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NO JOY IN ARRESTS

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IN this country one has learnt to reserve praise for any action seen to be taken against corruption until the case is successfully concluded with a conviction and deserving sentence.


Too often we have been sold a dummy through a series of arrests that only go as far as bail applications. Looking set to fit this profile are the recent arrests of those suspected to be involved in the illegal acquisition of Swazi citizenship, khonta certificates and passports. For now these are interesting developments rather than a job well done. 


Members of Parliament have rightly decried the slow pace at dealing with the alleged corruption at the Ministry of Home Affairs, where officials have been fingered in damning findings of a Parliament probe that had been instituted to look into the influx of Asian nationals.


The MPs were disappointed to learn that the Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) has hardly got its teeth stuck into the matter. Not surprising really, given reports on leadership instability within the corruption watchdog.

The Judicial Service Commission (JSC) is looking for a new boss for the ACC following the expiry of South African Thanda Mgwengwe’s contract.


The urgent need to deal with this immigration scandal cannot be overemphasised due to the security threat and cost implication it has on every citizen, as well as on the country’s diplomatic relations with other countries. Revelations that the King’s signature has allegedly been forged to facilitate this crime, places citizens of this country in a serious predicament on several fronts.


For instance, a few years ago countries such as Canada, where Swazis could travel to without a visa, removed this exemption after it was found that there was an excessively high number of Swazi passport holders who were able to legally change their names to acquire new passports, allowing them to re-enter Canada after being deported as security risks.

There was also a high number of Swazi passport holders reported to be asylum seekers in Canada.


We also recall how a wanted terrorist suspect nicknamed the ‘White Widow’, who was involved in the terrorist attack that killed 67 people at Westgate Mall in Nairobi Kenya back in 2013, was reported to have acquired a Swazi passport for herself and two children through the assistance of a convicted fraudster who allegedly paid E20 000 for each document to our immigration officials.


Earlier that year (2013) the Ministry of Home Affairs in Swaziland discovered that an officer based in Big Bend had made 24 passports for people of Asian descent and had since gone AWOL. The then Minister of Home Affairs Prince Gcokoma reported allegations of staff illegally selling documents to foreigners, to the Royal Swaziland Police.


However, it seems the rot has continued unabated, resulting in the influx of Asian nationals in the country. The numbers of these nationals is reported to have risen to over 200 000 in the country. This has seen them acquire citizenship and literally taking over small businesses that were previously run by indigenous Swazis.


Even though new passports and travel documents were subsequently introduced by the Swaziland Government, many countries across the world continue to view citizens of this country with suspicion each time they produce a Swazi passport.


We are also seeing neighbouring South Africa introducing new measures at its borders to try and reduce human trafficking as well as to catch those who hold illegal passports or double citizenship. The difficulty in acquiring study permits to South African institutions has also been attributed to the threat posed by our off-the-street travel and passport documents.


Citizens of this country now have to apply for visas to a majority of the countries around the world while enjoying visa free access to only 70 countries.


Our passports are currently ranked 66th in terms of travel freedom out of 195 countries of the world, according to the Henley Passport Index as of January 2018. According to its website, this index is a rigorous and sophisticated measure of global access that provides an in-depth picture of one’s travel freedom.


Japan and Singapore now hold the most powerful passports in the world, giving their citizens visa-free access to 180 countries around the world, displacing Germany that had occupied top spot for some time.


The cost of a passport in Singapore is US$78.50 which translates to around E950; almost double our E500 passport. Given the number of countries with visa free access for Singapore citizens, our passport clearly goes down as one of the most expensive in the world considering the number of countries we have to fork out visa fees to visit.


While some countries may choose to remove visa requirements to target citizens of countries that are most likely to boost their tourism industry, others put in place visa requirements to improve security. Each country has a responsibility to ensure that passports are issued to legitimate citizens. Swaziland is no exception.


Therefore, while authorities drag their feet in getting rid of the rot at Immigration, they should not lose sight of the rising cost implications on innocent citizens. Before we know it, we will need visas to enter every country in the world, including South Africa.
 

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