NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
A. Introduction
A delegation from the Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs, under the leadership of Mr Patrick Chauke (ANC), visited Gauteng from 6 – 8 October 2004, and included Mrs MM Maunye (ANC); Mr KW Morwamoche (ANC); Mr P Sibande (ANC); Mrs SV Kalyan (DA) and Mr J F Vermeulen (Committee Secretary).
A second delegation from the Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs, under the leadership of Mr Patrick Chauke (ANC), visited Mpumalanga from 13 – 16 October 2004, and included Mr B L Mashile (ANC), Mr K W Morwamoche (ANC), Mr W M Skhosana (ANC), Mr P Sibande (ANC), Mr M Swart (DA) and Mr J F Vermeulen (Committee Secretary). Mr A Goosen, Acting Director of Port Control, Home Affairs Head Office, accompanied the delegation throughout the visit.
The delegations visited Gauteng and Mpumalanga to exercise oversight over the Departments adherence to the strategic objectives as set out in the Departments Strategic Plan 2004/5 – 2006/7 and to assess the progress that the Department has made with implementing set strategic objectives by set implementation dates (where applicable) as follows:
Is inspectorate functioning effectively?
Is investigations unit functioning effectively?
Did provinces receive proper training on new Act and regulations?
What is the progress with the rollout of new ID cards, passports and child certificates for refugees and is amalgamation with Civic Services finalised?
Are the interdepartmental liaison committees functioning at set levels?
Are ports of entry effectively equipped?
Are the standard operating procedures on Ports of Entry being adhered to?
What is the progress to link border posts to main frame and at what level is the movement control system operating and are the targets to implement new software being reached?
Has the training manual to deal with clients been developed by the target date of August 2004?
Was training intervention conducted or is it being planned?
Has the reward and recognition system been implemented by the target date of July 2004?
Has an action plan been developed to combat "street agents" by the target date of July 2004?
Has the transformation policy and review been implemented?
What progress has been made to capacitate the new structure?
What is being done to uplift staff morale as set out in the strategic plan?
Have offices been refurbished and uplifted or is it in the process of being done?
Has the medium term repair and maintenance programme of offices been introduced?
Has the possible relocation of offices been finalised?
Has an effective transport fleet been introduced and managed in the province by the set date of July 2004?
What has the success of the illegal marriage campaign been in the province?
How high are incidents of corruption and what are the counter measures in the province?
Has the related awareness campaign been introduced in the province?
Has office security been improved?
B. Itinerary: Gauteng
Wednesday 6 October
Thursday 7 October
Unannounced visits to:
Friday 8 October
Unannounced visits to:
In a nutshell it can be said that in Gauteng the Committee exercised oversight over the service delivery of the Department in the areas of:
C. Itinerary: Mpumalanga
Mpumalanga has a population of 3 122 990 according to the 2001 census and this represents 7% of the population of South Africa. The province is divided into the 2 sub-regions of Nelspruit and Witbank.
In total the Department of Home Affairs has 2 regional offices in the province, (the one at Nelspruit and the other at Witbank) 14 district offices and 11 ports of entry.
In order to get a complete picture of the operation of Home Affairs in the province the delegation visited offices and ports of entry in both sub regions as follows:
1. Witbank sub region
Wednesday 13 October
Thursday 14 October
2. Nelspruit sub region
Thursday 14 October
Friday 15 October
Saturday 16 October
The delegation visited regional and district offices in Mpumalanga as well as border posts during the oversight visit where departmental officials were interviewed in order to gain insight into the Department’s performance and progress in implementing the turnaround strategy in the province. In a nutshell, it can be said that the delegation exercised oversight over:
C. Findings of the Committee:
Mpumalanga
1.1 Most service points remain without computers. This makes the provision of services protracted and cumbersome as data is captured manually at service points and then taken to district offices to be captured on computer. At times the original documents of clients are lost as it is taken to district offices to be copied as there are no copiers at service points. It can thus take as long as 1 month and longer to issue a birth certificate at uncomputerised service points. For example at Kwa-Mhlanga there is 1 photocopy machine for 6 service points.
1.2 In general the relationship between the department and civil society is good as schools; tribal authorities and local communities are involved in the planning of the department’s schedule for mobile units and distribution of documents.
1.3 The lack of staff has the effect that certain areas are neglected when it comes to the provision of services as established offices do not have the capacity to release staff to take mobile units to unserviced areas.
1.4 The upgrading of offices including proper security at offices.
2. Immigration control and ports of entry
2.1 Immigration officers are needed throughout the province. The new Immigration Act emphasizes law enforcement, but with the current staff establishment the department cannot comply with its law enforcement responsibilities. There are only 39 immigration officers in the entire province.
