EDITORIAL | Misrepresentation and fraud linked to home affairs are major challenges to SA

The department of home affairs’ move to issue a 30-day notice for people who want to appeal the blocking of their identity documents (ID) over suspicions of fraud before they are completely cancelled is certainly creating waves.

This effort is aimed at curbing identity theft as department director-general Livhuwani Makhode explained this week.

In some cases, the IDs or cards lawfully issued to other people were stolen, unlawfully obtained or altered to reflect the names or the facial image or photograph of the person whose particulars were not to be included in the population register.

Misrepresentation and fraud linked to home affairs are major challenges in South Africa with at least two high profile cases laying bare the extent of our problem.

The first matter divided the nation when the department said it was investigating suspicions of fraud and identify theft that may have been committed by the person recorded as the mother of former Miss South Africa contestant Chidimma Adetshina. She subsequently withdrew from the competition.

In the second example, the imminent danger to our nation was evident when 95 Libyans were arrested at a suspected military training base in White River, Mpumalanga, last month. The group were thankfully deported on Sunday morning after charges against them were withdrawn on Friday and they were handed over for deportation. They were charged with making misrepresentations on their visa applications, claiming they were coming to South Africa to train as security guards.

This poses a threat to the country’s sovereignty and security at large. We have no idea what the end goal was for the Libyans as they misrepresented their business in the country, yet they operated right under law enforcement’s nose. A multidisciplinary approach is necessary to control the movement of people and bring those who break the law to justice.

More stakeholders including the retail sector, financial institutions, telecommunications industries and other service providers should be involved to strengthen the ability to detect unlawful holders. Though an effort that is welcomed, 30 days does not seem sufficient to correct a backlog emanating from 2005.

The gazetting of the measure is in compliance with a court order handed down earlier this year which required the department to undertake a fair administrative process to differentiate between IDs that have been wrongfully blocked and IDs that represent genuine security threats.

Home affairs minister Leon Schreiber says the decisive measures underscore the commitment to clamp down on fraud and address the historical backlogs from 2005. But it remains questionable why it took them so long to open the remedial process to those whose lives might have been affected by these crimes. What is the technical practicality of the process? How does it stop fraudsters from continuing to commit the crime? What is the role of law enforcement in all of this?

These questions must be addressed in further action by the department for the safety of innocent South Africans for whom identity theft has ruined their lives, but also for the safety of our nation in ensuring we will not be caught napping while suspected training camps set up shop in the country.