Chairperson, it is common knowledge that, in the period between 2007 and 2009, South Africa registered the highest number of new asylum-seekers in the world. The vast majority of these applications for asylum came from Zimbabwean nationals.
While some of the clauses in the Refugees Amendment Bill are mainly of a technical nature, they are still needed in order to regularise the process of refugee registration in this country, especially in the light of our high refugee asylum status.
Our processes and refugee officers must therefore be of the highest possible standard in order to ensure that refugees in this country are dealt with in accordance with methods of current international best practice. South Africa is currently home to scores of refugees and asylumseekers, all of whom must be fed, housed and provided with education, health care and work.
We have an extremely high unemployment rate and an economy that has not yet fully recovered from the global recession of 2009-10. The question is whether we are capable of providing safe and sustainable refuge for this number of refugees.
Other issues of concern are the capability of the Department of Home Affairs to actually deal with the very complex nature of border issues and the current level of competence of the department's refugee officers in handling complex international legal issues. Nevertheless, the Bill is a step in the right direction and the IFP will support it. Thank you. [Applause.]