ID documents process
21 May 2007
New Track and Trace systems will allow managers to speed up ID process and
combat abuse effectively. Home Affairs Minister, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, today
announces a further significant step forward in her strategy to transform and
improve her department's service delivery capacity with the introduction of the
ID Track and Trace system as an internal management tool to improve the
efficiency and reliability of identity document provision to all South African
citizens while combating the corrupt issuing of fraudulent documents.
Developed in co-operation between the Citizen Services Branch of Home
Affairs and IT experts, the system allows departmental managers to trace and if
necessary speed up the progress of an application for an ID document from the
moment it is lodged through every stage of the process until it is delivered to
the applicant. Specially developed matrixes allow managers to establish which
Home Affairs official has assumed responsibility for the processing at each
stage of the application, from acceptance at a Home Affairs office to transport
to headquarters, verification of the applicant's identity, permission for an ID
document to be printed, printing, return to the issuing office and handover to
the applicant. Managers will be able to identify blockages in the system and
rectify them speedily or trace applications which have gone astray and identify
the official responsible.
Besides encouraging a culture of individual responsibility for assigned
tasks, the Track and Trace system will allow managers to monitor the individual
productivity of Home Affairs officials in the business unit responsible for
issuing ID documents. Managers will be able to assess how many documents are
processed daily by individual officials and hold them to department-wide
standards and norms, thus increasing efficiency across the board and
ultimately, cutting the time taken to issue documents.
The Track and Trace system will also allow home affairs to make a
significant impact on the fraudulent issuing of ID documents. By clearly
identifying each official responsible for every step of the process, it will
allow managers to find any departmental employee who substitutes photographs
and sells IDs illegally, alters details on the central registry system, or
creates fraudulent ID numbers. Equally, the new system will also allow a
significant tightening of access to birth records and ID number generation,
frequently the keys to the corrupt issuing of fraudulent documents.
"The new system allows us to know who has done what every step of the way,
whether they have acted efficiently and properly, or whether there has been
negligence or corruption in the process," said Minister Mapisa-Nqakula. "As
part of our larger turnaround of Home Affairs, this will be a central tool in
achieving our goal of ensuring that every rightful applicant receives their ID
document within a reasonable period of time and that the frustrations some have
experienced with the process become a thing of the past."
A similar system allowing managers to follow applications for passports has
been operating successfully within the department for some time. Because the ID
Track and Trace System must allow departmental managers to follow the flows
associated with much larger numbers of applications on a daily basis up to 15
000 ID applications, it will be brought into full operation over a period of
several months to ensure that it is able to operate efficiently and flawlessly
at all times at the necessary scale.
Further announcements on the Track and Trace system as its efficiency is
proven, and as more features become viable will be made by Minister
Mapisa-Nqakula at the appropriate time.
For further information, contact:
Mantshele wa ga Tau
Tel: 012 810 6315
Cell: 082 802 4814
Issued by: Department of Home Affairs
21 May 2007
