News Africa Extended

News Africa Extended

No extension for Basotho LSP

Posted: 23 Sep 2016 11:09 AM PDT

The home affairs department said the application phase of the Lesotho Special Permit will not be extended again, despite requests for another extension.

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Pretoria - Despite requests for an extension of the Lesotho Special Permit (LSP) by members of the Basotho community living in South Africa, the home affairs department on Friday said the application phase under the special dispensation will not be extended again.

Some Lesotho nationals and their civic society groups appealed to Pretoria authorities to extend the LSP application period, citing the low numbers of Basotho who have so far applied before the project closes on September 30.

“We have already granted a three month extension [in June] which comes to an end on September 30, 2016. We believe that we have granted ample time for Lesotho nationals to regularise their stay in South Africa. To this end, there will be no extension granted further,” said Mayihlome Tshwete, Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba’s spokesperson.

Tshwete said the figure of almost 48 000 already approved permits under the LSP was very significant. Around 400 000 Basotho were believed to be living in South Africa when the LSP was launched.

“It should be noted that the 400 000 figure was an estimation that was referred prior to the introduction of the Lesotho Special Permit. We welcome the latest figure of 47 820 completed applications. It’s an indication of Lesotho nationals residing in South Africa who have now regularised their sojourn. This could have been 47 820 undocumented foreign nationals living in South Africa,” said Tshwete in a written response to African News Agency.

“It is in our best interest to document every person living in the country. In addition, due to birth registration and ID application processes in Lesotho, many nationals who do not reflect on the country’s national population register were not able to apply for the LSP.”

Tshwete said South Africa had granted “ample time for Lesotho nationals to regularise their stay in South Africa”. To that end, “there will be no extension granted further”.

He said the LSP had progressed well with both Governments have conducted extensive outreach campaigns and promoted this project fully.

“What heartens us, also, is the fact that through this process, over 600 000 Lesotho nationals have been captured in the Lesotho national population register,” he said.

On Friday, VFS Global chief operations officer for South Africa Jiten Vyas said a significant increase is now being witnessed in online applications as the programme wraps up.

Vyas said the LSP project was encountered some problems, which included the rampant lack of requisite documents by the Basotho based in South Africa.

“[There is] lack of Lesotho ID cards for applicants who stay in South Africa. A lot of Lesotho nationals have recently applied for the Lesotho ID and are yet to receive them. Only once they have received their ID cards will they start applying for LSP. Also a large amount of Lesotho Nationals are yet to apply for the Lesotho ID,” said Vyas.

“Employers were also reluctant to provide employment letters or release their worker to take time off to go and apply.”

He said VFS Global, the visa application contractor appointed by the department of home affairs, had also received the requests for an extension and that feedback had been conveyed to the department.

By Friday, 80 570 applications had been made online while only 48 622 were made at VFS offices.

This week, hundreds of undocumented Basotho have been in a last minute rush to VFS offices in a bid to beat the September 30 cut-off date.

Refiloe Mehlomakulu of the Basotho civic society group, Mokorotlo oa Basotho Forum, said throngs of her countrymen have not had the chance to regularise their stay because they lack supporting documents required.

“Our people were not reluctant to apply but the issues centred on the lack of requisite documents. Basotho nationals did not have birth certificates and identity documents, ours is a new system,” said Mehlomakulu.

“Many have been in South Africa for around 10 years without documentation. Now that they have to go back home and apply for birth certificates, it’s a lengthy process because you’re required to go to your chief or bring your baptismal certificate. That is what caused the delays in the response.”

South African authorities have already bent over backwards, allowing the Lesotho government to establish offices at the visa facilitation centres to enable the Basotho who did not have identity cards and passports to apply without making the trip to Maseru.

Earlier this month, Gigaba urged the Basotho to regularise their stay before the deadline.

In June, Gigaba acceded to a request by the Lesotho authorities to extend the closing date of applications for the LSP in a bid to allow more people to apply. The initial closing date was June 30 but was moved by three months to September 30.

African News Agency

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Tanzania charges lecturer for WhatsApp insult

Posted: 23 Sep 2016 04:50 AM PDT

A Tanzanian lecturer has been charged with insulting President John Magufuli in a WhatsApp message, a senior police official says.

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Dar es Salaam - A Tanzanian lecturer has been charged with insulting President John Magufuli in a WhatsApp message, a senior police official said on Friday, bringing the number of people charged under a tough new cybercrimes law to 10.

Magufuli, nicknamed "the bulldozer" for pushing through his policies, has won some praise from Western donors for anti-corruption drives and cutting wasteful government spending since coming to power in November.

But opponents accuse him of becoming increasingly authoritarian, undermining democracy by curbing political activity and restricting live television coverage of parliamentary sessions.

Insulting the president was made a criminal offence in Tanzania under a cybercrimes law passed last year, punishable by up to three years in jail, a fine of around $3,000, or both.

"The senior university lecturer was arraigned in court yesterday (Thursday), and I think he was later released on bail," Julius Mjengi, police chief of the south-west Tanzanian town of Iringa told Reuters by telephone.

