South Africa: Thabo Mofutsane District Residents Suggest Vetting of Marriages to Foreign Nationals in Line with Global Best Practices

The Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs was urged by Thabo Mofutsanyana District residents yesterday at Bethlehem where it conducted public hearings on Marriage Bill, to ensure that the Bill has strong vetting procedures to protect the population register against fraudulent marriages, enabling access to foreign nationals through marriage.

The committee successfully hosted three public hearings in the Free State where the Bill enjoyed support of the majority of the people who participated in the public hearings. Although the majority supported the Bill, they also raised an alarm at the increasing rate of marriages of convenience. They argued that the trend exposes the population register to fraudulent entry, and also places participants in difficulty, especially in cases where they want to dissolve the marriage.

The committee acknowledged the persistence of the challenge and committed to engaging the department to do a full-scale analysis of these marriages to ensure that officials who participate in this fraudulent process are investigated.

Also, some participants urged the committee to ensure that provisions regulating marriages to foreign nations are in line with international standards by adopting effective practices elsewhere in the world. They told the committee that the application of international best practices and constant monitoring of these marriages will be an effective deterrent to the rise of convenience marriages.

Some participants argued for the insertion of a section in the Bill that codifies sanctions and penalties to explicitly include harsher penalties for any South African who participates in such marriages.

Meanwhile, there was broad agreement on the intention of the Bill to increase the age of consent for parties who intend to get married from the current 16 to 18, but many argued that the provision does not go far enough. Participants argued that 18 years remains too young, and that the committee consider increasing it to 21 years to ensure that participants are mature enough before entering into marriage.

Marriage officers welcomed the expansion of those who can be designated as marriage officers, but cautioned the department to ensure that they are trained. They highlighted their concern that while the Bill protects them from solemnising marriages that go against their belief system, they also expressed a fear of reprisal if they refused to solemnise those marriages. Also, they called for the Bill to be explicit on the process to be followed when there is an objection to a marriage.

On the same sex marriage, like in other public hearings that took place at other parts of the country, participants at Bethlehem differed on the issue of same sex marriages. Representatives from faith-based organisations underscored that same sex marriages go against their religious beliefs and teachings.

Those who support same sex marriages, including representatives from traditional leadership organisations, argued that the South African Constitution was clear on the prohibition of discrimination against sexual orientation and that people’s rights ought to be protected.

At the end of the hearings, the Chairperson of the committee, Mr Mosa Chabane, thanked the participants and commended them for their inputs, which he described as invaluable. He said all their inputs will be taken into consideration when the committee deliberates on the Bill at Parliament.

The committee will, from Monday, 4 August, conduct public hearings on the Bill in the Northern Cape.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Republic of South Africa: The Parliament.