Human trafficking in the sight of Gauteng government
The Gauteng provincial government has vowed to work tirelessly to combat human trafficking, which is believed to be on the rise in the province.
During the Gauteng Department of Social Development (GDSD) seminar on human trafficking, held recently at the Lakes Hotel in Benoni, delegates agreed that a radical approach is needed to target every aspect of this illegal trade and put the slave-drivers out of business for good.
The convention was attended by the GDSD MEC Nandi Mayathula-Khoza and a multi-disciplinary team comprising various state departments and NGOs.
Addressing delegates during the event, Mayathula-Khoza said the seriousness of this crime demanded a coordinated action by everyone in the society.
“We must respond urgently to this challenge of modern-day slavery.
“The trafficking of persons is the cruelest form of the abuse of human rights.
“I cannot come to terms with what we as human beings do to each other,” said Mayathula-Khoza in a statement issued by GDSD.
The police were also represented by the Hawks’ Lt Colonel Parmanand Jagwa, who stated that they were doing all they can to curb the scourge.
He mentioned that the police have rescued 62 people and they are currently investigating 36 cases of human trafficking.
“Our challenges are victims who are sometimes uncooperative and becoming hostile to the investigation.
“Sometimes we also experience language barriers,” he explained.
Meanwhile Home Affairs representative Nandi Modjadji told the delegates that the department is also playing its role in assisting other state departments when they are conducting investigations, such as allowing a foreign victim of trafficking to remain in the country for 90 days.
“We have also observed the abuse of our immigration laws by the syndicates.
“This include marriages of convenience, abuse of asylum laws, work-related recruitment, visa and possession of fraudulent documents or mass production of face value documents which are legalised on our systems,” said Modjadji.
Modjadji added that nationals from Third World countries such as Bangladesh, India, Nigeria and Pakistan enter through land borders adjacent to SADC borders.
“These nationals are smuggled into the country where they seek asylum and once rejected they enter into a marriage of convenience to legalise themselves,” said Modjadji.
It is believed that many of the women trafficked work in the sex and drug trade. -@FanieFLK
