Plans for biometric tracing system to strengthen immigration control - TimesLIVE

The government plans to strengthen its tracking of foreign nationals through electronic registration, biometric technology and a system that alerts visa holders when their permission to remain in SA is about to expire.

The chairperson of the inter-ministerial committee on migration, Mmamoloko Kubayi, outlined the plans during a media briefing in Pretoria on Monday, presenting the outcomes of the committee’s engagement with organisers of protests targeting home affairs offices.

Kubayi said the delegation supported efforts to address illegal immigration but stressed it did not oppose legal migration by people who respect South African laws.

She said the government was modernising its ports of entry, including airports and seaports, to improve how it registers and tracks people entering the country.

Under the planned system, people entering SA would be registered electronically, with their visa details and telephone numbers recorded. The system would send SMS reminders before their visas expired, telling them when they had to leave the country.

Kubayi said the government was also engaging mobile network operators about improperly registered SIM cards, which she said could be used to facilitate crime and make it difficult for investigators to trace suspects.

She said the government wanted to strengthen SIM-card registration and improve the ability to trace people who changed telephone numbers.

The minister said biometric information, including fingerprints, would also be part of a broader system to track people entering the country.

Kubayi said these measures formed part of government’s longer-term migration management plans, alongside improved border infrastructure, patrols and technology.

The meeting also discussed the possibility of community leaders joining ongoing court proceedings involving migration and asylum seekers.

Kubayi said the delegation wanted to participate in legal cases but did not have the financial means to do so.

She said legal teams and senior counsel had offered to represent the leaders pro bono, allowing them to present their experiences and support the government’s position in court.

Among the matters discussed was the Constitutional Court case concerning the rights of asylum seekers, as well as conflicting high court judgments on whether people who had applied for asylum could be detained or deported.

Kubayi said the government had consolidated migration-related cases to help it develop a co-ordinated legal approach.

She welcomed the offer of legal assistance, saying community leaders could bring perspectives that government might not be able to present on its own.

Kubayi said community leaders had also raised concerns about hijacked and derelict buildings, including state-owned properties, allegedly being used for human trafficking, drug dealing and other criminal activities.

She said the IMC had already met representatives of all eight metropolitan municipalities to discuss efforts to reclaim buildings and outlined work under way to address the problem.

The committee had committed to continuing engagements with organisations interested in the process and providing updates on progress.

The delegation also raised concerns about unemployment, particularly among young people, and called for action to restore investment confidence and support tourism, especially in KwaZulu-Natal.

Kubayi said the organisers had committed to keeping the first phase of their protest rollout as planned, while working with the government to address the issues they had raised. She said both sides recognised the need for co-operation to prevent demonstrations from continuing without progress on solutions.

The meeting also considered concerns about non-governmental organisations allegedly involved in illicit activities. Kubayi said community leaders wanted the government to ensure that organisations were properly registered, adding that work was under way on this issue.

Kubayi said one of the main criticisms raised during the meeting was that the government was not communicating its work effectively. She acknowledged that officials were carrying out work on migration management but were not always ensuring that the public knew what was being done.

The minister said the government would work with community leaders and other stakeholders to improve communication and provide updates through different platforms.

She also acknowledged the need to make the government briefings accessible to more people, including those who did not understand English.

Kubayi said she had received feedback from radio stations that government briefings conducted in English did not reach all communities. She said the Government Communication and Information System would help explore ways to communicate more effectively in different languages.

She said the meeting was not intended to be a once-off engagement and that the government would continue working with community leaders and civil society on migration management.