Recent interventions at Home Affairs raise a pressing question: can the Department translate legal obligations and policy decisions into effective administration?
Within one week, Home Affairs’ leadership has taken two exceptional steps to address the consequences of departmental maladministration. On 2 October, Minister Leon Schreiber signed Directive 13 of 2026, circulated on 8 October, waiving the 60-day visa filing requirements after acknowledging the “unintended consequences” of their application. On 9 October, the Director-General withdrew the directive issued on 28 September to implement the Constitutional Court’s asylum judgment of July in Scalabrini Centre of Cape Town v Minister of Home Affairs, citing “consequences that could not have been foreseen in the Court order”.
Both interventions expose the gap between decisions taken at the head of the department and its capacity to implement them. This week, the consequences included overwhelmed refugee reception offices, threats to officials and public disorder, with businesses and communities suffering the damage.
Within one week, Home Affairs’ leadership has taken two exceptional steps to address the consequences of departmental maladministration. On 2 October, Minister Leon Schreiber signed Directive 13 of 2026, circulated on 8 October, waiving the 60-day visa filing requirements after acknowledging the “unintended consequences” of their application. On 9 October, the Director-General withdrew the directive issued on 28 September to implement the Constitutional Court’s asylum judgment of July in Scalabrini Centre of Cape Town v Minister of Home Affairs, citing “consequences that could not have been foreseen in the Court order”.
Both interventions expose the gap between decisions taken at the head of the department and its capacity to implement them. This week, the consequences included overwhelmed refugee reception offices, threats to officials and public disorder, with businesses and communities suffering the damage.
In her opinion published in Business Day on 13 October 2026, our Claudia Pizzocri examines the waiver of the 60-day visa filing requirements and the withdrawal of the directive implementing the Constitutional Court’s asylum judgment. Both developments reveal weaknesses in administrative planning, resources and implementation, with consequences extending from individual applicants to businesses and communities.
The article considers how staffing shortages, inadequate infrastructure and inconsistent operational preparation undermine access to immigration and citizenship services.
Meaningful reform requires the Department to build the capacity to give effect to its obligations. Constitutional rights depend on accessible procedures, clear instructions and an administration equipped to deliver.