Nearly 10 Labour and Home Affairs employees, including senior officials, have been suspended over an alleged network issuing work permits and visas illegally.
BONGANI MALUNGA
The government has uncovered an alleged deep-rooted cartel within the Ministry of Labour and Home Affairs, with Minister Pius Mokgware revealing that ministry employees, including senior officials, have been implicated in the illegal issuance of work permits and visas.
Addressing Parliament on Tuesday, Mokgware said preliminary investigations had led to the suspension of nearly 10 employees as authorities intensified efforts to dismantle what he described as an organised network facilitating immigration fraud.
The revelation came during debate on a motion seeking the establishment of a parliamentary task force to investigate alleged abuse of foreign work permits and non-compliance with citizen subcontracting requirements in government projects.
MOTION REJECTED
While acknowledging the seriousness of the allegations, the government opposed the motion, arguing that investigations were already underway and that another inquiry would duplicate existing efforts.
Mokgware’s admission was one of the strongest acknowledgements yet that corruption linked to work permits is not confined to external syndicates but extends into the institution responsible for regulating immigration and employment.
“This has been happening for a long time. Even our own workers at the Ministry of Labour and Home Affairs are involved. Close to 10 people are currently on suspension, including high ranking officials. They are part of a bigger cartel,” Mokgware told legislators.
ENTRENCHED ABUSE
Mokgware alleged that the corruption was neither isolated nor recent, but an entrenched operation that had infiltrated the ministry over an extended period.
Fraudulent work permits have become a growing national concern, with local businesses, labour organisations and Members of Parliament repeatedly alleging that the system has been manipulated to favour foreign nationals at the expense of qualified Batswana seeking employment.
The rejected motion, tabled by Nkange MP Motlhaleemang Moalosi, sought a dedicated task force to establish the scale of abuse in the work permit system and examine whether contractors awarded government projects were bypassing citizen subcontractors in favour of foreign companies and workers.
Mokgware assured Parliament that the government was already pursuing the matter through ongoing investigations and intended to hold those responsible accountable.