When learning that an Immigration Amendment Bill was published on 11 December, I was not sure whether to be excited or terrified, or both. Surely it would contain changes that made the parliamentary process worthwhile - the correction of grave errors, the clarification of ambiguities, any kind of response to the multitude of complaints received by the Department of Home Affairs (DHA).
Alas, none of that. Presumably in response to a court order against the DHA (or threats thereof), the portfolio committee went through the trouble of drafting a bill only to legalize its practice of declaring persons undesirable for up to 5 years after one single offence only, but missed the boat for any more constructive changes. Well, we can only hope for next time...