Home affairs minister Leon Schreiber said progress has been made in implementing a digital system turn the department into a fully automated hub to “supercharge” tourism and restore SA’s national security integrity.
Addressing the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) on Wednesday, Schreiber said he was encouraged by the progress made since the government of national unity came into office, though there was still a long way to go to deliver on the programme, dubbed Home Affairs @Home.
In September, Schreiber announced a five-year plan to turn home affairs into a digital-first department during the 2024-2029 term of office.
At the NCOP on Wednesday, the minister said the department’s systems remained “too paper-based, too manual and too vulnerable”.
The department has been plagued by corruption, with officials accepting bribes for services. Last week it fired 18 officials for various offences.
Four officials were dismissed for irregular granting of ID documents, six for irregular solemnisation and registration of marriages, irregular processing of passports (one), irregular processing of birth certificates (three), irregular approval of visa applications (one), irregular extension of asylum seeker permits (one), sexual harassment (one) and the irregular deactivation of a file (one).
A further four officials have been issued with final written warnings — which include a one- and three-month salary suspension in two cases. Another two officials have received written warnings.
“During a two-day strategic planning workshop with myself, deputy minister Njabulo Nzuza, as well as managers from around the country, home affairs adopted a new strategic plan built entirely around digital transformation,” Schreiber said.
An internal review of co-operation with banks was under way to deepe and expand “this successful partnership and introducing new service offerings”.
“Aspects of the visa adjudication process have been digitised and improved, which has contributed to the visa backlog — which dates back more than a decade — being reduced by more than 82%.
“Network problems experienced by the Border Management Authority at ports of entry are being addressed in co-operation with Sars [the SA Revenue Service],” Schreiber said.
“Similarly, internal processes are being automated, as demonstrated recently when home affairs launched an online portal to receive applications for the trusted tour operator Scheme.”
The scheme had the potential to “supercharge tourism from the burgeoning source markets of China and India, and we hope to welcome the first airplane full of tourists who would otherwise not have come to SA as early as January next year”.
Schreiber described the department as the “beating heart of the SA state” as it was responsible for maintaining the national population register (NPR).
Social grants, tax collection, student funding, access to health care and education, qualification for housing subsidies, and countless other government services — all depend directly on the data contained in home affairs’ NPR, Schreiber said.
“Private institutions, including banks, credit bureaus, insurance companies and other financial services, similarly rely on home affairs to deliver critical services to the people of SA ... above all else, home affairs is an IT department. As a consequence, when the digital infrastructure of home affairs is allowed to decay, all forms of public and private sector services similarly decay.”
When the department’s digital infrastructure was not secure, “then SA is not secure. Conversely, a digitally transformed home affairs will deliver a transformed SA”.
“Digital transformation that eradicates the use of paper, that records the biometrics of every person who wishes to enter this country, and that eliminates human discretion, holds the key to securing our borders and enforcing accountability for those who violate our immigration laws.”
Digital transformation would eliminate identity theft, empower citizens and tourists with digital products that can’t be faked or stolen, Schreiber said.
“Given the meaningful progress we have already made within a short five months, just imagine what we can do if we are fully empowered to deliver a digital revolution over the next five years.
“With the support of this house [the NCOP], and of every South African who wants a working home affairs, we can remove regulatory hurdles and build a digital-first home affairs, that delivers dignity to all the people of SA.”
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