“The levels of misinformation and absolute lies that have been put out by the Department of Home Affairs need to be put into order,” SATSA ceo David Frost said on May 29, three days before today’s implementation of the new immigration regulations, which come into effect today. The twice-postponed legislation states that travellers under the age of 18 must produce an unabridged birth certificate in addition to their passports when travelling through the South African ports of entry.
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David was joined by Asata ceo, Otto de Vries, to address “myths” and “contradictions” that the Department had voiced publically, including that it had consulted the travel and tourism industry before putting the new regulation in place (click here for the full document). “We have tried on several occasions to put data on the table and discuss the implications of this decision, yet we, as a sector that contributes 9% to the country’s overall GDP, have not been afforded this opportunity,” said David. In a statement, the ceos demanded to have the proof that the Deputy-General of the Department, Mkuseli Apleni, would meet with tourism stakeholders. “In late September, a meeting was held with the Minister of Home Affairs (Malusi Gigaba) where a task team was called to life to allow travel and tourism to engage with the Department around the implementation the new regulations, which were postponed to June 1. To date, this task team has never formally met.”
They also disputed Home Affairs’ claim that the Department was ready to roll out the new regulations and that all stakeholders had been trained. “These regulations were released on May 18. Since then, we have received five versions of it, all of which have been sent to us by our colleagues at the airlines,” said Otto. “If it wasn’t for the airlines, the travel and tourism industry would not have even seen these regulations.
“There is clearly confusion within the Department as to how birth certificates play a role in the issuing of official travel documents,” Otto argued. “Yes, it is a recognised supporting document for passport or visa application – but that is where it ends. They are not globally recognised travel documents.”
Last week, travellers were told to contact their local Department of Home Affairs to get a letter of permission to travel if their unabridged birth certificate was not produced in time for travel. Just the following day, they were advised to write directly to the Director-General of the Department, so that he could grant permission. “So the Director-General – one person – is going to manage this level of backlog?” Otto questioned.
“Why are we the only country in the entire world implementing this regulation?” David asked. “Because it’s completely ludicrous and impractical.” Otto concluded: “This policy will fail.”
