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The Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs welcomes and applauds the arrest of 20 Home Affairs officials and 6 civilians on charges relating to fraud and corruption. This is clear evidence that the corruption fighting initiatives by the department are bearing fruit and that the scourge of corruption will be defeated.

The dereliction of duty on behalf of the arrested officials must dealt with to the full extent of the law and the Committee hopes that internal disciplinary hearings will be kick-started in earnest.

The Committee views the corruption fighting initiatives by the department as necessary especially now that the department has been designated as playing a critical role within the Justice, crime Prevention and Security Cluster.  It is on this basis that the Committee considers it unacceptable that some officials within the department continue to engage in corrupt activities.

The collaboration by society in supporting these initiatives will go a long way in guaranteeing their success. The Committee thus calls on all law abiding South Africans and foreign nationals in the country to work with the department in a collaborative effort to deal effectively with corruption.

The Committee will continue to offer its full support to initiatives aimed at dealing with the cancer of corruption. To this end, the Committee will engage the department to assess the general impact of Operation Bvisa Masina on the operations of the department. The Committee calls on the department to make interim measures aimed at ensuring that delivery of services are not disrupted.

Issued by Parliamentary Communication Services on behalf of the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs, Mr Lemias Mashile