The Presidency moved quickly on Wednesday to clarify that passports are still required. This followed what it called a misunderstanding of remarks President Cyril Ramaphosa made at the opening of the SA-Nigeria Bi-National Commission a day earlier.

Following his address, it was widely reported that Nigerian nationals no longer need a passport to apply for a visa to come to South Africa, but this is not the case.

The Presidency clarified in a statement that prospective travellers can apply for their visas without submitting their passports along with their applications. But they must submit a certified copy of the biopage of the passport with the application. The actual passport should be availed during the application process for verification and confirmation.

The passport will indeed be submitted once the visa has been approved for it to be affixed in the passport.

“Once a visa has been approved, they are required to submit their passports for the process to be completed and for the visa to be affixed in the passport. These changes have improved the customer experience while ensuring the security and integrity of the overall visa application process,” the statement read.

The initial misunderstanding apparently came when President Ramaphosa referred to the simplified visa process for Nigerian nationals. “In addition, tourists from Nigeria are now able to apply for a visa without submitting a passport,” he said according to the published speech.

According to the Presidency, the President referred to the work underway to modernise and streamline visa application processes worldwide, and said South African missions in Nigeria have improved the efficiency and convenience of applying for a visa. This is part of the visa reforms initiated by the South African government to enable economic activities and boost tourism while protecting the national security.

“The modernisation of the visa application process does not compromise the integrity of the visa system,” the Presidency said in the statement.

Municipalities across South Africa have been urged to adopt innovative technologies and foster a culture of innovation as an essential step towards enhancing service delivery and building a more responsive local government in the country.

Delivering the keynote address at the 2nd Municipal Innovation Recognition Awards (MIRA) in Durban yesterday, Deputy Minister of Science, Technology, and Innovation Nomalungelo Gina emphasised that adopting innovative technologies was not optional, but essential, especially for rural municipalities that continue to face deep-rooted development challenges.

She pointed to recent reports by the Auditor-General, highlighting persistent underperformance in municipalities, and said that repeating outdated methods will not yield different results.

“Innovation allows us to leapfrog to better outcomes,” she said. “New technologies disrupt the status quo, reduce costs, and streamline processes, ultimately empowering citizens and restoring public trust in local government.”

The MIRA awards are an initiative of the Department of Science, Technology and Innovation (DSTI), the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), and the South African Local Government Association (SALGA). The awards recognise municipalities that demonstrate leadership in applying innovative solutions to improve essential services such as water provision, waste management, and citizen engagement.

Ms Gina urged municipalities to embed innovation as a standard way of working. “We must transform the culture of our municipalities to embrace new ideas, smarter tools, and evidence-based approaches to delivering services. Innovation is not a luxury reserved for metros; it is a necessity for every municipality, including those in rural areas,” she said.

The awards are informed by the Municipal Innovation Maturity Index (MIMI), which was introduced in 2021 as a decision-support tool to assess the innovation capacity of municipalities. In 2025, a total of 57 towns participated in the rollout of MIMI and all received awards at the ceremony.

Among trailblazers were the City of Cape Town which received the Trailblazing Innovation Award for its Digital Wayleave Management System, which consolidates and streamlines development-related permissions into a single, web-based platform.

The City of Tshwane, Emalahleni, eThekwini, and Waterberg District Municipality received Special Recognition Awards for achieving Innovation Maturity Level 4, indicating that their innovation processes are consistent, well-managed, and embedded within their respective municipalities.

Municipalities such as Vhembe, Waterberg, Modimolle-Mookgopong, and uMgungundlovu were also honoured for successfully applying innovation within specific departments. Although not yet institutionalised across the entire municipality, their innovation efforts are considered promising and repeatable.

The Deputy Minister congratulated all the winners of MIRA 2025 and encouraged more municipalities to follow suit. “This recognition should inspire others to embark on their innovation journeys. In the future, we want to see all municipalities reaching the required innovation threshold, and I believe we are getting closer to that reality.”

A key milestone at the event was the official launch of the Municipal Innovation Fund (MIF), a dedicated funding instrument designed to support municipalities in developing and implementing innovative projects that enhance basic service delivery.

The Fund, managed by the Technology Innovation Agency (TIA) of the Department of Science and Innovation (DSI), will provide up to R3 million per project for qualifying municipalities to develop and scale up technologies that deliver measurable community impact.

Funding will be prioritised for municipalities that have reached Level 4 or higher on the MIMI scale and that have demonstrated sound governance and clean audits. Approved projects must be implemented through dedicated accounts with regular reporting on progress, financial management, and community benefits.

The ceremony also featured addresses by representatives of the University of KwaZulu-Natal, SALGA President Councillor Bheke Stofile, eThekwini Mayor Councillor Cyril Xaba, and Deputy Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Dr Namane Dickson Masemola.



