WATCH | March and March takes immigration demands to Home Affairs
The memorandum forms part of March and March's ongoing campaign calling for stricter action against undocumented immigration and improved government service delivery.
The March and March movement has handed a memorandum of grievances to the Department of Home Affairs, demanding answers over what it says are delays in deporting undocumented immigrants and issuing identity documents to South Africans.
Speaking outside the Department of Home Affairs offices in Church Street, Pietermaritzburg, on Thursday, March and March uMgungundlovu leader Mxolisi Nxumalo said the organisation wanted answers over what it believes are unnecessary delays in processing undocumented immigrants for deportation.
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He said the memorandum also raised concerns over long waiting periods experienced by South Africans applying for identity documents and accessing other Home Affairs services.
“We want the department to explain why undocumented immigrants are not being processed and deported promptly, while South Africans are forced to wait for long periods to receive their identity documents,” Nxumalo said.
The memorandum forms part of March and March’s ongoing campaign calling for stricter action against undocumented immigration and improved government service delivery.
After initially being informed that no officials were available to receive the memorandum, the organisation remained outside the offices until it was attended to.
Pietermaritzburg Home Affairs manager Xolani Maphumulo later accepted the memorandum and assured members of the movement that their concerns would be escalated.
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Maphumulo said the department would forward the memorandum to the Department of Home Affairs’ national office for consideration.
He told the group that the issues raised would be escalated through the appropriate channels and that the national office would be responsible for considering the concerns and determining the way forward.
Nxumalo said the organisation now expects Home Affairs to formally respond to the grievances raised in the memorandum and provide clear timelines for addressing immigration enforcement and service delivery backlogs.