2.2 The borderlines in SA and especially in Mpumalanga are very porous and with the withdrawal of the defence force from border control the transition might be difficult.
2.3 The interpretation of the new Immigration Act remains problematic and in some cases even Magistrates have limited understanding of the new Act. The delegation was informed of cases where a Magistrate set illegal immigrants free without first consulting with or asking for evidence from the Immigration officers who arrested the illegal foreigners.
2.4 There is an omission in the new Act as it concentrates on illegal foreigners, but does not provide for the arrest of South Africans who cross illegally into neighboring countries and then cross back into South Africa.
2.5 The upgrading of ports of entry is moving at a very slow pace. The needs of SARS has been addressed at many border posts, but not that of Home Affairs.
2.6 Computers and passport scanners are needed at border posts especially the commercial border posts like Lebombo that are very busy. The current scanners that have been provided by SARS under the Repair and Maintenance programme are not compatible with other office software and are of poor quality. According to the Immigration officers that work at the border post the scanners that they currently use are not effective and the same system that is now being used at Johannesburg International Airport will be much more effective. Contracts in place with suppliers is problematic.
2.7 The Border Control Improvement Programme has been a frustration to Home Affairs - R10 million was allegedly spent on a system that never materialized. The delegation was told that the Border Control Improvement Programme is being run by SARS, but that the co-operation between SARS, Home Affairs and the Police Service was poor in this regard.
2.8.The traffic control system at Lebombo border post was never introduced as was planned under the Border Control Improvement Programme. Now there is no traffic control or any real security at Lebombo.
Gauteng
1. Civic Services
1.1 Lack of resources, security and overall management remains a problem.
1.2"Runners" still operate seemingly unchallenged at Home affairs offices in Johannesburg.
1.3 The Soweto office is far too small and understaffed to provide an effective service to the community.
1.4 Home Affairs staff are not all wearing their name tags even though government decided that this should be done as part of improving service delivery.
2. Immigration
2.1 The Lindela repatriation center is being well run by Bosasa. Conditions are hygienic and the detainees are well treated.
2.2 The problems at Lindela mostly relate to the fact that Home Affairs has no efficient identification system available to ensure that South Africans are not detained at Lindela. At the time of the delegations visit the Department was busy setting up such an electronic identification system.
3. Refugee offices
3.1 The refugee reception center in Rosettenville is in need of equipment and staff to deal with the growing backlog of applications.
3.2 There is a definite need to open more refugee reception centers in South Africa especially closer to our Northern borders.
D. RECOMMENDATIONS
The Committee requests the Department to provide Parliament with a detailed report that answers the following questions as this will enable Parliament to measure the Department’s performance against the set and agreed to objectives and timeframes.
1.1 The Department has set itself the objective to define the structural, personnel and logistical requirements of a transformed immigration branch by the target date of July/August 2004. Has the target date been complied with?
1.2 The target date for the review of business processes in the Immigration branch to enhance efficiency and to eliminate red tape is December 2004. Will the target date be met?
1.3 The target date for amendments to the Immigration Act was set for August by the Department and has been met. The department should however investigate the need for further amendments especially the loophole that exists for SA citizens to cross into other countries and then come back without the proper documentation.
1.4 The target date for the determination of the basic capacity of the inspectorate is October 2004. Has this been complied with and if so make the information available to Parliament.
1.5 The target date for the effective functioning of the inspectorate is April 2005. Will the inspectorate function effectively by the target date?
1.6 Have the law enforcement plans been developed by the target date of October 2004?
1.7 Will the investigations unit function effectively in all provinces by the target date of April 2005?
2.1 Has the core capacity of the Refugees Affairs Directorate been established by the target date of 1 October 2004, and if so could the information be made available to Parliament?
2.2 The target date to eradicate the backlog of asylum applications is April 2005. Is the finalisation of this task still on track?
2.4 Has the manual on procedures and policies on SA;s asylum regime been developed by the target date of October 2004?
2.5 Have the standardised procedures been developed and put in place on asylum by the target date of October 2004?
2.6 Will the target date of February 2005 be met for the rollout of new ID cards, passports and child certificates for refugees and will the amalgamation with civic services be finalised at the target date?
2.7 Have the amendments to the Refugee Act and regulations been effected by the target date of October 2004?
3.1 The target date for the establishment of interdepartmental liaison committees in terms of section 6 of the Immigration Act was August 2004. Have the committees been established and how effective are they?
3.2 The target date for the adequate staffing of all ports of entry has been set for April 2007. Is the target date still the same and will the target date be reached?
3.3 The target date to effectively equip all ports of entry is April 2007. Will the target date be reached?
3.4 Will all port control officers be effectively trained by the target date of April 2007?
3.5 What progress has been made with the development of the standard operating procedures at ports of entry as the target date is April 2005?
