Minister of Home Affairs Dr Aaron Motsoaledi answering a written Parliamentary question about the department’s operating hours. Photo: GCIS / Flickr
Operation Dudula: Aaron Motsoaledi denies working with movement
Home Affairs Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi went into detail about his department and denied claims of working with Operation Dudula
Minister of Home Affairs Dr Aaron Motsoaledi answering a written Parliamentary question about the department’s operating hours. Photo: GCIS / Flickr
Minister of Home Affairs Dr Aaron Motsoaledi has rubbished claims of working with Operation Dudula. Motsoaledi says his department has its own body that works with the matter of illegal foreign nationals in SA.
Motsoaledi denies working with Operation Dudula
Motsoaledi says the inspectorate applies immigration laws. This is in terms of deportation and the removal of illegal foreign nationals from Mzansi. Operation Dudula has recently launched provincial chapters. This follows its launch in the North West this week.
A few weeks ago the movement marched in Durban’s CBD. They also went forward with a few operations in Gauteng. Operation Dudula leader Nhlanhla ‘Lux’ Dlamini has also led a number of marches in the past few months.
In a written question in Parliament, Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) MP Liezl van der Merwe asked Motsoaledi if his department is in cahoots with Operation Dudula. Motsoaledi reiterated that his department does not support illegal activities.
Home Affairs Minister explains how his department works
He shared that Operation Dudula’s task of identifying and removing alleged illegal foreign nationals is not a programme of the Home Affairs Department. Motsoaledi explained that his department has the legal mandate to make sure that people in SA are lawfully allowed to be here.
“The inspectorate does regular inspections and conducts investigations to detect those who may be here unlawfully. Multi-disciplinary operations with the South African Police Services and Metropolitan Police, including inspections of businesses, is a key source of the detection of illegal foreign nationals, their arrest and deportation,”
Aaron Motsoaledi, Minister of Home Affairs
Motsoaledi added that illegal migration is a global problem that many countries are facing. He went on to say that Government is unaware of the exact number of illegal foreign nationals in SA. This can be attributed to the way in which illegal foreign nationals come into SA, reports IOL.
“The RSA government does not have a precise number of undocumented immigrants in the Republic, due to the clandestine nature of the act of being here illegally,” said Motsoaledi.
