The South African government on
Friday denied reports that it has denied entry of American business icon Bill
Gates because he failed to abide by the country’s visa regulations.
There was no record of Gates having
entered the country in the past few days, the Department of Home Affairs (DHA)
said.
According to the South African.com
website, Gates wanted to visit South Africa a week ago but was turned away
because his daughter didn’t have an unabridged birth certificate.
Referring to the reports, DHA
spokesperson Mayihlome Tshwete said that if Gates were to visit, he would be
expected to abide by the law.
“If Bill Gates had gone to a port of
entry and didn’t have the necessary documents our immigration officers were
going to apply the law and ask him to provide documents,” he said.
But Tshwete said the reports about
Gates being denied entry were false.
Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba
reportedly is looking into this matter.
Under the new visa regulations
implemented on June 1 this year, children entering or leaving South Africa must
present unabridged birth certificates, in addition to passports.
The controversial new visa
regulations have sparked sharp criticism for affecting tourism.
In another change in visa
regulations taking effect in May last year, visitors are required to provide
biometric data when they apply for visas. This is a particular problem for
people in large countries, such as China, where there are South African
consulates only in Beijing and Shanghai.
Also on Friday, Tourism Minister
Derek Hanekom said Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa is to announce soon whether
the government will scrap controversial the visa regulations.
Hanekom said a task team has
compiled a report on its findings on how the regulations are affecting
international tourism.
“The task team is now ready to
present its recommendations so we are waiting to be convened again by the
Deputy President.
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