Advancing Backwards: The Unpredictable Politics of Uncertainty

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back: Navigating the Politics of Uncertainty in an Ever-Changing Landscape"

The year 2020 introduced globally two words into our daily vocabulary “pandemic” and “lockdown”. Yet, South Africa is the only democratic country that adopted a third: “backlog” and the latter outlasted its own definition to the extent of becoming the blanket scapegoat for the Department of Home Affairs’ inefficiencies and mismanagement.

On 14 March 2023, the Parliamentary Monitoring Group Home Affairs Portfolio Committee reported: “The Department of Home Affairs placed a large part of the blame for the backlogs on the effect of the Covid-19 shutdown when they had to scale down on employees and could not take applications because there was no international travel, although corruption had also contributed to blockages in the permitting system. There was also the challenge of adjudicators who did not have legal training”.

Between January and April 2024, with a persisting reported “backlog” of 79,916 applications the DHA shifted the blame further away from itself by reporting to the PMG that: “The department experiences challenges concerning the legitimacy of relationships being claimed and cited in the applications. It must be noted that some foreign nationals have taken advantage of and follow corrupt methods to legitimize themselves, family members, friends, and others. The backlog for both stands at 79,916. 85% of the backlog falls under these two categories where massive corruption and collusion was detected.”

Lack of resources and of legal training, corruption and mismanagement are not a novelty nor a product of Covid-19 and the lockdown. We have for a full decade been outspoken denouncing these issues. From the failure to adequately train bureaucrats in the values and principles of constitutional governance, to the security cluster-oriented frustrated response to immigration issues by the Department. Mistrust of foreigners is the common denominator.

Although, over the past 4 years, Directives and Circulars have been published providing some relief to certain foreigners affected by the backlog, these concessions have rarely been impactful beyond a placebo level to solve the persisting crisis. Particularly, these concessions are of little or no use at all for non-visa exempt foreign nationals and for applicants who have submitted applications to change conditions and/or statuses.

Furthermore, the often uncertain and incorrect language of these publications, coupled to their too often-late publication has only worsened the uncertainty for foreigners affected by the backlog and by the crippled state of home affairs. Their oscillating and unpredictable implementation by the Border Management Agency is just a symptom of a far greater illness.

On 17 March 2024, in a media statement, the Minister of Home Affairs in responding to the accusation of “chasing away foreigners” publicly admitted, “We concluded that if indeed the circular had the effect of chasing tourists out of the country, we needed to find a way to resolve that.” The Minister contested that the Circular, published on the Department’s official website, had been “leaked” and chose to adopt a gaslighting defense: “Up to so far, the accusations directed at Home Affairs are full of generalities, anecdotes, and no specific cases were given to us. We are pleading today, that anybody who wants to accuse must please be specific because accusations without providing specific details won’t help the individuals affected, except of course if the intention was never to help such affected people but just to throw mud at the department”.

Foreigners in South Africa with pending applications for a status are displaced, disillusioned, and despondent experiencing what Dante described as the inscription on the gate to hell “Abandon every hope, all ye who enter here”. Indolence and lack of accountability are considered punishable cardinal sins by the author.

Growth and progress are rarely embodied by a linear process, particularly within a democracy. Reasonable self-doubt, the epistemological quest to distinguish between justified belief and opinion necessarily form part of any constructive political, legislative and philosophical debate.

Yet, over the past two years, the Minister of Home Affairs and the Department of Home Affairs appear to have adopted a discouraging ‘one step forward two steps back’ stance on one too many occasions.

The publication of the New Critical Skills List of 1 February 2022 was followed by three amendments to rectify mistakes and omissions of its initial publication. Draft Amended Regulations are published and withdrawn shortly after publication, Circulars are published and undermined by the Minister in media statements, and the list carries on.

Institutional uncertainty coupled with informational uncertainty are the two major aspects for the so-called politics of uncertainty which authoritative regimes strive on. South Africa deserves better than this.