Home Affairs is moving swiftly in its efforts to uproot rampant corruption within the department, with the latest dismissal of six officials who were axed for a variety of offences, including fraud and corruption.
This latest string of dismissals brings the number of officials fired for misconduct since July last year up to 33.
On Tuesday, the department announced that of the officials fired in the past year, eight have already been convicted and sentenced to prison terms ranging from four to 18 years, while criminal prosecution of another 19 officials is under way.
“The speed at which Home Affairs, in collaboration with the SIU (Special Investigating Unit), is clearing out corruption from our midst demonstrates that swift progress can be made in the fight against this scourge. I have made it clear to the department that delays will not be tolerated and that we will not rest until every last corrupt official has been fired,” Home Affairs Minister Dr Leon Schreiber said.
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Home Affairs commits to corruption clean-up
The fresh arrests come exactly two weeks after the department launched the Border Management and Immigration Anti-Corruption Forum to align with Schreiber’s vision of a corruption-free operation.
At the launch, Schreiber said the enforcement of accountability and the widespread reform of systems were needed to deal with corruption.
Schreiber said widespread corruption within the department was often perpetrated and facilitated by syndicates embedded in the DHA.
“Sophisticated syndicates are organised within Home Affairs to extort and defraud both South Africans and immigrants. It’s not an individual … it is an alliance formed across people in the public sector, in the private sector, and across society that coordinate in a very sophisticated manner,” Schreiber said.
The minister said that through the anti-corruption forum, the SIU, the Department of Home Affairs, the Border Management Authority, the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation and the National Prosecuting Authority were actively working together to catch crooked officials and rid the department and Border Management Authority of corruption.
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On Tuesday, Schreiber attributed the latest arrests to cross-sector cooperation.
“I applaud the inter-departmental teams for their progress in ensuring that we wash the stain of corruption and State Capture off of Home Affairs so that it becomes the proud institution our country deserves. My message to remaining perpetrators is clear: it is only a matter of time before we catch you and hold you accountable,” Schreiber said. DM