Class action Western Cape: 400 applicants

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Bid to force Home Affairs to finalise 400 applications

07 Feb 2011 | Anton Ferreira - The Times | 7 comments

A BRITISH millionaire, a US professor and an Israeli design expert - these are just three of the hundreds of foreigners left in limbo by the Department of Home Affairs.

The frustrations of the three men are spelled out in affidavits filed in the high court in Cape Town on Friday by attorney Gary Eisenberg, who brought an urgent application to force the department to finalise more than 400 temporary residence applications - some of which were lodged more than a year ago.
Yesterday, Home Affairs director-general Mkuseli Apleni said he was not aware of the court application.
"I will have to get all of the facts on the application and the cases before I can comment on the challenges that the department faces. They do have a right to say what they want about the process but before I say anything, I must get all the information."
Brian Ganson, a professor at Tufts University in the US and an international expert in conflict management, said in the court papers he had applied for an "exceptional skills" work permit in June last year so he could take up a position at Stellenbosch University.
He was supposed to join the university's Africa Centre for Dispute Resolution, to (among other things) lead a new initiative on community development. But he can't do so until the permit comes through.
British businessman Colin Slessor spent R4million on a game farm near Montague in the Western Cape in 2009 and spent a further R600 000 fixing it up with the intention of starting a tourist operation.
"Not only am I bringing substantial funds into the country, but my business will employ South Africans and stimulate the tourism sector," Slessor said. "However my attempts to run my business have been handicapped by the apparent inability or unwillingness of home affairs to provide me with a temporary residence permit."
Amos Serfaty, an Israeli industrial design consultant, married his South African wife Jaye in 2009 and moved with her to Cape Town. He applied for a work permit in August last year and is still waiting for a response.
Serfaty, Slessor and Ganson are all Eisenberg's clients, who brought the court action with Visa One, a company that specialises in immigration matters. Eisenberg said his business was teetering on the brink of ruin because the delays were ruining his reputation.
In October last year, Apleni acknowledged the department had serious challenges - "mainly the uneven quality of front office service delivery and staff attitudes".

http://www.sowetanlive.co.za/news/2011/02/07/bid-to-force-home-affairs-to-finalise-400-applications  accessed 7 March