Many of those who sought work in South Africa have been deported back to a country in dire financial straitsCollins Kamoto was heading out for a drink with a friend on a Sunday evening in May in the small gold mining town of Nigel, south-east of Johannesburg, when they were stopped by the police and arrested.A month later, the 46-year-old, who had been in South Africa since March 2023, was charged with not having proper documentation. Then in September, after four months in jail, he was deported back to Malawi, part of what many of his compatriots believe is a renewed crackdown by South African authorities on immigrants working there illegally.My life is miserable, because even when I was working here it was not enough to help my family, Kamoto said in an interview in his home village of Kampala in Mulanje, a district bordering Mozambique in Malawis south-east.Kamoto, who has three children and one grandchild, left Malawi to look for work after losing his job and seeing friends in South Africa doing well. Life in South Africa turned out to be hard, he said. He lived in a metal-walled shack with no running water, doing occasional, difficult work feeding farm animals or working in fields, and was paid 100-350 rand (£4.35-£15.21) a day.But, even though he could go for days without a job, Kamoto said it had been worth it: When I went to South Africa, I was getting enough to support my relatives.South Africa has a history of importing migrant labour, especially to work in its mines. In recent years, poverty and political unrest have contributed to migration to the country.Collins Kamoto: When I went to South Africa, I was getting enough to support my relatives. There are about 2.4 million foreign-born people in South Africa out of a population of 62 million, according to the 2022 census, which aimed to count people regardless of immigration status. Almost half are Zimbabweans, followed by people from Mozambique and Lesotho, with just under 200,000 Malawians.However, the struggles of South Africans more than four in 10 are out of work ` have fuelled xenophobia against other Africans, which has periodically erupted into anti-immigrant violence.In South Africa, you always look left and right and usually meet with the sound of sirens,Kamoto said, of his eventually unsuccessful attempts to evade police, which led to him being among 205 Malawians deported from South Africa in four bus-loads last month.South African police have been mounting roadblocks and searching shacks and blocks of flats where they suspect illegal

immigrants are living, something that did not used to happen, said a Malawian in his 30s, who had been deported several times and did not want to be named. One video seen by the Guardian appeared to show four men hiding from authorities on a roof.In recent years, Malawi has faced a collapsing currency, soaring inflation and shortages of imported fuel, medicines and food. In 2022, 89% of Malawians said the country of 20 million was going in the wrong direction, according to the pan-African survey network Afrobarometer.The dire economic situation, lack of formal jobs and poverty GDP per capita was just $645 in 2022 has pushed many people to leave. Remittances from Malawians working abroad have more than trebled in the last decade as a proportion of Malawi GDP, to 1.3%, according to World Bank data.Anecdotal evidence shows that there is an increase in irregular migration flows out of Malawi, said Ncube Nomagugu, the International Organisation for Migrations Malawi chief of mission.South Africa remains the preferred destination for most of these flows. We also do not have figures for Malawians being deported back but anecdotally there seems to be an increase driven by the evolving policy direction of the South African government on migration.From 2018 to 2022, South Africa deported about 20,000 people a year, after an increase above 135,000 in 2017. In the early 2000s, deportations never fell below 105,000 annually, and reached a high of more than 312,000 in 2007, according to government data.At a border post with Mozambique, a driver of one of the transport companies contracted by the South African government to ferry deportees back to Malawi said that they had been doing more trips in the last three months, sometimes weekly compared with one or two a month previously.South Africas home affairs minister, Leon Schreiber, said in July, just weeks after joining the cabinet after elections in May, that operations to crack down on illegal immigration would increase.South Africa is wide open for business, wide open for people who want to legally contribute with their skills through our visa system, he told journalists. But at the same time we are also going to be more strict in enforcing when there are violations of the law.Meanwhile, Kamoto has not been able to find work in Malawi and wants to return to South Africa: I cant survive with nothing to do. V.5644

The Department of Home Affairs (DHA) is cracking down on corruption within its ranks and finalised 31 disciplinary cases between July and September 2024, some of which resulted in criminal prosecution and dismissal.One such individual, Mogale Raseone is set to have his trial start on 6 November. He is facing charges of fraud after being dismissed from the DHA in 2023 for manipulating department systems to fraudulently administer immigration for foreign nationals V.5655
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South Africa may be its own worst enemy when dealing with foreign nationals, says an ActionSA parliamentarian.Lerato Ngobeni held a series of oversight visits last week, with a keen focus on the Department of Home Affairs.In showcasing the successes of their first 100 days in parliament, Ngobeni gave an update on her observations from the previous year. V.5654
