Corrupt Home Affairs officials ‘must reimburse dept through pension funds’
A task team probing corruption at the Department of Home Affairs told MPs on Tuesday that officials are processing fraudulent IDs and visa applications outside working hours and on weekends.
The task team briefed Parliament on Tuesday on the Lubisi Report into corruption in the Department of Home Affairs.
The team’s Investigative Director, Rose Bishop, stressed the importance of cooperation between Home Affairs and social services to prevent fraudulent social grant applications by non-citizens.
“A number of applicants are applying for permanent residency and social grant, so one of the areas of concern is that they need to be a comparative analysis in terms of the data held at Home Affairs regarding social grants because effectively there is a double dipping by the applicants in terms of gaining South Africa’s benefits,”
The task team also proposed that Home Affairs officials responsible for financial losses due to severe misconduct face pension deductions as a way of reimbursing the department.
The team’s head of legal, Ricky Singh, said they will engage with the SIU on possible implementation.
Meanwhile, the department’s Deputy Director General for Counter Corruption and Security, Conny Moitse, revealed that 80 officials were dismissed and 46 officials resigned between January 2022 and May 2024.
“Between April 2022 and September 2023, the department identified 234 incidents involving 310 employees, which have been forwarded to employee engagement for potential disciplinary action due to misconduct,” she said.
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