3.6 Has the recording of entry and exit of citizens been reviewed by the target date of October 2004 and what are the findings of this review?
3.7 What progress has been made to institutionalise co-operation in the JCPS cluster as the target date was October 2004.
3.8 What progress is being made to establish bilateral agreements with SADC countries on visa regime and entry requirements, as the target date is January 2005?
4.1 How successful was the "know your status" marriage campaign that was and is still being run by the department?
4.2 What is the progress with the review of all business processes relating to civic services and what is the progress in developing an action plan for improving systems and processes to provide efficient services and to curb fraudulent marriages, fraudulent acquisition of citizenship and the false entitlement of government benefits? The issue of fraudulent marriages was addressed in the amendments to the Immigration Act but what other legislation is being revisited in order to clean up the relevant legislation by the target date of December 2004?
4.3 Has the target date of September 2004 been met to investigate the introduction of a unique ID number to eliminate the allocation of duplicate ID numbers, and will the new ID numbers be implemented by the target date of 1 November 2004?
4.4 The target date for the introduction of a bar-coded system to handle the tracking and tracing of applications is April 2005. Will the target date be met?
4.5 Has countrywide standard operational procedures been implemented by the target date of August 2004?
4.6Have the death registration procedures been revisited and what was the outcome of this process as the target date was August 2004?
5.1 Has the training manual to deal with clients been developed by the target date of August 2004?
5.2 Is the training intervention on track in this regard?
5.3 Has the reward and recognition system been implemented by the target date of July 2004?
5.4 What was the outcome of the investigation into uniforms for Department of Home Affairs personnel?
5.5 Has the action plan to deal with street agents been developed and implemented by the target date of July 2004?
5.6 What is the progress with the establishment of the 24-hour client service centre?
5.7 Has a service delivery branch been established in the department?
5.8 Will the report on service delivery improvement be tabled by the target date of December 2004?
6. Leadership and Management
6.1 Has an additional Chief Directorate been established in legal services by the target date of October 2004?
6.2 Has the new organisational structure at senior management level been implemented by the target date of 1 August 2004?
6.3 What progress is being made with the introduction of a performance management system, as the target date is March 2005?
6.4 Has the monthly reporting mechanism been institutionalised and how effective is it?
6.5 Will the internal communication strategy be implemented by November 2004?
6.6 Has the Departmental website been updated by the target date of July 2004?
6.7 Has the transformation policy been reviewed and has the core capacity of a new structure been established by the target date of September 2004?
7.1 What is the progress to fill the new establishment?
7.2 Has a retention and recruitment strategy been developed by the target date of August 2004?
7.3 Has a comprehensive succession planning and career management system been implemented by the target date of July 2004?
7.4 Is the development of comprehensive staff training plans on track to be completed by the target date of April 2005?
8.1 Has the audit on the state of all offices been conducted by the target date of October 2004? If so, please make copies of the audit available to Parliament. Does the audit include detailed plans to ensure physical security at all offices?
8.2 What is the progress of the emergency plan to relocate and refurbish worst offices as the target date is April 2005?
8.3 Which offices were given a facelift in 2004?
8.4 What is the progress of the medium term repair and maintenance programme of offices and border posts?
8.5 The target date to develop a plan to adequately equip all offices is January 2005. Will the plan be finalised by the target date and if so please make a copy available to Parliament by the target date.
8.6 Have the investigations into a viable fleet management option been finalised by the target date of July 2004? If so, please make a copy of the plan available to Parliament.
9.1 Please provide Parliament with a comprehensive update on the progress of Hanis reloaded, the EDMS and workflow systems and the integrated client service console. What is the progress with the back record conversion of all civic service documentation?
9.2 Has an IT security policy been developed by the target date of September 2004?
9.3 What progress is being made to update the MCS and to ensure that uniform and compatible software and equipment is used at border posts throughout the country?
9.4 By which date will all border posts be computerised and linked to the Home Affairs mainframe in Pretoria?
9.5 By which date will all refugee reception offices be linked to the mainframe in Pretoria?
9.6 By which date will the electronic fingerprint verification of SA citizenship be fully operational? By when will this system be fully operational at Lindela to ensure that no South African citizens are detained here?
10.1 Has a counter corruption plan been developed by the target date of July 2004? Please provide Parliament with copies of the plan.
10.2 Will corruption reporting policies and mechanisms be introduced by the target date of November 2004?
10.3 Has a master security plan been developed? Please forward a copy of the plan to Parliament.
10.4 Will the overall security policy, including IT security policy, be developed and approved by December 2004? If yes, please forward the policy to Parliament by the target date.
Report to be considered.