Lesotho, SA study use of IDs for border-crossing

MOSA MAOENG

MASERU – The Ministry of Home Affairs has launched a research in collaboration with South African department of Home Affairs for the use of Identity Documents (IDs) for crossing the border. This has been said by the Ministry’s PRO, ‘Marelebohile Mothibeli, following widespread misperception among Basotho that an arrangement has been reached between Lesotho and South Africa for the use IDs for border crossing between the two countries.

The ministry had held a press conference held on Tuesday this week, where home affairs minister, Lebona Lephema had informed the public on the study. This created the perception that the mulled arrangement was being effected immediately. In an interview on Wednesday, Mothibeli mentioned that this matter is currently a research between the officials of the two countries and it is expected to end mid-year.

She said the study will benchmark on migration models of the following countries Southern Africa (Botswana and Namibia) because these countries’ way of cross border does not require the use of passports but the use of IDs, West Africa (Gambia and Senegal) as well as Europe (Brussels and Luxenbourg).

“This is the study, not that the country is going to use IDs to cross to South Africa. After the study, the officials are going to write recommendations and those will be issued to the responsible Ministers who will take them and present to their countries parliaments,” said Mothibeli. She emphasized that this will be done to find out if the use of IDs will in any way be of benefit to the two countries then afterwards, there will be a way forward on how the two countries will work together.

On April 22, 2024, Public Eye published a story in regard to IDs tender raising MPs eyebrows. The parliament did not take kindly to the criteria used in selecting a new service provider for the production of passports and IDs.

The selection of a new company followed failure by the initial contractor to deliver on the work it was contracted to do. The ministry’s Principal Secretary, ‘Mamphaka Mabesa, had explained to the members of the portfolio committee on Law and Public Safety in the National Assembly that the ministry urgently sought an alternative supplier when Pangea failed to fulfil the contract.

The ministry, she said, engaged four other companies before finding one willing to adhere to their terms and mode of payment.

These revelations unfolded during the ministry’s appearance before the committee, summoned to address the persistent challenges surrounding passports and ID issuance. Many Basotho applicants have waited over three months without receiving their passports; even emergency applicants were experiencing delays beyond the prescribed timelines.

Mothibeli explained that on the issue of passports, the ministry is facing a challenge of uncollected passports that are more than 13 000 country wide implying that Basotho do not collect their passports from the ministry.

She said, the idea that Basotho are facing a challenge in regard to passports issuance should be studied from another point of view that they usually do not collect their passports from ministry.

She said the ministry tried to take the lists to District Councils and even their Facebook page as a way of public announcement but it is still the same.

She said, “If we have a backlog of over 13 000 uncollected passports, can we say the ministry has a challenge in issuing passports.”

She also mentioned that it is true that in 2014, the e-passports were introduced and it says 2023-2024, those passports expired because a passport takes 10 years to expire whether the owner used it or not.

She concluded by saying the ministry is not faced with shortage of passports what is only happening is that there are too many uncollected passports countrywide.