1 month ago
61
The case of Chidimma Vanessa Onwe Adetshina's citizenship status has opened a can of worms, a troublesome problem that was long in the making.
The issues of stolen identity and citizenship acquired through corrupt means has been with us for a long time. The problem of fake identity has several implications for SA and some of our neighbours.
When Nelson Mandela and those who participated in the drafting of our constitution had a clause included that was meant to provide free maternity services for all pregnant South African women and free medical treatment for children up to the age of six, it opened floodgates as pregnant foreign nationals crossed our borders to give birth in SA.
Every year, the childbirth statistics at Tembisa Provincial Tertiary Hospital and other SA hospitals show that a very high number of deliveries were of foreign nationalities.
There's no telling, due to neglect or corruption by hospital and home affairs, that some of these babies end being classified as South African. The law of the country is clear that a child born in SA of foreign parents does not automatically become South African.
Is the government and other concerned parties going to start doing similar investigations as in the case of Adetshina? Our world-acclaimed constitution seems to have many loopholes that necessitate a relook.
Cometh Dube-Makholwa, Midrand
