The Committee also commends the introduction of measurable objectives for each main division within a departments vote as prescribed by the Public Finance Management Act. Service delivery information is therefore complemented by an objective for each programme, which provides a clear statement of the central aim of spending programmes.

The methodology that the Committee used to exercise oversight over the Home Affairs budget vote was to study Vote 4: Home Affairs, as outlined in the Estimates of National Expenditure 2004 together with the Departments Strategic Plan for the 2004/5 – 2006/7 medium term. The aim was to ensure that the main spending areas as indicated in Vote 4 was indeed in line with the strategic priorities and objectives that is set out in the strategic plan. The Committee also critically assessed the content of the Strategic Plan against the information that was gathered during the Committees study tours to Home Affairs offices in 5 provinces in the 2003 financial year and in previous years.

Other documents that were studied in preparation of the budget hearings included the 2004 Budget Review, Employment Equity Report of the Department of Home Affairs, IEC Annual Report 20002/3, Home Affairs Annual Report 2003 together with Auditor General Reports and the Film and Publication Annual Report 2003.

The Committee was briefed by the Department on their Vote on 1 and 2 June 2004. On 8 June the Independent Electoral Commission, Film and Publication Board and the Immigration Advisory Board briefed the Committee. We are also pleased to report that the Minister and Deputy Minister of Home Affairs made valuable contributions during the budget briefings. The briefings were done on all 4 Home Affairs programmes as follows:

1. Administration

1. Civic services
2. Immigration
3. Auxiliary and associated services

The briefings further included the Departments Strategic Plan that also clearly spells out the main priorities of the Departments recently announced Turnaround Strategy.

The Committee is therefore pleased to express its findings in this report. The report will be in such a format as to make it easily readable and understandable and at the same time an attempt is made to move away from just quoting figures and rather, in line with Treasury reforms, to report on measurable objectives. All the figures are available in the Estimates of National Expenditure and the main aim of the Report is to indicate those areas that the Committee feels that the Department should either include as strategic priorities or that should be seen as key challenges that require special care, management and intervention.

Some of the most critical challenges for the Department that have been outlined by the Minister and the director-General are as follows:

• Inadequate infrastructural capacity and atrocious state of offices
• Corruption
• Poor service delivery
• Ancientness of IT systems
• Illegal Immigration
• Fake marriages
• Fraudulent acquisition of citizenship
• Low staff morale
• Inadequate staff compliment
• Lack of equipment, infrastructure and funds

Conditions have become so bad in the Department that a Turnaround Strategy was launched in September last year. This should be seen as a revolution against the above-cited problems in a bid to acknowledge and counter the critical challenges that face the Department. The Committee commends the fact that the Turnaround Strategy identifies key intervention areas to address the critical challenges that face the Department.

The Committee further commends the Department for incorporating the Turnaround Strategy into medium term strategic and business planning and most importantly for laying down clear deliverables and timelines and also for detailed costing over the medium to long-term.

Up to date Government Departments did not include measurable objectives in their reporting and even planning for that matter. The Committee is pleased that measurable objectives and timeframes have been specified. The Committee also notes that 2004 will be the first year within which Annual Departmental Reports would be required to report on the measurable objectives proposed in the preceding Strategic Plans and Budgets. This will refine the measurability of the Departments performance against strategic measurable objectives.

It seems that the Department is finally serious about reconstructing itself and of ridding itself of past failures and of becoming a client focused public service provider.

The work of the Department can be captured in a nutshell as follows:

"The department confirms the status of people. It provides people with the enabling documentation that allows them to access the houses, the jobs, the healthcare and the social grants. It facilitates the entry of scarce skills and investment and tourists into our country to build the economy that will allow government to make life better for our people. It ensures that people who wish to visit, sojourn and work in our country do so legally and in pursuance of our national goals. It ensures that the criminals, the terrorists, the drug-peddlers, the people-traffickers are prevented from subverting our new-found and hard-won democracy and peace."

The work of the department is categorized into four programmes that can briefly be outlined as follows:

Programme 1: Administration

Administration conducts the overall management and administration of the Department. The programme provides for policy formulation by the Minister, Deputy Minister and the Department’s senior management. Other functions include organizing the Department; rendering centralized administrative, legal and office support services; managing departmental personnel and financial administration; determining working methods and procedures; and exercising control through head office and provincial offices.

Programme 2: Services to Citizens

Services to Citizens grants people living in South Africa official citizenship or residence rights and powers. It is organized into three sub-programmes:

• Travel and passport matters issues passports and other travel documents in terms of legislations and provides for financial assistance to citizens abroad, and in some cases for their repatriation.
• Citizenship provides for activities related to determining and granting citizenship, and its forfeiture, in terms of the South African Citizenship Act (88 of 1995).
• Population registration provides for the maintenance of a register of citizens, and aliens who have acquired the right to permanent residence including of births, marriages and deaths.

