Programme Director
The DG of Home Affairs, Mr Mkuseni Apleni
All the DDGs here present
Senior Officials and managers in the department of Home Affairs
Representatives of the Youth in the department
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen
Programme Director, it is a great honour for me to address this important gathering of the youth in the Department of Home Affairs, the National Youth Development Council Conference.
This conference is happening at a crucial time in our history. It is a year in which the governing party, the African National Congress (ANC), is celebrating 100-years of its existence.
This centenary is an important milestone in the struggle for the liberation of all the people of South Africa and in the attainment of a free, non-sexist, non-racial and democratic country. It is a history which reminds us of a crucial role played by the youth in the pursuit of the freedoms that we all enjoy in our society today.
As a nation, we recognise the supreme sacrifices that were made by young people during this history. In this regard, we will in just under a month, remember one such brave young man, Solomon Mahlangu, who at the age of 29, paid the ultimate price when he was hung by the Apartheid regime on 6 April in 1979.
We will also commemorate the Youth month in June, to remember, as we do every year, the social change brought about by the courageous youth who rose up in the Soweto Uprising in 1976 against an unjust education policy and by those young people who rendered as they did the Apartheid system unworkable in the 1980s.
We are also mindful of the significant role that the youth can play in pursuing our democratic government’s mission to restore dignity to our people and to better the lives of all South Africans.
As the Department of Home Affairs, we are charged with the duty of being the custodian of the South African citizenship. We serve our people, through the provision of documents that are crucial in the lives of each and every South African from the moment that they are born to the moment that they die. This includes the issuance of enabling documents such as birth certificates, Identity Documents, passports, marriage and death certificates, which provide a legal basis for proof of citizenship.
Most importantly, Programme Director, these documents make it possible for the people of South Africa to access government wide services such as health, education and social grants which are much needed by the most vulnerable and poor people in our society. They also enable the access of opportunities and services in the private domain such as banking rights and in applying for bursaries, scholarships and employment and thus effectively providing a passport to improving the lives of young people.
Programme Director, our biggest challenge is in finding a balance between discharging this duty in a manner that is caring, respectful and sensitive on the one hand. Whilst, on the other hand, being vigilant at the same time in order to protect this birth right against abuse and misuse. We have seen what can happen if this balance is not achieved.
The existence of fraudulent marriages has led to people possessing the South African citizenship who are not entitled to do so by law, therefore exerting pressure in the access of already limited resources and services.
Programme Director, we also provide civics and immigration services at foreign missions; and consider application from and grant refugee status in accordance with international obligations.
This too requires a balancing act by our officials, who should on the one hand have a broad understanding of the world outside South Africa and a knowledge of the global environment so that South Africa, as a responsible global citizen, is able to offer the much needed help to those people who are being persecuted in their country of origin and are in our shores genuinely seekers asylum.
On the other hand our officials should be vigilant and be able to stop those who want to exploit these rights in order to gain access entry into South Africa under false pretext.
Programme Director, the temptation to exploit vulnerable people under this regime is great. Often times our officials are approached by people who are desperate to gain entry into our country. Therefore, the must be, a full understanding of why the Department of Home Affairs is considered to be the frontline barrier against crime and insecurity. We hold the very future of our country, our people’s hopes and dreams in our hands.
Our employees must infuse what they do in their day-to-day duties, be it at a refugee centre, port of entry or a civic office, with a deep sense of patriotism and respect of the rules that govern the work of the Department.
This change must be accompanied with a love for our country and its people, so that in every action that our employees take, they must ask themselves whether they are doing so is in the interest of that country that Solomon Mahlangu died for because to do otherwise is to rob our country its hard won rights that are enshrined in our constitution.
I believe, Programme Director, that the youth in their role as agents of change are instrumental in effecting this shift.
We also need to build our department into an environment that embraces the culture of learning and not to rely solely on mechanical and operational experience. In this regard we must encourage our employees to study further, train and develop them in all areas of the department’s competence.
This is because we need to develop a well-rounded, cadre who is enthusiastic, dedicated to service, caring, learned, skilled and competent in order to dispatch our duties effectively and efficiently.
We must seek to develop a calibre of a public servant that will turn this organisation around. Ultimately the Department of Home Affairs must become the employer of choice.
Last but not least, Programme Director, we challenge this forum, to bear the following in mind as they deliberate on their role in the transformation of the Department of Home Affairs:
- The need for the youth in the Department of Home Affairs to exhibit a patriotism beyond what we see currently in the civil service;
- For our young officials to enthusiastically pursue education and self-improvement; and for them to
- Strive to be role models within the department and in their communities.
In this regard, Programme Director, it is appropriate that the youth gathered here today will in the next three days discuss the role of the youth in the transformation of the Department of Home Affairs under the theme: “Leaders in DHA Transformation and Service Delivery”, for we rely on the youth to lead this change.
Lastly, Programme Director, let me take this opportunity to wish you well in all your deliberations.
I thank you.
