{"id":40616,"date":"2022-03-30T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-03-30T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/timessouthafrica.com\/?guid=8676d6d735c48d5446af891baa707f4e"},"modified":"2022-03-30T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2022-03-30T00:00:00","slug":"minister-welcomes-the-arrest-of-corrupt-official","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timessouthafrica.com\/minister-welcomes-the-arrest-of-corrupt-official\/","title":{"rendered":"Minister welcomes the arrest of corrupt official"},"content":{"rendered":"
Home Affairs Minister, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi, has welcomed the swift arrest of a Refugee Status Determination Officer (RSDO) based at the Desmond Tutu Refugee Reception Centre in Pretoria on Tuesday.<\/P>
An RSDO is an officer who is legally mandated to adjudicate applications of asylum seekers looking for refugee status.<\/P>
The officer allegedly took a bribe of R500 to extend the validity of the asylum permit of a Bangladeshi national whose application for international protection is being appealed at the Refugee Appeals Authority of SA (RAASA).<\/P>
While the Refugee Reception Offices remain closed, asylum seekers whose permits cannot be extended online are invited to the offices.<\/P>
The RSDO was arrested after a Department of Home Affairs security guard saw her take money from the Bangladeshi national.<\/P>
The security guard confronted the two and called the Counter-Corruption Branch of the department. Upon interrogating the two, Counter-Corruption called the Hawks who arrested both suspects.<\/P>
\u201cBribing an official for a service that is available for free suggests that the person bribing is aware that they don\u2019t have a valid claim for international protection. This is another example of the abuse we are rooting out in the asylum seeker and refugee management system,\u201d said Minister Motsoaledi.<\/P>
Minister Motsoaledi reiterated his call that there is no space for dishonest employees at the Department of Home Affairs.<\/P>
\u201cI have instructed the department to conduct a speedy, thorough and full investigation into the matter and action must be taken against anyone who falls foul of the law,\u201d Motsoaledi said.<\/P>
<\/P>
Source: South African Government News Agency<\/P>
<\/P><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Home Affairs Minister, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi, has welcomed the swift arrest of a Refugee Status Determination Officer (RSDO) based at the Desmond Tutu Refugee Reception Centre in Pretoria on Tuesday.An RSDO is an officer who is legally mandated to adjudi…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n