The Department of International Relations and Co-operation (Dirco) on Monday said it had recalled its United Arab Emirates consul-general, Andrew Tsepo Lebona, following allegations of a scheme to sell visas at his office.
Department spokesperson Chrispin Phiri said the department had acted on information from whistle-blowers about the alleged security breaches and misconduct.
“The consul-general has been recalled from Dubai to Pretoria to respond to the preliminary investigation findings.
“We have asked Mr Lebona to come back to answer questions pertaining to the preliminary findings of our investigation in UAE, Dubai consulate, which are still ongoing,” he said.
It was reported at the weekend that the investigation found Lebona had allegedly set up “burglaries” of his offices in a scheme to sell visas, and arranged for special status for his son who did not qualify.
Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber said his department would support the urgent investigation of the Dirco employee to cancel the affected visas.
“As I warned in Parliament last week, corruption that threatens our national security will continue in the absence of wholesale digital transformation.
“Eliminating outrageous paper-based and handwritten processes is our apex priority, and I call on all sectors of society to support this vision in order to safeguard South Africa’s sovereignty,” Schreiber said.
Last week, Schreiber said Home Affairs should urgently embrace technology. If not, its national security would be under threat.
Phiri said Schreiber had in his briefing to Parliament explained that the best way forward to improve the visa regime was to eliminate human interference as much as possible.
“We are going to see more online processing. That is something we look forward to and welcome,” he said.
Meanwhile, Phiri also said South Africa was deeply concerned about the ongoing detention of two citizens, Peter Huxham and Frik Potgieter, in Equatorial Guinea.
He said the ambassador to Equatorial Guinea, Nolufefe Dwabayo, met last Tuesday with the Minister of Foreign Affairs in Malabo to address the concerns, emphasising the restricted access granted to officials and the families of the detained individuals.
“Our acting deputy director-general for Africa summoned the ambassador of Equatorial Guinea to South Africa, and he reiterated our concerns,” Phiri added.
Cape Times