Day: June 29, 2023

About 180,000 Zimbabweans working in South Africa who faced the threat of being kicked out of the country, even if their children are citizens, have welcomed a court ruling to stop the action. Pretoria's High Court ruled the government's plan to terminate their special residency permits was unconstitutional.

The High Court’s decision is a blow to South Africa's Home Affairs Ministry and a win for Zimbabweans, many of whom have been in South Africa for more than a decade, having left neighboring Zimbabwe amid political and economic turmoil during former president Robert Mugabe’s rule.

To deal with the influx from across the border, South Africa initially introduced special permits to allow them to work but in 2021 said it was ending the program.

The Zimbabwe Immigration Federation challenged the government's intention to force Zimbabweans to return home and the group’s chairman, Luke Dzviti, on Thursday welcomed the court’s verdict.

“I welcome with two hands the judgment, handed yesterday by the High Court of South Africa, in the favor of our organization, Zimbabwe Immigration Federation, and such stance or gesture shows that justice is still prevailing in the Republic of South African, and we are grateful because there was going to be a humanitarian disaster,” he said.

Dzviti said the ending of the Zimbabwe exemption permits would have caused a huge exodus and meant many families in Zimbabwe being supported by a breadwinner in South Africa would have been pushed into greater poverty.

The court ruled that the permits would be extended for one more year. After that, Dzviti said his organization would launch another application.

Siya Qoza, spokesman for South Africa’s Minister of Home Affairs, said it was uncertain whether the government would appeal.

“The minister is still studying the two judgements and taking legal advice on them. He will, in due course, respond fully to them. In the ensuing communication he will outline further steps that will be taken, including appeals, if any,” he said.

Silous Sibanda is a driver who has been living in South Africa for about 20 years and currently holds an exemption permit.

“When there was no verdict yet, we remember we were still in the dark. We couldn’t do anything, we couldn’t move, we were worried that maybe we’d lose whatever we’d done. ... It's better for those with jobs and who were working. But at least now we are given the space so we can do things properly, and proper planning as well, so it was a big relief for most of us,” said Sibanda.

As Africa’s most industrialized economy, South Africa is a favored destination for Zimbabweans and other migrants from the continent. There have been incidents of xenophobic violence, however, with South Africans targeting other African nationals. Last year, a Zimbabwean man in Johannesburg was killed by a mob.

Source: Voice of America

The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has fined Fidelity Bank Ghana Limited and First National Bank Ghana Limited GHS12,000 each over forex breaches.

In addition, the Bank has suspended the forex licences of the two banks for a month, effective June 29, to July 28, 2023.

The Central Bank made the announcement of the fine and suspension of the banks in a notice on Thursday, and copied to the Ghana News Agency.

It stated that breached sections 3.4 [on Indicative quotes], 3.5 [Trade reporting on platforms], and 3.9 [Fixing of the official exchange rate] of the Ghana

Interbank Forex Market Conduct rules.

'By this notice, we caution forex market players including banks, forex bureaus, forex brokers, and money transfer operators (MTOs) to adhere strictly to the applicable forex market regulations and guidelines,' BoG stated.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Crime Check Foundation (CCF), along with other civil society groups, including Amnesty International, have met former President John Dramani Mahama to discuss ways of improving conditions in Ghana's prisons, where overcrowding is a big challenge.

Two other civil society organisations (CSOs), the POS Foundation and the Legal Resources Centre, also took part in the discussions, which emphasised the passage of the non-custodial sentencing bill into law to decongest the country's prisons.

Former President Mahama expressed his support for the proposals and to improve the country's prison conditions and uphold the rights of vulnerable people in society.

He acknowledged the urgent need to address the overcrowding, lack of resources, and inadequate facilities that had plagued the country's correctional system for years.

He said the deplorable conditions in prisons were a dent in the country's democratic credentials, stressing: 'The conditions in the cells are terrible. Ventilation is very poor. The prison cells are overcrowded.'

He recalled that during his tenure, there were efforts that sought to broaden remand blocks and ease congestion in prison cells to improve conditions, but the efforts were abandoned after he left the office.

'I asked for the building of a remand block to move all the remand prisoners there to help decongest the cells,' he said. 'This is something we support.'

Mr. Ibrahim Oppong Kwarteng, Executive Director of the Crime Check Foundation (CCF) and Ghana Prison Service Ambassador Extraordinaire, expressed worry over the excessive delays in the enactment of non-custodial sentencing laws.

He emphasised the importance of the non-custodial sentencing bill to the country's jail system, maintaining that its passage into law by the lawmakers would help prevent 'sweeping' of petty offenders into prison, which is contributing to congestion in the limited prison facilities.

'We do not understand why the non-Custodial Sentencing bill is still in Parliament when we know its importance when it is passed into law,' he said, adding that, 'The delay in its passage has created a situation where our prisons have become congested.'

This, he explained, means that 'if petty offenders are quickly swept into prison, no matter how the decongestion approaches, the prison will continue to be full.'

Mr. Kwarteng pleaded with the former president, stating that he should use his influence to bolster the push for the non-custodial sentencing bill to be promptly enacted into law: 'We want you to use your good office to drum home the need for that bill to be passed into law.'

Ms. Genevieve Partintin, Country Director for Amnesty International, called for optimum protection of the rights of women, especially those who are often molested for allegedly being witches.

She implored Former President Mahama to lend his voice to the call for a law that would put perpetrators behind bars, saying: 'We want to ask you to add your voice to help move a Witchcraft bill that will ensure that people who maltreat women accused of witchcraft are jailed for at least a year.'

Source: Ghana News Agency