Home Affairs boots corrupt officials!

HOME Affairs is serious about tackling corruption.

The department has dismissed 18 officials, effective immediately, for offences including fraud, corruption, and sexual harassment.

According to the department spokesman Siya Qoza, a further four officials were issued with final written warnings, two of which carry a one and three-month salary suspension, respectively.

Qoza said another two officials received written warnings.

"The dismissals and disciplinary action follow the conclusion of all mandated human resource and appeals processes by the department," he said.

"The dismissal and disciplining of errant officials are the result of the further intensification of the department's clampdown on corruption, fraud, and maladministration," he said.

The dismissals follow a series of recent convictions and reflect the increased cooperation between Home Affairs, the Special Investigating Unit (SIU), and the Hawks.

"Where prosecutable offences have been committed, the dockets will be referred for criminal prosecution, while Home Affairs also continues to work on measures to recover ill-gotten gains from perpetrators," Qoza said.

Home Affairs Minister Dr Leon Schreiber said that these dismissals send a clear and explicit message that the days where acts of fraud and corruption are committed with impunity against Home Affairs are over.

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He said dismissals and prosecutions are set to continue ramping up until they have eradicated crime and corruption from the system.

"I want to thank the various law enforcement agencies supporting Home Affairs, as well as committed members of management, for increasingly turning our shared commitment to zero tolerance for corruption into a concrete reality.

"Those who cheapen and defraud our country are learning the hard way that there is nowhere to hide from a reinvigorated Home Affairs that is committed to upholding the rule of law and delivering dignity," Schreiber said.

As the country prepares to observe 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence and Femicide (GBV-F) from Monday, 25 November, Schreiber welcomed the department's stance on this important fight, as expressed through the speedy dismissal of an official for sexual harassment.

According to the department's list, four officials have been dismissed for irregular granting of ID documents, while six officials were fired for irregular solemnisation and registration of marriages. Other officials were fired for the irregular processing of passports, birth certificates, visa applications, the extension of asylum seeker permits, sexual harassment, and the irregular deactivation of files.