Migration News - February 2000

February 2000

• Sapa (Cape Town 02-25) reports that tax cuts announced in the national budget on Wednesday should help alleviate the brain drain. According to Finance Minister Trevor Manuel, young professionals are direct beneficiaries of the R9,9 billion income tax relief package. Among the changes made, the top marginal tax rate was cut from 45% to 42% and the level at which it becomes effective was raised from R120,000 to R200,000 per year.

• Sapa (Pretoria 02-25) reports that the Home Affairs Department should remove barriers that prevent mineworkers from other countries from progressing beyond the lowest levels in the industry, according to the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM). According to NUM president James Motlatsi, agreements between South Africa and neighbouring countries stipulate that black workers from those countries may only work in group one to eight jobs regardless of ability. Since the NUM passed a resolution in 1989 to send able black miners overseas to study mining, some students came back and are already working in the industry. Black mining students from other countries, however, were denied work permits by Home Affairs even though there were companies willing to hire them.

• Sapa-AFP (Addis Ababa 22/02) reports that African countries must act quickly to reverse the "brain drain" of professionals from Africa to Europe and the United States. According to the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), 60,000 skilled professionals left Africa between 1985 and 1990 because of economic hardship, political instability, and Africa’s poor record on human rights. A 1993 report by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) estimates that 21,000 doctors have left Nigeria for the United States, Ghana has 60% of its doctors and while 100,000 foreigner professionals are working in Africa, the same number of African professionals have left for Europe and the United States. Joseph Ngu, an analyst with the ECA, stated, "We have two choices, to do nothing and see ourselves completely marginalised, or to adopt concrete measures to create an environment which African professionals will not want to leave."

• Sapa (Johannesburg 22/02) reports that Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang asked Cuba to send doctors to South Africa to help alleviate the shortage of doctors there. She also invited Cuban deans of medicine to visit South African medical schools and for researchers involved in AIDS vaccine research to visit in order to exchange ideas with South African researchers. In 1996, at least 200 Cuban doctors were sent to South Africa to help alleviate the shortage of doctors and since then, numerous Cuban doctors, specialists, medical researchers and academics arrive in South Africa each year. The first group of South Africa students began medical training in Cuba in1997.

• Sapa (Cape Town 19/02) reports that public health doctor Dr. Costa Gazi accused the government of resorting to influx control because of its new restrictions on foreign medical students and foreign doctors [see below]. While government officials said that the new restrictions were because it wanted to prioritize South African doctors and did not want to drain other African countries of their doctors, Dr Gazi referred to the decision as an updated version of influx control and contradicted the constitution which "guarantees citizens (and, by implication, legal residents) the right of freedom of movement."

• Sapa (Parliament 18/02) reports that as of January 2001, foreign medical students will not be permitted to do their internships in South Africa and will instead be required to return their home countries for their internships and accreditation. According to Professor Rachel Gumbi of the Department of Health, "The South African government believes, in principle, that the priority is their own doctors." If South African institutions are short of staff, foreign doctors will be employed on contracts of three years and on the understanding that when a South African doctor becomes available, the foreign doctor will be returned to their home country. Students who will be exempt from the new ruling will be those who are sixth-year students and whose parents have resided in South Africa since 1980. Also excluded are those whose home countries do not have accredited facilities, such as Swaziland and Lesotho.

• Sapa (Johannesburg 13/02) reports that the Democratic Party (DP) has questioned how the government can afford the R1,85 billion required for the new identity "smart card" system when Home Affairs Minister Mangosuthu Buthelezi claims his department is chronically underfunded. It also questioned why people were being forced to get new bar-coded green ID books if they are going to be replaced by smart cards next year. DP Home Affairs spokesperson Mike Waters said the government should invest the money instead in the Home Affairs department itself, issue the green IDs free of charge, open Home Affairs offices after-hours and Saturday mornings, and set up mobile units that would go to the elderly and the infirm.

• Business Day (Cape Town 02/11) reports that Home Affairs Minister Mangosuthu Buthelezi stated at a parliamentary briefing that he had assigned a larger-than-usual group to oversee the fast-tracking of the applications and that "these measures will ensure that the current backlog in immigration and temporary residence permits diminishes and also prevents the build-up of similar back-logs in the future." Moreover, he said that his department was working on guidelines to process immigration permits for the same-sex partners of South African residents. Also, while visa applications from countries without South African embassies were being processed in Pretoria, starting in early April all visas will be processed at South African missions abroad and that "applicants who do not have South African diplomatic or consular representation in their countries of residence will have to apply at their nearest South African mission." Regarding the draft bill on international migration, approved by cabinet earlier this year, it has been finalised and will be published next week. The Refugee Act will be implemented in April and all new applications for asylum in South Africa will be processed at the Refugee Centre in Braamfontein, Johannesburg. Buthelezi also said that a new "smart card" identity document and an automated fingerprint identification system will be introduced since bar-coded documents can easily be forged and the government is losing hundreds of thousands of rands due to illegal identity documents. According to Buthelezi, the "smart card" has the advantage of multi-applications with extensive capabilities contained in a chip boasting "enough intelligence to allow other departments permission to utilise the card technology."

• Sapa (Maputo 02-10) reports that 60 migrant workers were airlifted to safety by the Mozambican Natural Disaster Management Institute (INGC) from a South African bus stranded by flooding 80km outside of Maputo. The workers were returning from South African mines to Gaza province and became trapped between Umbeluzi and Movene on the main road between Maputo and the border. Flooding has damaged every major highway out of Maputo and the road link to South Africa and Swaziland has completely washed away.

