Budget Vote Speech delivered by the Minister of Home Affairs, Hon Dr Leon Schreiber (MP), on the occasion of the Home Affairs Budget Vote Debate (5) in the National Assembly
Honourable Speaker, Thoko Didiza
Deputy Minister of Home Affairs, Honourable Njabulo Nzuza
Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs, Honourable Mosa Chabane
Honourable Members of the Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs
Director-General of the Department of Home Affairs, Mr Tommy Makhode
Chairperson of the Independent Electoral Commission, Mr Mosotho Moepya
CEO of Government Printing Works, Ms Alinah Fosi
Commissioner of the Border Management Authority, Dr Michael Masiapato
Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,
One year ago, I addressed this House for the first time about our apex priority for the Home Affairs ecosystem.
I indicated that everything we do in this ecosystem during the seventh administration, will be guided by our commitment to pursue digital transformation to deliver dignity for all.
We call this vision Home Affairs @ home.
In its totality, it likely amounts to the most ambitious departmental reform programme our country has seen since 1994.
Our goal is nothing less than revolutionising the way citizens interact with their government by moving from manual to digital.
But this is about more than technology.
It is also about fundamentally shifting the paradigm of how government interacts with citizens.
Since 1994, the paradigm behind the delivery of government services has been one of centralisation, paperwork, manual processes, and long queues.
This model often led to inefficiency, a lack of transparency, and the rise of corruption.
Nowhere were these problems more evident, than in the Home Affairs ecosystem.
Ironically, it is for precisely this reason that I regard the work we are doing at Home Affairs as fundamentally important for the future of our country.
For if we can build a new reform model here, based on decentralisation, modernisation, digital transformation and remote access that makes Home Affairs work, then we will restore the hope that South Africa as a whole can work.
One year on, we have not only laid a foundation for these reforms, but we are already seeing visible progress across all parts of this ecosystem.
Reform works like compound interest when you put money into a savings account.
It may start small, but if you keep putting away savings every month, the combined effect of interest and ongoing capital investment ultimately leads to exponential growth.
In the same way, the constant investments we are making in the reform of Home Affairs, the Border Management Authority and Government Printing Works, is starting to compound and grow.
During the past year, we have:
-
Delivered nearly 3.6 million Smart IDs – almost half a million more than the previous annual record
-
Cleared a visa backlog of over 306 000 applications dating back over a decade
-
Deported over 46 000 illegal immigrants, the highest number in five years and more than countries like France and Germany combined
-
Used drones and body cameras to increase the number of attempted illegal crossings that were detected and prevented by up to 215%
-
Empowered naturalised citizens and permanent residents to obtain Smart IDs for the first time, expanding inclusion and making our country less reliant on the green ID book that is 500% more vulnerable to fraud than the Smart ID
If this is just some of what Home Affairs could do in one year, just imagine what we can do in five.
Civic Services
Honourable Members,
Now that we are enabling all qualifying categories of persons to obtain Smart IDs, our next step will be to dramatically scale up access to this critical and more-secure enabling document.
In line with the Medium-Term Development Plan adopted by Cabinet, we will do so by expanding the successful pilot project that currently delivers Smart ID and passport services in about 30 bank branches across the country.
We will use digital transformation to integrate the Home Affairs IT platform onto banks’ networks, thereby enabling many more bank branches to deliver this service around the country.
Our target for this financial year is to expand this service to at least 100 more branches.
This same technology reform will also enable South Africans to order Smart IDs and passports through their banking app, just like they already do when buying electricity or data.
And we will introduce the option of home delivery for Smart IDs and passports, using advanced facial recognition technology to secure the process.
Many people do not realise that 101 out of the 348 existing Home Affairs offices still do not even have the capability to issue Smart IDs.
As we speak, these offices are still issuing the Green ID book that is at the heart of the scourge of identity theft and fraud our country is facing.
If we have to wait for the funding to be made available to modernise all these offices, we’ll be waiting forever.
So we will not wait.
Through scaling up the existing collaboration with banks, we will rapidly accelerate access to Smart IDs with the goal of ending the production of new Green ID books by the end of this year.
This will be a momentous step towards delivering dignity for all, while simultaneously clamping down on fraud.
I can also report today that we have heard the pleas for help from South Africans living abroad, who currently often wait more than a year just to get a new Smart ID or passport.
I am pleased to announce that, by the end of this month, we will launch new facilities abroad to assist South Africans living and working overseas.
These new facilities will ensure a five-week turnaround time for IDs and passports.
We are starting in:
-
Australia
-
New Zealand
-
United Arab Emirates
Followed by:
-
France
-
Germany
-
The Netherlands
And in the new year:
-
North America
But even this step is still just an interim solution.
Our ultimate aim is to deliver Home Affairs @ home, which will enable every South African, no matter where they are on the planet, to obtain services from their government online.
The civics service reforms we will deliver during the current financial year are all part of laying the foundation for our ambitious plan to create South Africa’s first ever Digital ID system.
Once all citizens and permanent residents have access to Smart IDs, our focus will shift to delivering digital versions of enabling documents that can be accessed online and on smart devices.
Digital ID will also enable users to remotely authenticate themselves, laying the foundation for a digital revolution not only for government services, but also for critical private sector services like banking, finance and insurance.
