in office
4 September 2007
Home Affairs Director�General, Mavuso Msimang today, 4 September 2007,
expressed satisfaction at the progress made to build a new Home Affairs, one
that is a radically more efficient, cost effective service organisation that
delivers services on time and serves the needs of the population and the
expanding economy whilst at the same time combating corruption in all its
manifestations.
Speaking at a media briefing in Johannesburg, marking his 100 days in
office, the Director General said:
"We have designed a comprehensive strategy that analyses the root of our
problems and identifies opportunities for immediate action. This strategy will
run over the next three years and beyond. More than a decade after the advent
of democracy, we can't afford to have a department that is still depriving the
citizenry of their basic human rights as enshrined in the Constitution of the
Republic of South Africa." He added that their frustrations in standing in long
queues, being exposed to corruption and badly equipped offices and receiving
poor service ought to be changed.
The Director-General highlighted progress to date on the following focus
areas:
New Identity Documents (ID) Track and Trace system
Special printers providing bar-coded receipt slips for the IDs are being
installed in 330 Home Affairs offices countrywide. This is the first step in
rolling out the full Track and Trace capability across the country as both a
management tool for Home Affairs and a system, which will allow customers to
know when they can expect delivery of their documents. "The Track and Trace
system will enable our customers to interact easily with the department when
they query the status of their applications."
Following the phased rollout over the next few months, the system will also
help to lighten the load in offices and mobile units around the country. "It
will assist in cutting down queues by allowing clients to get information
through other channels without having to come to the offices," said
Msimang.
Members of the public can currently enquire about the status of the
application by either sending their ID numbers to 32551. (Type ID then followed
by thirteen digit ID number) or by logging on to http://www.dha.gov.za and clicking on the ID
application status button. A new Call Centre will also be fully operational by
February 2008 to assist customers in tracking their ID applications. Each SMS
sent will be charged at R1.00 by the applicant's network service provider.
ID production
The current ID production process is cumbersome. This has resulted in delays
in the production of IDs, multiple duplicates of IDs and wrong information
being recorded on the National Population Register. Of the 2,2 million IDs
produced annually, 54% were found to be re-issues, 31% new first time
applications and 15 late registrations. Currently, there is a backlog of 600
000 IDs awaiting processing.
However it was expected that the planned future installation of new
high-tech online fingerprint verification system will assist the department in
reducing the high volume of duplicates or wrong details on the IDs. With a
thumb (biometric) verification system, particularly for reissue ID applications
at any Home Affairs offices across the country, the department will be able to
verify or confirm on the spot whether the applicant is indeed a rightful owner
of such an ID. This will lay the basis for faster, more reliable processing of
ID applications while at the same time fighting corruption in the production of
IDs.
Permitting Regime (Work-permits and Refugee and Asylum permits)
Refugee and Asylum Permits
The current push to cut the backlog has seen the number of refugee
applications adjudicated in the past 13 months rise to almost 35,8 thousand.
This is still not sufficient however there are 76,4 thousand applications now
still being processed, with the assumption that the majority have not been
submitted by genuine asylum seekers. At the same time the backlog in refugee
processing has grown by 30% from 76 000 to 144 000 despite concerted efforts to
reduce it.
Meanwhile, the department has afforded all would-be asylum seekers a grace
period of two months starting from 1 September and ending on 30 October 2007.
This only applies to asylum seekers who lodged applications between April 1998
and July 2005 and whose asylum status has not been finalised. Should they not
come forward to declare their applications at any of the four refugee reception
offices in Gauteng (Crown Mines); Western Cape (Cape Town); Eastern Cape (Port
Elizabeth) and KwaZulu-Natal (Durban) the department will revoke their Section
22 permits and all those applicants will be declared illegal in the
country.
However, the department has taken concrete steps in overhauling the refugee
and asylum seekers systems by agreeing to relocate Rosettenville refugee centre
to a planned new centre of Excellence at Crown Mines where the processing of
asylum applications will be consolidated and upgraded. Crown Mines is a much
larger facility already used for refugee and asylum processing. The relocation
of the Rosettenville refugee centre to this site will increase the processing
capacity of the department from 13 220 per annum to 43 980 with an anticipated
growth to 57 200 in the future.
Temporary measures to ease congestion at the Marabastad reception centre in
Pretoria are underway. This includes an upgrade of the conditions at the
facility and deployment of additional 22 Refugee Status Determination Officers
to process the applications.
Skill and quota work permits
A special help desk has been established to fast-track the processing of 35
000 new work permits that have been made available for foreigners with scarce
and critical skills. This also resulted in the department setting up a Large
Account Unit to streamline the issuing of corporate permits to major investors
who requires scarce skills for their local operations. To date, the Department
is fast-tracking the following corporate permits to assist these companies
meeting their operational requirements:
Gautrain: 25 engineers
* Anglo-American: 195 (50 Boilermakers, 75 electricians, 20 Riggers and 50
Fitters)
* Lafarge: 200 artisans
* Mittal South Africa: 1 000 (50 engineers, 150 technicians and 800
artisans).
This unit will also ensure that the department is transformed into a modern,
efficient, cost-effective service answering to the needs of our economy
Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa (AsgiSA) or Joint
Initiative on Priority Skills Acquisition (Jipsa), including the 2010 Fifa
World Cup guarantees (i.e. visas, work permits and business permits).
Contract and Service Level Agreements
The department has put a process to review all the existing contracts to
ensure that these contracts comply with the Public Finance Management Act and
Supply Chain Management prescripts. One of a number of suppliers with whom
discussions are taking place around pricing structures is Bosasa, who currently
hold the contract to run Lindela.
The department will, at a later stage, make a statement regarding these
ongoing discussions with suppliers.
Information Technology (IT) services
For the Department of Home Affairs to be transformed into a modern
effective, cost-effective service organisation responsive to the needs of South
African citizens, residents and visitors to our country, it was necessary to
stabilise IT networks, upgrade existing technology and provide innovative IT
services to our customers, said Msimang. The department was also embarking on
an extensive survey regarding the usage of smart ID technology as a solution to
curb ID fraud in South Africa.
Improve Operational Management
The department's ability to produce IDs on time has been very low. Over
time, the processes for this core function were overlooked, said Msimang. The
situation had however improved dramatically in the past months following the
introduction of a strategic management training pilot project at the ID
processing centre in Pretoria. Operations management training has been given to
80 managers and officials increasing productivity in the fingerprint capturing
section by almost three times. This had also boosted the morale of staff and
improved the physical working environment leading to better work flows in the
pilot project area.
Vision and design of the new Home Affairs
The department has conducted a customer survey in partnership with
specialist market researchers, travelling to all nine provinces visiting urban
and rural based Home Affairs offices. Once analysed, the results of the survey
will give the department insight into the new vision for Home Affairs. An
extensive international benchmarking exercise had also been undertaken to
establish best practice principles that will be used in the redesign of the new
Home Affairs.
In conclusion, Msimang said over the past 100 days a solid foundation has
been laid to build a new Home Affairs. "By the end of the year the people of
South Africa and visitors to our country will start seeing tangible
benefits."
Enquiries:
Jacky Mashapu
Acting-Head of Communication Services
Cell: 082 885 8449
E-mail: Jacky.Mashapu@dha.gov.za
Issued by: Department of Home Affairs
4 September 2007
