Staff suspensions bring Marabastad to standstill

RECENT investigations by the South African government into corruption at the Home Affairs department office in Marabastad have led to an acute shortage of staff, following the suspension of scores of employees who were caught in the bribery scam.
Officials had allegedly been taking bribes from desperate migrants and public complaints, largely by Zimbabweans eventually led to an investigation.
Only one out of a possible seven officers was manning the office last Thursday when The Zimbabwean visited the offices.
“Most officers were suspended three weeks ago when they were caught in a bribery scam following investigations by the government that included police officers,” said an official manning the reception.
The shortage of personnel at Marabastad has been compounded by Home Affairs having reduced its refugee reception centres from five to four by closing its office in the Rosettenville in Johannesburg, leaving only three others, in the port cities of Cape Town, Durban and Port Elizabeth.