Pretoria – The Department of Home Affairs will this year introduce a high security form on which permits issued to asylum seekers will be printed.
The department says this form will help it to improve the management of asylum seekers and to safeguard the system from undue misuse.
Speaking to the media ahead of the department’s 2013 Budget Vote, Home Affairs Deputy Minister Fatima Chohan said her department was also in the process of consultation with its Southern African Development Community (SADC) counterparts on a regional approach to the management of asylum seekers and refugees as well as economic migrants.
This, she said, would entail the introduction of a SADC work-seeker permit.
The department has received a sharp decline in number of asylum seeker applications.
“In 2009 we received 341 000 applications for asylum. This year we received 85 058 applications,” said Chohan, who attributed the decline to the stability in some of the countries.
With regards to the recent announcement of the cessation of refugee status for Angolan refugees, the deputy minister said the process was part of South Africa and the international community’s contribution to helping Angolans build and consolidate peace and democracy after years of war and conflict.
The civil war ended 11 years ago and Angola is on its way to taking its rightful place in the African and global family of nations.
Government has declared that 31 August 2013 be set aside as the cessation date in South Africa for the affected Angolan refugees.
The repatriation is in line with the cessation declared by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, and supports the efforts to enhance regional integration.
“We are committed as government, working together with all role players in the international community, to ensure that all Angolans refugees return to their home country so they can meaningfully contribute to the reconstruction and development of Angola,” explained Chohan.
The department was already in consultations with the affected communities to establish how many people this would involve.
Chohan said those who volunteered to return would be referred to the Angolan embassy to be issued with passports, while the UN High Commissioner for Refugees would help them with transport.
For those who wished to revive their Angolan citizenship but remain in South Africa, they would need to apply for the relevant permits to stay in the country.
According to the UNHCR data, approximately 600 000 refugees fled the country during the war. By the end of 2011, about 130 000 Angolan refugees were still in exile.
The Department of Home Affairs estimates there are about 20 000 Angolan refugees in South Africa. - SAnews.gov.za
