The Progressive Forces of SA (PFSA) and United Civic Movement raised concerns about applications from people who entered SA without legal documentation.
The Constitutional Court ruled that administrative or procedural barriers could not prevent asylum seekers from having applications assessed on their merits.
PFSA President Mthetho Ngcukaitobi questioned whether the Department of Home Affairs had adequate capacity to implement a proposed online application system without creating opportunities for fraud.
Ngcukaitobi said applicants would reportedly need registered South African mobile numbers to receive one-time passwords during the online process. “How do you obtain such a SIM card while you are not legal in the country?” Ngcukaitobi said.
Ngcukaitobi expressed concern that applications could be submitted or manipulated from outside SA before applicants entered the country.
PFSA also questioned what had happened to more than 1 million asylum applications Ngcukaitobi claimed had been rejected around 2015.
The interviewer challenged the accuracy of the figure, noting that publicly discussed statistics concerned a global backlog of applications rather than more than 1 million rejections in SA.
Ngcukaitobi maintained that PFSA had supporting information and undertook to provide the relevant statistics. “We are still looking for those numbers to say, where did they disappear?” Ngcukaitobi said.
PFSA argued that Home Affairs should strengthen identity verification, require applicants to appear at designated offices and retain effective border and immigration controls while processing legitimate asylum claims.
Ngcukaitobi also questioned why Home Affairs had not sought relief within the period following the judgment.
The government has indicated that the Justice and Home Affairs Departments are considering returning to the Constitutional Court to seek more time to manage administrative challenges arising from the order.
PFSA called for immigration reforms to incorporate proposals submitted during public consultation on the government’s White Paper.
Those proposals included the first-safe-country principle, under which asylum seekers may be required to apply for protection in the first safe country reached after leaving the country of origin.
PFSA said safeguards should protect genuine asylum seekers while preventing fraudulent applications and abuse of the system.
–ChannelAfrica–