ISSUED BY THE MINISTRY OF SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION

Media enquiries, Ms Veronica Mohapeloa, Tel: 083 400 5750
Email: veronica.mohapeloa@dst.gov.za

The new Minister of Home Affairs is Leon Schreiber, who was appointed by President Cyril Ramaphosa on 30 June 2024. The position includes responsibility for immigration, refugee and asylum policy, for the civil registry, and for the issuing of identity documents and passports. A member of the Democratic Alliance (DA), he is the first member of his party to serve as the Minister of Home Affairs.[1]. He previously served as the Shadow Minister of Public Service and Administration from May 2019 to June 2024 as part of the shadow cabinet.

Will the new Minister extend the travel directive and push the new Digital Nomad Visa?

Many foreigners in South Africa have been anxious as the latest travel directive was expiring, allowing those waiting on visa results to leave without a travel ban. Should they leave before 30 June or stay put and trust in the new government? During the inter-regnum phase following the elections, no action or communication was provided. As of 1 July, bans will be issued, but there are indications of an extension coming.

The new Digital Nomad Visa also needs action. Although signed into law, it still requires updated forms and training for South African missions abroad.

The new Minister of Home Affairs, set to be sworn in on 2 July, should have an eye on both issues. A young (35 years old) and outspoken member of the (former opposition) Democratic Alliance (DA), he should be more business-friendly than his predecessor. His task will be building trust and authority in a department fraught with challenges and led by officials closely aligned with the ANC. We wish him thick skin and diplomatic wisdom.

Deputy Minister in the Presidency responsible for Women, Youth, and Persons with Disabilities Steve Letsike says the scourge of teenage pregnancy is not only a health concern but a threat to the nation’s social and moral fibre and future prosperity.

“Teenage pregnancy is robbing too many of our girls of their childhood and their future, and it will take all of us working together to turn the tide,” Letsike said.

Addressing a stakeholder engagement in Pretoria earlier today aimed at addressing the persistent ongoing scourge of teenage pregnancy in South Africa, Letsike said in 2024 alone, over 90 000 pregnancies were recorded among girls aged 10 to 19 and 2 328 of those pregnancies were in girls between 10 and 14 years old.

“To call this alarming would be an understatement. These are children, some barely in their teens, some not even teenagers, now forced into motherhood,” Letsike said.

Letsike said a child as young as 10 becoming pregnant was not just a statistic but evidence of a profound societal failure and a horrific crime because a girl that young cannot legally give consent.

“This crisis threatens the very foundation of our social and economic development as teenage pregnancy poses a serious threat to the health, rights, education and socio-economic well-being of girls.

“When a young girl becomes a mother, her chances of finishing school plummet, her job prospects diminish and she often becomes trapped in a cycle of poverty.

“In other words, today’s teen pregnancy is tomorrow’s poverty and inequality. We must recognise this as not only a public health issue but a social justice emergency,” the Deputy Minister said.

Letsike said the high incidence of adolescent pregnancy in the country was interlinked with other scourges of HIV and other STI infection rates, child sexual abuse, statutory rape, gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF), poverty, educational exclusion, substance abuse and even toxic elements of popular culture.

“To craft effective solutions, we must honestly confront how and why so many young girls are getting pregnant,” Letsike said.

Deputy Minister in the Presidency Nonceba Mhlauli said teenage pregnancy in South Africa has reached deeply concerning levels with more than 90 000 births recorded among girls aged 10 to 19.

“These are not just numbers, they are a stark reflection of our socio-economic challenges and a call to action. Teenage pregnancy is more than a health crisis,” she said.

Mhlauli said the response to teenage pregnancy must be urgent, coordinated and compassionate.

“Government cannot do this work alone. We need the support of all pillars of society, parents, faith leaders, educators, civil society, the media and the private sector.

“As the Presidency, we are committed to supporting this cause through improved coordination, targeted interventions and policy coherence because the future of our country depends on the safety, empowerment and well-being of our children,” she said.

Chairperson of the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) Board Asanda Luwaca said “young girls are our sisters, our classmates, our cousins, our peers and children”.

“It is an indictment of our inability, as a collective, to fully protect the bodies, rights and dreams of girls, especially those from poor, rural and marginalised communities, especially differently abled.

“We know that teenage pregnancy is not a standalone issue. It is deeply interwoven with child sexual abuse, gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF), educational exclusion, toxic gender norms, substance abuse, and the predatory dynamics of poverty,” she said.

Luwaca said teenage pregnancy was not just about health, but injustice.

“It is about gender inequality, poverty, exploitation, broken family systems, absent accountability and a dangerous silence that protects perpetrators more than it protects girls.

“And until we confront these intersecting issues head-on with honesty, bravery and unflinching determination, we will continue to fail the young women of this nation. South Africa has the policies. We have the frameworks. What we need now is unapologetic implementation across every level of society,” Luwaca said.

The engagement with stakeholders is part of an initiative to establish a Roadmap to South Africa’s Teenage Pregnancy Prevention and Management Response. –