Programme 3: Immigration

Immigration handles migration in foreign countries, controls visas and the admissions of travellers at ports of entry, deports illegal immigrants, and considers and processes refugee cases in terms of the Immigration Act (13 of 2002) and Refugee Act (130 of 1998) respectively. It has seven sub-programmes:

• Permanent and Temporary residence provides for the processing of applications for residence permits. This includes the processing of applications for work, study and other temporary residence permits.
• The Immigration Advisory Board advises the Minister on immigration matters.
• Consultative Committee for Performing Artists funding of grant-in-aid.
• Control of Travellers is responsible for visa control and managing travellers at ports of entry.
• Aliens control provides for the deportation of illegal immigrants.
• Refugee Affairs processes applications and grants asylum.
• The Standing Committee for Refugee Affairs reviews decisions by the Refugee Status Determination Officers in respect of manifestly unfounded, fraudulent and abusive asylum applications. It is responsible to regulate and formulate procedures for the granting of asylum.
• The Refugee Affairs Appeal Board funds the Refugee Affairs Appeal Board and adjudicates appeal cases rejected by the Refugee Status Determination Officers.
• Consular Affairs handles immigration matters for South African citizens in foreign countries.

Programme 4: Auxiliary and associated services

Auxiliary and associated services are made up of five sub-programmes:

• The Film and Publication Board funds the classification work of the Film and Publication Board and the Film and Publication Review Board.
• The Government Printing Works provides for the augmentation of the Government Printing Works Trading Account for the supply of printing and stationary to government.
• Government Motor Transport funds the purchase of vehicles for departmental use.
• The Independent Electoral Commission provides for the establishment and composition of the IEC to manage elections and referenda; and makes provision for the establishment and composition of an Electoral Court and its powers, duties and functions, in terms of the Independent Electoral Commission Act (51 of 1996).
• Capital Works sub-programme provides for the upgrading and maintenance of buildings and accommodation.

1. Undertaking a critical review of all business processes related to civic Services in order to develop an integrated action plan for improving systems and processes to provide clients efficient services and to curb fraudulent marriages, fraudulent acquisition of citizenship and the false entitlement of government benefits.
2. The introduction of the Electronic Document management system that introduced electronic process workflow control for registering births, marriages and deaths, which has already improved turnaround times. The Committee will monitor the progress made with the second phase, which includes the back record conversion of all civic services documentation. We also urge the Department to report on progress in this regard in the next Departmental annual report.
3. The introduction of the permanent citizen registration campaign.
4. The promise of proposals for urgent amendment of marriage legislation to curb fraudulent marriages.

1. The expansion of the staff compliment from 7 500 to 11 700 posts. We further take note and commend the Department for including key elements as follows in the new structure:

• National Immigration branch
• Service delivery branch
• Chief Directorate Counter Corruption and Security
• Provincial management and support
• Financial and logistical management and capacity
• Strengthening of strategic and integrated governance support.

1. The introduction of a learnership and internship programme, the revision of training curricula and capacity and the attempts to boost staff morale by introducing a sporting and cultural programme.

1. The upgrading and refurbishment of physical infrastructure.
2. The new establishment that provides for an increase in offices and service points throughout the country.
3. The audit that was done on the condition, location, equipping and staffing of offices country wide with the resultant plan to upgrade all DPW offices.
4. The programme for immediate intervention of the worst offices together with the volunteer campaign to give a facelift to 50 offices.

1. The introduction of modernized IT systems and state of the art technology and management systems in line with the ITingwe plan.
2. The development of automated workflow processes.
3. Redesigning all systems into a single master systems plan, including the rewrite of the population register and the Movement Control System.
4. Hanis reloaded that envisages providing an electronic database of fingerprints of those within the borders of South Africa, including refugees and immigrants. The aim of Hanis is to capture the manual fingerprint database onto an electronic database.

1. Creating a Chief Directorate for counter corruption and for working with the countries security and intelligence agencies.

1. The transformation of the Immigration Branch into a properly organized, trained, equipped and staffed law enforcement agency.
2. The ongoing implementation of the Immigration Act together with the recruitment of more immigration officers at JIA, CT, Maseru Bridge, Lindela and 69 Refugee Status Determination Officers.
3. The review of the Immigration Act and its implementation.

1. Clear planning and measurable objectives to turn around the direction of the Department in order to become efficient, effective and client focused.
2. Improved financial planning in th4 medium and long term due to the identification of strategic objectives.

1. Introduction of the whole range of turnaround interventions that will ultimately service delivery standards including the "Client is always right" campaign and the establishment of a 24hour client service centre.

1. The envisaged strengthening of the management team to institutionalize the appropriate systems, processes and management support.

• Too many vacancies exist.
• No proper counter corruption system is in place.
• IT systems are poor.
• Financial accounting and systems are poor.

The Committee supports this budget Vote and believes that the Department has finally come up with the plans that could turn this department around. The turnaround strategy as outlined in the Department’s Strategic Plan has the full support of the Committee.

We do however remind the Department that the IT systems and Hanis are still in critical condition and only clear focus and dedication will turn the situation around.

We also urge the Department to ensure that no funds are rolled over to the next financial year.

The Committee commits itself to co-operate with the Department to attain the agreed upon strategic goals and objectives.