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Cape Town comes out tops in Long Haul Holiday Report 2024Cape Town has reclaimed its position as the best-value long haul destination for British tourists, according to the 2024 Long Haul Holiday Report from Post Office.Every year, the Post Office Travel Money Long Haul Holiday Report highlights the top destinations where UK travellers can get the best value for their money.They researched 32 faraway destinations worldwide and compared the costs of common holiday items like a cup of coffee, a bottle of water, and a three-course meal for two to find out which destinations offer the best value for money. V.5652
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Eight of these cases came from the Free State, while six came from KwaZulu-Natal. Between July and September 2024, the Department of Home Affairs finalised 31 disciplinary cases against its officials.According to spokesperson Siya Qoza, the disciplinary cases resulted in a range of sanctions. These include criminal prosecution, dismissal, suspension without pay and final written warnings. The officials faced transgressions relating to irregular recruitment, violation of the Citizenship Act and the violation of the Immigration Act. Eight of these cases came from the Free State, while six came from KwaZulu-Natal. Home Affairs officials nabbedOne of the includes that of an official who failed to abide by the required standards of ethical conduct. His trial is set to start on 6 November, facing fraud charges. The official was dismissed from the department last year after the conclusion of disciplinary processes. V.5653
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The Citizen tried Home Affairs services on wheels and found it to be disorganised. Residents have been using the mobile services provided by the Home Affairs trucks. Temperatures were soaring, with no chairs in sight and a long line ahead. This was the experience of a reporter when they lined up to try Home Affairs mobile services. The outreach programme sends trucks to areas to help make the department’s services more accessible to residents who find it difficult to reach their offices. V.5648
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The BMA has confirmed the new switch-over system, installed to expedite data capture and to prevent future disruptions.The glitches that recently interrupted the flow of international flights at the King Shaka International Airport (KSIA) in KwaZulu-Natal have been sorted out, according to Mmemme Mogotsi, the deputy assistant commissioner for communications and marketing at the Border Management Authority (BMA). V.5649
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The Groblersbrug bridge across the Limpopo River is too narrow, many say, to handle the high volumes of traffic into Botswana. Source: SA Truckerorder transporters are waiting up to three days to pass through South Africas Groblersbrug border into Botswana because of a double whammy ` a new biometrics system implemented by the Border Management Authority (BMA), and ongoing barriers to entry at Beitbridge.Mike Fitzmaurice of the Transit Assistance Bureau explained that the BMA had implemented a new system whereby the biometrics of everyone, travellers and truck drivers alike, were recorded by immigration officials. Although it only takes about 15 minutes, the problem at Groblersbrug is there are only four immigration officers on duty during each shift.Compounding matters are existing impediments at Beitbridge forcing long-distance hauliers serving mines in the Copperbelt to drive around Zimbabwe.Unfortunately, Groblersbrug cant cope with the volume of traffic. V.5650
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The South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg has granted an unemployed woman permission to relocate to Australia with her children where she got a job. An unemployed woman has been granted permission to relocate to Australia with her two children, where she has secured a job, following her ex-husband`s refusal to allow them to leave the country. She sought relief from the South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg after her ex-husband declined to sign the consent forms needed for her to apply for visas for herself and their children. V.5651
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Minister of Home Affairs Leon Schreiber has gazetted far-reaching reforms for South Africa’s visa regime.The gazetting of the Remote Work Visitor Visa and the new Points-Based System for Work Visas on 9 October is said to remove bureaucratic hurdles which have hampered South Africa’s visa regime.Schreiber said that the “fit-for-purpose and market-friendly reforms would reposition South Africa as a world-class destination for investment and tourism to create thousands of new jobs. V.5642
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Minister of Home Affairs Leon Schreiber has gazetted far-reaching reforms for South Africa’s visa regime.The gazetting of the Remote Work Visitor Visa and the new Points-Based System for Work Visas on 9 October is said to remove bureaucratic hurdles which have hampered South Africa’s visa regime.Schreiber said that the “fit-for-purpose and market-friendly reforms would reposition South Africa as a world-class destination for investment and tourism to create thousands of new jobs. V.5643
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