The Budgetary Review and
Recommendation Report of the Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs on the performance of the Department of Home
Affairs (DHA) for the 2010/11 financial year, dated 20
October 2011
As
specified by section 5 of the Money Bills Amendment Procedures and Related
Matters Act (MBAP) of 2009, the National Assembly, through its Committees, must
annually assess the performance of each national Department with reference to
the following:
·
The medium term estimates of expenditure of each
national Department, its strategic priorities and measurable objectives, as
tabled in the National Assembly with the National budget;
·
Prevailing strategic plans;
·
The expenditure reports relating to such Department
published by the National Treasury in terms of section 32 reports of the Public
Finance Management Act (PFMA);
·
The financial statements and annual report of
such Department;
·
The report of the Committee on Public Accounts
relating to the Department; and
·
Any other information requested by or presented
to a House or Parliament.
A
Committee must submit the Budgetary Review and Recommendation Report (BRRR)
annually to the National Assembly which assesses the effectiveness and
efficiency of the Department’s use and forward allocation of available
resources and may include the recommendations on the use of resources in the
medium term.
The
Committee must submit the BRRR after the adoption of the budget and before the
adoption of the reports on the Medium Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) by
the respective Houses in November of each year.
The
Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs met with the Department of Home Affairs on
12 October 2011 to receive a briefing on the Department’s Annual Report. The
Committee then considered its Budget Review and Recommendation Report which was
adopted by Members of the Committee on 20 October 2011.
Listed
below are the objectives of the Portfolio Committee as envisaged in its 2011/12
Strategic Plan:
· Maintain a consistent
and engaged oversight of the performance and development of the Department of
Home Affairs and its allocated public entities in terms of strategic, service
and legal responsibilities.
·
Build an effective People’s Parliament that is
responsive to the needs of the people and that is driven by the ideal of
realising a better quality of life for all the people of
·
Establish good working relations between the Department
of Home Affairs, Parliament, Entities, Stakeholders and the public they serve.
·
Help ensure minimum standards required for the
rendering of services through regular and punctual reporting by the Department
of Home Affairs and its entities of their performance.
·
Support the initiation and preparation of
necessary legislation in collaboration with the National Council of Provinces to improve service delivery
and the protection of rights.
·
Participate in
National and International conferences, meetings and other platforms
concerning issues related to
documentation, border management, classification, state printing, elections and
other related concerns.
·
Engage in any
activities and programmes aimed at the development and delivery of related
quality service to citizens and migrants.
The
mandate of the Department of Home Affairs is carried out within the broader
mandate and programmes of Government.
1.2.1 The vision of the DHA
is to contribute effectively to the development of a safe, secure
1.2.2 The mission of the DHA is
the efficient determination and safeguarding of the identity and status of
citizens and regulation of migration to ensure security, promote and fulfil our
international obligations.
All
the above areas of focus must be aligned with the government’s programme of
action. The Department’s contribution to these outcomes is in line with the
following national outcome numbers in the Government Programme of Action:
i.
All people in
ii.
An efficient, effective and development oriented public
service and an empowered, fair and inclusive citizenship.
In addition, Outcome 5 which refers
to ‘A skilled and capable workforce to support an inclusive growth path’ is relevant
for the DHA in terms of:
·
Developing the framework for information on
skills usage and inflow and outflow of skills in the country;
·
Consulting with relevant partners on the
framework until consensus is reached; and
·
Benchmarking the framework against national and
international standards and publishing the framework (Government Programme of
action).
The
Department of Home Affairs has the following four programmes:
Programme 1:
Administration
The
purpose of this programme is to provide overall management of the Department
and centralised support services.
Programme 2: Services to
Citizens
The
purpose of the programme is to secure, efficient and accessible services and
documents for citizens and lawful residents.
Programme 3: Immigration
Services
The
purpose of this service is to facilitate and regulate the secure movement of
people into and out of the
Programme 4: Transfers
to Agencies
The
purpose is to provide financial, administrative and strategic support to the
Film and Publication Board (FPB), Government Printing Works (GPW) and Electoral
Commission (IEC).
The
Strategic Plan of the Department of Home Affairs for 2011 – 2014 indicates that
it intends to use its resources to achieve the same outcomes as in previous
years, namely:
Outcome
1: Secured South African citizenship and identity;
Outcome
2: Immigration managed effectively and securely in the national interest
including economic, social and cultural development; and
Outcome
3: A service that is efficient, accessible and corruption free.
These
three outcomes reflect what the Department of Home Affairs is committed to do,
within its mandate, to improve the lives of South Africans and ensure their
security. The DHA mandate covers two core functions that are essential in the
life of any nation. The first is to be the custodian of the identity of citizens
and provide them with evidence confirming their status. The second function is
to ensure the effective and secure management of immigration and to facilitate
the movement of persons through ports of entry.
The
DHA’s Annual Report for 2010/11 indicated that the Department had failed to
achieve a significant percentage of its performance Targets. This was
indicative of a lack of monitoring and evaluation as well as a need for more
deliberation in terms of ensuring that SMART performance indicators are chosen.