Home Affairs will shortly submit a Digital ID policy to Cabinet for approval to conduct public hearings.
Beyond material benefits such as clamping down on fraud and enhancing inclusion, the Digital ID system will also restore the integrity and pride of our cherished South African identity.
Immigration
We are taking the same digital-first approach to immigration.
By the end of September, our new Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) system will go live for tourist visas, focusing on travellers arriving by air at OR Tambo and Cape Town International airports ahead of the G20 leaders meeting.
The ETA fully automates and digitalises the visa process from beginning to end, enabling outcomes to be delivered within seconds and using machine learning technology to eliminate fraud.
With tax season having just opened, the South African Revenue Service has already demonstrated how impactful this technology can be in improving government services, and we are grateful for their collaboration on this project.
Over time, we will expand the ETA to cover more visa categories, and roll it out at all international ports of entry.
As part of our work to position Home Affairs as an economic enabler, I am also proud to announce that we have completed the second intake of vetted and approved tour operators to join our highly-successful Trusted Tour Operator Scheme (TTOS).
Over 17 000 tourists travelling in groups from China and India who otherwise would have struggled to obtain a visa to visit and spend their money in South Africa, have now obtained visas just since this scheme was launched in February.
The second intake of 45 operators will boost the total number of participating companies from 65 to 110, which means we can look forward to a further acceleration in tourism from these two burgeoning source markets.
But we are not stopping there.
Building on the extraordinary success of TTOS, and to support the pending rollout of the ETA, we are also launching two further digital visa initiatives:
-
STAGES, short for Screen Talent and Global Entertainment Scheme
-
MEETS, short for the Meetings, Events, Exhibitions and Tourism Scheme
This will support events such as:
-
SA20 cricket tournament
-
World Rugby Sevens
Together, STAGES and MEETS are set to transform South Africa into a leading destination for film, tourism, sports, arts, culture and events – all sectors with enormous potential for growth and job creation.
Border Management Authority
I can also report that the Public-Private Partnership project to redesign and redevelop South Africa’s six busiest commercial land ports is progressing well.
This is set to be a catalytic flagship infrastructure project for our country.
In addition to being technology-focused and pursuing the one-stop border post concept, it will introduce dedicated lanes for buses, taxis, small vehicles and pedestrians.
This will enable the BMA to effectively facilitate the movement of people and goods across our ports of entry without any delay, boosting economic growth and regional trade.
The approval process is currently with National Treasury and public announcements will follow.
This is just one of the critical projects that the BMA is rolling out to enhance border management.
Digital transformation is at the heart of the BMA’s work, as it focuses on automating entry-and-exit at all ports of entry, including through an upgraded Advanced Passenger Processing system, and operationalising advanced targeting centres to enhance intelligence gathering and data analysis.
We have already seen the positive impact of the deployment of drones and other technology by the BMA.
However, this entity remains critically underfunded, despite funding for the BMA being one of the wisest investments our country can make.
Every political leader claims to care about improving border management.
I will continue to make the case that it is time for us to all put our money where our mouths are by adequately capacitating the BMA.
Government Printing Works
Government Printing Works also has a vital contribution to make on this journey of digital transformation.
I have approached Dr Cassius Lubisi, the former Director-General in the Presidency, to lead a committee of experts to advise on the strategic repositioning of GPW for the digital age.
In the meantime, this entity is preparing to ramp up production for the anticipated increase in demand for Smart IDs resulting from the expansion of Home Affairs services in bank branches and online, and working to introduce a new biometric ePassport for the first time.
Conclusion
Honourable Speaker,
From Smart IDs to Digital ID at home and abroad, to ePassports, the ETA, the Trusted Tour Operator Scheme, new visa schemes for the film industry and events as well as support for driver’s license printing, the Home Affairs ecosystem is set to reach even greater heights in the second year of our reform journey.
To fund this journey, I am tabling a budget for Vote 5 on Home Affairs that amounts to R11 billion in 2025/26.
This includes a baseline increase of:
-
R321 million in 2025/26
-
R1.2 billion in 2026/27
-
R369 million in 2027/28
These increases will primarily support the Border Management Authority (BMA) and the preparations for the 2026 local government elections.
However, the BMA budget will only increase from R1.7 billion to R1.9 billion over the next three years, which remains insufficient.
As a result, we will continue to work on self-financing and alternative revenue sources to unlock greater investment and accelerate our digital transformation efforts.
The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) will receive an additional R885 million in 2026/27 to support the local elections, bringing its total budget for the current financial year to R2.1 billion, while GPW will retain the difference between revenue and expenses which amounts to R1.8 billion.
The scale and urgency of reform that is now well underway in the Home Affairs ecosystem is without parallel in the story of our young democracy.
We already have a lot to show after just one year, and a lot more to do over the next four years.
Our progress is based on the fact that we are working as one team, with one dream.
With every day that passes, we take another collective step towards achieving our goal of using digital transformation to deliver dignity for all.
Thank you.
Enquiries:
Siya Qoza
Cell number: 082 898 1657
Duwayne Esau – Spokesperson for the Minister
Cell number: 077 606 9702
#GovZAUpdates
