Within the framework of precautionary measures being initiated by the government in the wake of COVID-19 infection affecting the country, the authorities are said to be planning a ‘carrot and stick’ approach to tackling the residence law violators in the country.
The government is reportedly looking at two options to solve the problem of residency violators who are believed to number in excess of 100,000 — offering an incentive to violators who surrender voluntarily or to conduct raids to ferret them out. In the first plan, the government is willing to pay the airfares of the deportees, as well as write-off the fines that may have accumulated from their residency-law violations.
The second approach is to conduct extensive searches and inspection campaigns, especially in areas known to harbor illegal residents, to flush out and arrest the violators. In the second scenario, the offenders would have to bear the cost of airline tickets and pay all fines accrued before being deported.
Once the plan is announced in the media it will be implemented immediately, as the authorities believe it will lessen the pressure on the country’s health system and food supplies, given the current COVID-19 infection that has effectively locked-down the country.