Measurable
Objectives may
be defined as the identification of very specific
things that the Department intends doing or delivering in order to achieve its
outcomes (measurable intention specified by means of outputs that enable the
realisation thereof). Each of the three outcomes mentioned above have several
measurable objectives mentioned below.
Outcome 1: Secured South
African citizenship and identity
Objective
1.1: To ensure that registration at birth is the only entry point for South
Africans to the National Population Register (NPR);
Objective
1.2: To issue Identity Documents (IDs) to all citizens 16 years of age and
above;
Objective
1.3: To secure processes and systems to combat fraud and corruption; and
Objective
1.4: To integrate key systems and upgrade IT infrastructure for improved
security and data integrity.
Outcome 2: Immigration
managed effectively and securely in the national interest including economic,
social and cultural development
Objective
2.1: To implement an integrated asylum seeker and refugee management systems;
Objective
2.2: To review the policy framework to manage economic migration;
Objective
2.3: To facilitate the movement of regular travellers across neighbouring
borders;
Objective
2.4: To realise a positive skills migration trend of around 50 000
migrants annually;
Objective
2.5: To integrate key systems and upgrade IT infrastructure for improved
security and data integrity;
Objective
2.6: To develop and implement service delivery standards for improving
operational efficiency; and
Objective
2.7: To ensure effective, efficient and accessible service delivery to clients.
Outcome 3: A service
that is efficient, accessible and corruption free
Objective
3.1: To improve leadership capacity and capability towards enhancing service
delivery;
Objective
3.2: To ensure ethical conduct and a zero tolerance approach to corruption;
Objective
3.3: To obtain a clean audit report;
Objective
3.4: To increase capacity to contribute to the fight against cyber-crime;
Objective
3.5: To develop and implement service delivery standards for improving
operational efficiency; and
Objective
3.6: To ensure effective, efficient and accessible service delivery to clients.
While
there is continuity in terms of activities, the outcomes-based approach
implemented in 2009/10 should help the Department to prioritise and to produce
a plan that is focused on achieving the end result. It is also aimed at
enhancing performance management and accountability. There was a reduction of performance
indicators/targets from 102 in the 2009/10 Strategic Plan and Annual Report to
only 47 in the 2010/11 Strategic Plan. In 2010/11 and 2013/14 there are 50
performance indicators. As mentioned a concern is that in the 2010/11 Annual Report
of the DHA only 21 out of 47 (47%) targets were achieved. This indicates a need
for a SMART review of targets.
The
most serious challenge confronting the Department is securing the identity and
status of citizens and residents. The turnaround programme initiated by the Department
in 2007 has resulted in faster average delivery times for identity documents,
passports and permits. In addition, the security features of enabling documents
are being greatly enhanced, starting with passports. A range of measures have
also been taken to secure the processing of these key documents, from
application to production and delivery. New and more secure processes for
births, marriages and deaths have been designed and are being rolled out in
this financial year. Measures include, for example, live capture and
verification of fingerprints against the database of fingerprints kept on the
Home Affairs National Identification System (HANIS). The initiatives referred
to above have reduced errors, increased efficiency and reduced fraud. Surveys
have found that this is particularly appreciated by the rural poor.
What
has become very evident, however, is that the only way to safeguard the
identity of citizens is to secure the National Population Register (NPR).
Currently, the fraudulent sale of identity and citizenship by corrupt officials
and syndicates continues to be a concern in the media and oversight of the
Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs. Once you are registered as a citizen and
given an ID number you are then entitled to all the rights of citizenry,
including enabling documents such as an ID or passport. This represents a risk
to national security, promotes identity theft and other crime and undermines
the value and status of our documents when we travel abroad. The key strategy
that the Department of Home Affairs has adopted to confront this challenge is
to ensure that the early registration of birth becomes the only entry point to
the NPR for citizens. The DHA 2010-13 Strategic Plan indicates that the Department
has initiated a National NPR Campaign to ensure that these targets are
achieved. Loopholes in the current Late Registration of Birth Process (LRB), create
an access point for identity fraud, and will be replaced by a far more
stringent process now that the Birth and Deaths Registration Bill is finalised
by Parliament. The phasing out of LRB is likely to pose administrative
challenges in coming years however and thus requires concerted advocacy by the Department
(DHA 2010).
With
regard to the secure and effective management of immigration, the largest
challenges relate to economic migrants who seek employment or business
opportunities in
The
most urgent immigration challenge is to find feasible ways of separating
genuine refugees from the large number of economic migrants, from
A
further challenge that is just as serious is to ensure that the permitting
system is streamlined, flexible and proactive enough to allow the country to
attract the persons that are urgently required to grow the economy and create
jobs. This in turn means that the DHA must properly determine the country’s needs
and thus the categories of foreign nationals needed to work, and possibly
settle, in
With
regard to security, it is crucial to national security and to governing the
country that it is known with certainty the identity and status of all those
within our borders.
