a year. – SAnews.gov.za
