…as gvt fails to issue passports
Mathatisi Sebusi
CIVIL society organisations have expressed disappointment at the government’s prolonged failure to issue new passports.
They say the jobs of migrant workers, particularly in South Africa, are now at risk. The failure to produce passports also violated the fundamental rights of Basotho to freely move to other countries of their choice.
Migrant Workers Association of Lesotho (MWAL) executive director, Lerato Nkhets’e, said the absence of passports was not only a restriction for Basotho seeking job opportunities in South Africa and other countries, it would also put in jeopardy the lives of those already in employment.
According to Mr Nkhets’e, South African employers demanded passports as a form of identity for all foreign workers. Without proof of identification, thousands of Basotho would struggle to get employment and would consequently be arrested and deported back to Lesotho.
Failure to renew passports, Mr Nkhets’e said, would also pose a challenge to those already in employment who had returned home for the December holidays, hoping to renew their travelling documents before returning back to South Africa for work.
“How are these people going to pass at the border gates, they will surely opt for illegal crossings as well. But still, that will not secure their jobs if they return with expired documents,” Mr Nkhets’e said.
He said the failure to get passports would also increase the number of women and girls being sexually abused at illegal crossing points.
“We are already struggling with people crossing at illegal points, where women and girls get raped as a result. These are people who tried but failed to access passports and because of their desperation for jobs, end up using illegal crossing points at which they are caught and raped,” Mr Nkhets’e said.
He said his association was very disappointed at the government’s failure to be honest from the beginning about the passport situation in the country and for “lying” that passports were being issued in abundance “knowing very well that it was not true”.
He said it was only this week that the government had acknowledged that it had indeed run out of passports.
“The government should have been genuine about the situation and not misled people into believing that they will get passports only for them to get let down after applying,” Mr Nkhets’e said.
On November 16 2023, the Department of Home Affairs under the Ministry Local Government, Chieftainship, Home Affairs and Police, came out to dispel “lies doing the rounds that Lesotho had run out of passports”.
But the ministry acknowledged this week that it had indeed run out of passports. It told this publication it was not certain when it would begin issuing passports.
The Department of Home Affairs’ Public Relations Assistant Officer, Marelebohile Mothibeli, told the Lesotho Times they had expected to get passport booklets last Wednesday, but they were yet to arrive.
“The ministry has run out of passports booklets, and we were hoping that by now they will be available. We are still waiting, and we will make an announcement once they are available,” Ms Mothibeli said.
Also aggrieved by the situation is civic group, Advocates for the Supremacy of the Constitution, also known as SECTION 2, which has slated the government over the prolonged passport issuance delays, describing them as “discriminatory”.
SECTION 2 has since written to Local Government, Chieftainship, Home Affairs and Police Minister, Lebona Lephema, telling him that the government’s failure to issue passports violated Basotho’s fundamental human rights to freely enter and exit their country.
It said the rights to freedom of movement and association were enshrined in various international covenants, to which Lesotho was a signatory, as well as in the country’s constitution.
In the letter signed by one of its leaders, Kananelo Boloetsi, SECTION 2 told Minister Lephema his government’s failure to issue passports also posed a risk to citizens right to life, especially for those urgently requiring medical attention abroad.
“……The freedom to move and to leave one’s country is a basic human right enshrined in various international conventions, as well as in the Constitution of the Kingdom of Lesotho,” Mr Boloetse said.
Mr Boloetse said in light of Lesotho’s chronic high unemployment rate, it was imperative that government facilitated, rather than hindered the ability of citizens to seek economic opportunities elsewhere, including in neighbouring South Africa.
The delay in issuing passports, Mr Boloetse said, not only worsened economic hardships but also pushed some individuals to resort to illegal border crossings, risking their dignity, safety, and lives. He said the distressing incidents of women being subjected to assaults while crossing borders illegally were directly linked to delays in the issuance of passports.
Mr Boloetse had given Minister Lephema 14 days to rectify the situation. The deadline expires this weekend. He did not state what action his organisation would take if the deadline was not met.
“Furthermore, it has come to our attention that while the majority of Basotho endure prolonged waits for passport issuance, a preferential pathway exists for those able to afford so-called ‘emergency passports’ for M630, processed within a relatively shorter timeframe.
“This glaring disparity in service is a profound affront to the principles of fairness and equality that should underpin any responsible government’s operations.”
Mr Boloetse claimed that it was evident that the discrepancy was not a result of the scarcity of passport booklets, but rather an attempt to exploit the urgent needs of the citizens.
He therefore called upon Minister Lephema, to urgently “rectify the injustice and ensure transparency, efficiency, and equitable access to passports for all Basotho citizens, regardless of their financial statuses.
“Lastly, in terms of Section 17(1) of the Lesotho Passports and Travel Documents Act, 2018, you are legally obliged to submit a report on issues including issuance, surrender, or revocation of passports or travel documents or any matter relating to passports or travel documents to Parliament within a period of six months after the end of each financial year (on March 31).
“We seek clarification on whether the mandated report has been submitted to Parliament as required. If not, we would appreciate an explanation for the delay,” Mr Boloetse said in his letter.
