Questions and answers
Question Minister, what was your overall impression of the Beaufort West Home Affairs office?
Answer Well, I think they are doing good work but I think the major problem is that it is a very rural community that is being served by this office, a community that is scattered over many kilometres. Therefore, the office itself is not so busy but it is the outlying areas that they have to service that is a challenge. A mobile truck is used to provide this service. However, as you have heard, because of the vastness of the area they have to service, one mobile truck is not enough. Those are some of the difficulties.
But, from what I gather, the farmers themselves also assist because they also bring people to the office themselves. So, this helps to get people services.
The office is, as you have seen, small. But Home Affairs per se does not have a property here but we are utilising the Thusong Centre which is a government building from which to render services to the community.
There are also, as you have heard difficulties with regard to late registration of births. This is partly why we would like to do away with the late registration of births. To this end we have a programme to register all young children from 0 to 14 years of age within the next two years till the end of 2011 and to proactively issue ID documents to children once they turn 16 years old so that we can tighten up that part and have people in our population register as young as possible because that is the only way in which to guarantee the integrity of the population register.
And of course, we would like those South Africans who are not registered to register because there is going to come a time where we will be very strict with late registration of births. From 2012 we would like to just register children from 0 to 1 year (that is before they turn 1 year old.) We want all the adults to have been registered before that so that we tighten up that part but of course, it will also assist to prevent the problems being faced with late registration. So, if we can deal with that then those problems will be solved because they will be very few, if any, people who require late registration and it will also be easy to pick up those who are not South African who are trying to cash in on this situation.
So, I think these were most of their problems really C the distances, servicing the outlying areas and the problems around late registration of births especially because sometimes people come to register here but they were born very far from here so to verify that they are South Africans, to get credible informants is sometimes difficult.
Question Minister, we also hear that this office is not so busy but in your view, are they applying Batho Pele principles?
Answer Well, I cannot precisely say that because as you have seen this office is not so busy but from what the staff tell me, they tell me it works ok, they are polite to people. But I also saw at least they are informing the public not to bribe, I saw a poster that says people must not pay for what they should not be paying for. So, I think this is a good thing. But, I couldn’t really assess because it was too quiet.
Question Minister, I know you have been to Bloemfontein, this must be your last stop ¨C do you perhaps think that issues of corruption have been given serious attention?
Answer as you know, what struck me even when we were in Bloemfontein I was advised that there is only one person there and it is difficult for him to do everything and strengthen the anti-corruption unit. But we do not think you can deal with corruption just by arresting people. It is important to do that but we also think we need to streamline the processes, capture data electronically, that is, we need to approach it from a multi-pronged base rather than through just one route.
So, the registration of children is also one way of dealing with corruption because if children are registered at birth and if the mothers’ details are listed on the certificate, you cannot rent a child because the birth certificate will have the mothers name and ID number. At the moment the birth certificate just has the child’s name and ID number and this presents a problem because those who want to perpetrate corruption, not even only at Home Affairs, the social grant system for instance, use the birth certificate and claim to be parents of the child and because there is nothing to connect the parents with the child on the birth certificate anyone can do this. So, a birth certificate with the mothers name and ID will lend a hand towards fighting corruption. The doing away with late registration will be another.
But also, to facilitate processes, to ensure people are served quickly will contribute to people believing they will be served timeously and do not have to pay to be in front of the queue. All these things will contribute to the fight against corruption.
On line processing of information C photographs, signatures, etc C for IDs, passports, permits; etc C will also serve to fight corruption. So it is a multi-pronged approach.
Question Minister, while you were inside (inaudible)?
Answer yes; you know it is very important for us at Home Affairs to serve people properly. A person who comes to Home Affairs for a particular service must only come once, receive all the necessary information, receive assistance. The second visit should only be to collect the document.
This thing of sending people from pillar to post, they come today, you ask them to return tomorrow, when they bring that information you ask them for different information. We want this to stop. People must receive service on their first visit. This is really how good service is rendered. Secondly, when dealing with people who sometimes use meagre resources they have to travel to Home Affairs, we will be exacerbating their poverty if we use their meagre resources inappropriately. So, we will not be fighting poverty but exacerbating it. It is therefore very important for Home Affairs to provide excellent services.
Enquiries:
Ronnie Mamoepa
Cell: 082 990 4853
Issued by: Department of Home Affairs
21 July 2009
Source: Department of Home Affairs (http://www.home-affairs.gov.za/)
