‘Vet Everyone’: SIU Exposes Home Affairs Officials on R25k Salaries Who Built Mansions, Tarred Roads

When the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) presented its interim findings into corruption at the Department of Home Affairs, one recommendation cut through the data: “The Department should consider vetting of all employees.”

Acting SIU head Leonard Lekgetho did not mince words. The evidence of organised corruption inside the visa system was laid out in stark detailofficials earning modest government salaries who somehow amassed fortunes.

The Mansion on a R25,000 Salary

Among the most striking cases was that of a visa adjudicator earning R25,000 per month who allegedly built a mansion and tarred the road leading to her home.

“Another official accumulated so much wealth that she built a mansion and paved a road leading into her home on a monthly salary of R25,000,” Lekgetho said.

The SIU’s timeline showed unexplained deposits flowing into her account from 2017 onwards:

• Purchased land for R877,200 in cash

• Financed a vehicle worth over R600,000

• Funds linked to visa activitiesincluding R185,000 referencing Permanent Residence Permit applicationsflowed through a construction company registered in her husband’s name

Between 2017 and 2024:

• Direct cash deposits totalling more than R2.5 million were allegedly made into her account

• Over R8.9 million flowed through the spouse-linked company

The System

Four Home Affairs officials, each earning less than R25,000 per month, collectively received more than R16.3 million in direct deposits linked to visa and permit approvals.

The SIU presentation laid out example after example of what they described as organised corruption inside the visa systemcash deposits, property acquisitions, and payments referencing Permanent Residence Permits.

The Recommendation

Lekgetho’s call for universal vetting is a direct response to a system where wealth and salary bear no relation.

When an official on R25,000 a month can build a mansion, tar a road, and handle hundreds of thousands in cash, the question is not whether the system is brokenit’s how deeply the rot extends.

The Bottom Line

Home Affairs is the gateway to South Africa. If that gateway is for sale, the consequences extend far beyond corruptionthey touch national security, immigration integrity, and the rule of law.

The SIU has laid out the evidence. The recommendation is clear. Now, the department must decide whether to actor to let the mansions keep rising.

{Source: IOL}

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