• Sapa (Parliament 02/10) reports that Home Affairs Minister Mangosuthu Buthelezi spoke at a briefing for diplomats and the media, commenting on changes in identification documents and new guidelines regarding residence applications for same-sex relationships. Buthelezi said that amendments to the 1997 Identification Act will be introduced during the current parliamentary session. All identity documents except the green bar-coded ones are to be abolished and that Home Affairs National Identification System (HANIS) smart cards are to be issued during the last quarter of next year. The smart cards, which will ultimately replace the bar-coded ids, will contain the most advanced microchip technology available and will be issued free of charge. Also, Buthelezi said his department is developing guidelines to be followed to give effect to the Constitutional Court’s judgement last December on the status of same-sex relationships. According to the court’s ruling, foreign same-sex partners of South Africans should be treated the same as heterosexual spouses when applying for immigration permits.

• Sapa-AFP (Gaborone 02/10) reports that at least 231 asylum-seekers entered Botswana last month, most of them fleeing conflict in Angola and northern Namibia. According to a Botswana government official, 231 asylum-seekers formally applied for asylum after entering through various points between January 4 and 27. An unknown number people entered the country without reporting to the authorities during the same time period. The Botswana will decide on the applications after the Botswana Council for Refugees (BCR) and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) have determined the status of the applicants.

• Sapa-AP (Lusaka 02/09) reports about 18,000 Angolan refugees are encamped on Zambia’s southwestern border but are too frightened to move to safety in Zambia. According to Foreign Minister Keli Walubita, the refugees, who urgently need medical attention, are apparently fearful of Zambian soldiers bringing relief supplies. Refugees who have crossed into Zambia spoke of others running away from Zambian military trucks bringing relief supplies. Since October, more than 21,000 Angolans have fled to Zambia to escape fighting between government and UNITA forces. Last month, the UNHCR airlifted 5,000 to Zambia after they were stranded by rising floodwaters on the Zambezi river plains.

• Sapa (Parliament 02/09) reports that draft legislation intended to improve co-operation between South Africa and other countries in cases of cross-border insolvency was tabled yesterday. According to a memorandum attached to the bill, the Cross-Border Insolvency Bill will ensure greater legal certainty for international trade and investment.

• Sapa-AFP (Maputo 02/08) reports that flooding has cut off roads from Mozambique to Swaziland and South Africa. There has been extensive flooding and subsequent damage to roads and bridges throughout Mozambique.

• Sapa-AFP (Luanda 02/08) reports that there are some Angolan rebels "tired of war" among the Angolan refugees seeking asylum in Zambia. According to Angola’s Defence Minister, General Kundi Pahyama, that some former UNITA rebels have "infiltrated themselves into refugee groups" and that the rebels had not been informed of government measures to integrate them "or are not sure of their fate. Zambia has strongly objected to the presence of UNITA rebels in its refugee camps, which currently host 170,000 Angolan refugees. Pahyama was speaking on the sidelines of a joint commission meeting between Angolan and Zambian officials to discuss border security and defence.

• Sapa (Oshakati 02/04) reports that the Immigration Tribunal in Namibia ordered the deportation of 450 "illegal immigrants" to their countries of origin. The immigrants are from Angola (440), Zambia (5), Botswana (2), Ghana (1), Burundi (1) and South Africa (1).

• Sapa (Maseru 02/02) reports that retrenchments of large numbers of Basotho workers from South African gold mines may result in authorities declaring a state of national disaster, according to the Central Bank of Lesotho. The statement was made by Lesotho Central Bank researcher Manneko Monyau at the opening of a two-day national forum on the implications for Lesotho of the downscaling of South Africa’s mining industry. Massive retrenchments have resulted in a major drop in miners’ remittances as a share of Lesotho’s gross national product. Migrant labour remittances were estimated at R1,26 billion in 1999 but further retrenchments are expected to lower that figure to about R800 million in the near future. In 1998, the Basotho mine labour force was estimated at 80424 but had dropped to 68404 in 1999.

• Sapa (Windhoek 02/02) reports that while the an agreement has been made between Botswana and Namibia to create a Joint Commission of Technical Experts to review the delimitation and demarcation of their border, Botswana recently laid claim to Salambala Island without waiting for the commission to be set up. The commission is to review the boundary between Namibia and Botswana along the Kwando, Linyanti and Chobe Rivers. While Namibian parliamentarians feel that Botswana’s claim renders the idea of a border commission pointless, acting Foreign Affairs Minister Tuliameni Kalomoh urged them to approve the claim to enable the Namibian government to set up the commission.

• Sapa (Oshakati 02/02) reports that Namibian President Sam Nujoma has urged the Ohangwena communities, who live along Namibia’s northern border with Angola, to assist refugees fleeing fighting in Angola and to report any "strangers" to local authorities.

• Sapa (Lusaka 02/02) reports that Zambian police arrested about 400 "illegal immigrants" in a major operation at Kamwala Market, a popular trading centre known as Bombay. According to Lusaka commanding officer Bernard Mayonda, "Most of these people are involved in crime and as a police we have a duty to protect citizens." They are being held until their legal status in Zambia and countries of origin can be determined. Mayonda said that those with proper identification documents will be released but those without immigration papers will charged under the immigration laws and deported. An unconfirmed report states that almost half of those detained are actually Zambians and another report states that the majority are from the DRC. There are currently more than 200 "illegal aliens" being held in Zambian prisons because Zambia claims it cannot afford the airfare to deport them. The UNHCR has called upon Zambia to release the prisoners because keeping them in their current conditions violates their human rights.

Updated March 7, 2000