Police said the lecturer was charged with offences under Tanzania's strict cybercrimes law. The lecturer denies the charges.

"The number of people who have been arrested across the country thus far for insulting the president has now risen to 10," Tanzanian newspaper Mwananchi said in an article on Friday.

Those who have faced trial for insulting Magufuli in recent months include students and opposition politicians.

A US aid agency in March cancelled nearly $500 million of funding for Tanzania partly on concerns over enforcement of the new cybercrimes law.

The US government's Millennium Challenge Corporation said Tanzania has "engaged in a pattern of actions inconsistent with MCC's eligibility criteria" hence the decision to suspend its partnership with the East African nation.

Reuters

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UN rights chief raps Congo over protest deaths

Posted: 23 Sep 2016 01:21 AM PDT

The UN human rights chief has strongly condemned this week's fatal shooting of anti-government protesters in Democratic Republic of Congo.

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Kinshasa - The UN human rights chief strongly condemned this week's fatal shooting of anti-government protesters in Democratic Republic of Congo and urged the government on Thursday to seek dialogue with the opposition.

Zeid Ra'ad al Hussein said the death toll from clashes between protesters and security forces in the capital Kinshasa on Monday had risen to at least 50. The government has said 32 people died.

Congolese authorities have said elections due in November cannot be held until at least next year due to logistical problems. President Joseph Kabila denies opponents' charges of trying to cling to power beyond a two-term limit in the vast central African country, a producer of gold, diamonds and copper.

"The writing is on the wall and the authorities need to pull back from their extremely confrontational position and build bridges with the opposition," Zeid said in a statement.

"Some civilians were killed by gunshots to the head or chest and I strongly condemn the clearly excessive use of force by defence and security forces against demonstrators in the capital," he said in Geneva.

Congolese government spokesman Lambert Mende criticised French President Francois Hollande for comments in New York on Tuesday in which he blamed authorities for the deaths and urged them not to delay the election.

"Hollande, with the accent of a schoolteacher, has poured scorn on the Congolese government which he blames for the violence," Mende said, adding that Hollande had ignored attacks by protesters on buildings of pro-government political parties.

Mende played down an incident at the weekend in which Washington said its Special Envoy to the Great Lakes of Africa, Tom Perriello, was obstructed and harassed at the airport as he was leaving Kinshasa.

Mende said there was no aggression from security officials or from ruling party deputies, who instead engaged in "lively debate" with Perriello.

Congo's attorney general vowed on Wednesday to hunt down and punish those responsible for Monday's riots.

The same day, Kabila's office said security was restored and invited people to return to their daily activities. World powers, especially the United States, have heaped pressure on Kabila to respect the constitution and hold elections on time.

Reuters

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Zimbabwe aims to charge activists with terrorism

Posted: 23 Sep 2016 12:34 AM PDT

The Zimbabwean government has indicated that it intends to alter charges against 59 National Electoral Reforms activists from public violence to insurgency, banditry or terrorism.

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Harare - The Zimbabwean government has indicated that it intends to alter charges against 59 National Electoral Reforms activists from public violence to insurgency, banditry or terrorism.

The activists were arrested following a demonstration to demand electoral reforms.

Jeremiah Bhamu, the lawyer representing the activists, announced the latest development at the High Court in Harare on Thursday soon after 55 of the activists had been granted $30 bail each by High Court judge, Happious Zhou.

"The State made an indication that at the trial they wish to prefer the charge of insurgency, banditry and terrorism against the accused persons, instead of public violence," he said.

Bhamu noted that the 55 appellants, who were arrested on August 26, had been granted bail after the judge heard all arguments from both the State and the defence.

"Bail was granted as prayed for with an additional condition that the appellants should not interfere with state witnesses. They will also expected to report once a week to CID Law and order section at Harare Central Police," he said. He said the bail was granted in absentia as they had not been requested to appear in court.

"But what we noticed is that one of the accused Daniel Makumbe could not be brought to court because of some logistical reasons, we don't know what the reasons are but equally in Mbare yesterday (Wednesday) several more accused persons could not be brought to court. It appears the prisons is facing some challenges in bringing prisoners to court," he said.

Bhamu said they had not yet been furnished with a trial date as the police had requested at least two months to carry out further investigations.

Douglas Mwonzora, secretary-geneal of opposition party MDC-T, dismissed the State's intention to alter charges against the activists saying it was unconstitutional.

"The tragedy of Zimbabwe is such that the public service are extremely poor and we have had funny behaviour over the past few weeks. The argument involving statutory instrument 106 is very clear about the incompetence we are dealing with. Once you charge a person, in terms of the Constitution, you cannot change that charge because these people were warned of the charges of public violence," he said.

He said by altering the charges, the State was trying to attract a stiffer sentence. "It is sadistic and it is illegal and unconstitutional.It is the height of incompetence. These are the last kicks of a dying regime," he said.

African News Agency

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