The
Strategic Plan outlines a way forward with respect to managing immigration in
the interest of both national security and development. The key elements of the
strategy are:
·
Consulting stakeholders, the public and across
government and reviewing and refining immigration policy and legislation;
·
Reviewing the current permitting regime and take
interim steps to make it simpler, proactive and secure while the above process
is underway; and
·
Developing integrated Home Affairs systems,
including permitting and movement control, which ensure security and the faster
facilitation of desirable migration.
Lastly,
a major focus in the Strategic Plan is on transforming the Department so that
it can deliver “A service that is efficient, accessible and corruption free”.
Several closely related strategic drivers are used in this regard. The most
important strategy is to capacitate staff and drive new culture and values
through the organisation. Another strategic driver is exemplified by the output
“To achieve a clean audit”. This achievement requires that a large number of
systems and controls (governance, management and operational) are in place.
Similarly, performance management requires systems as well as a change in
values and behaviour by staff and managers.
The
Department has spent R4.475 billion or 112 per cent of its available funds
after virements for current payments. The higher than expected spending has
been experienced in the goods and services component. The high spending is due
to funds reprioritised mainly for personnel related expenditure under
households and payment of outstanding debts from previous years.
Programme
1: Administration – expenditure in this programme amount to R1.692 billion or
111.6 per cent of the available funds after virements of R1.5 billion. The over
spending of the R176.150 million in current payments or 119.4 per cent is
mainly due to payment to FeverTree Consulting and for IT Infrastructure debts.
Programme
2: Services to Citizens – expenditure in this programme amount to
R1.794 billion or 116.8 per cent of the available budget of R1.5
billion. The overspending is mainly in
current payments, goods and services and payment for capital assets on
machinery and equipment, and software and intangible assets.
Programme 3: Immigration Services – expenditure in
this programme amount to R1.495 billion or 125 per cent of the R1.192
billion available funds after virements. This is due to expenditure in current
payments (compensation of employees, goods and services) and payment of
machinery and equipment.
Programme 4: Transfers to Agencies – spending in this
programme amount to R1.591 billion or 100 per cent of the available funds after
virements.
4.2.1. Spending
for Q1, 2011/12 by Programme
a.
As at the end of Q1,
the Department had spent a total of R1, 567 million which was 28.7 per cent of
the Estimate budget. Expenditure had for the most part of the quarter been
in line with the drawing projection, with a variance of only 3.7 per cent from
the benchmark.
b.
Programme 1: Administration spending for the
first quarter period amounted to R680 million or 35, 9 per cent of the adjusted
appropriation of R1, 9 billion. This spending was 10.9 per cent over the
drawings benchmark of 25 per cent and this variance mainly related to
settlement of lease agreements with GijimaAST.
c.
Programme 2: Citizen Affairs spending for the
first quarter period amounted to R797 million or 26.7 per cent of the adjusted
appropriation of R2, 992 693 billion. This spending was 1.7 per cent over the
drawings benchmark of 25 per cent and can be attributed to a once-off payment
to the Government Printing Works.
d.
Programme 3: Immigration Affairs spending for
the first quarter period amounted to R89 million or 15.5 per cent of the
adjusted appropriation of R576 million. This spending was 9.5% per cent under
the drawings benchmark of 25 per cent and can mainly be attributed to delays in
the payment of contractual commitments regarding the deportation of illegal
immigrants and the National Immigration Information System.
4.2.2
Spending for Q1, 2011/12 by Economic
classification
At the end of the First Quarter, R727, 609 million or 16.3
per cent of R4, 461 406 billion adjusted appropriation for current payments was
spent.
For compensation,
R449 million or 20.4 per cent of the R2, 206 billion adjusted appropriation was
spent.
The slight
under-spending was mainly due to the late filling of vacant positions.
For goods and
services, R278 million or 12.3 per cent of the R2, 254 billion budget was spent
at the end
of Q1. The
low spending was mainly due to misallocation of the payment for the settlement
of GijimaAST
which was
paid under Transfers and Subsidies.
4.2.3
Transfers
R818
million or 82.1 per cent of the R996 billion budget was spent at the end of Q1.
The high spending was mainly due to the payment for the settlement of GijimaAST
that was erroneously paid under this classification.
4.2.4
Establishment
of a civic service trading account
Further
to the approval for the establishment of a Trading Account, the Department
submitted a letter to the Office of the Accounting General to seek permission
to retain the revenue collected for passports, to comply with National
Treasury’s approval in relation to the establishment of a Civic Affairs Trading
Account to fund passport production costs.
Furthermore,
the Department is in the process of establishing the Trading Account, which
will be fully functional by the beginning of the 2012/13 financial year.
4.2.5
Funding model
for the Advanced Passenger Processing (APP) and Passenger Name Record (PNR)
Systems
The
projected shortfall in the current financial year will be addressed in the
Adjusted Estimates by way of a Treasury Committee Memorandum.
Three outcomes were divided into twelve indicators,
which the Department measured itself against. The first outcome related to
secured South African citizenship and identity which had the following four
measurable indicators:
i)
To ensure that registration at birth
was the only entry point for South Africans to the National Population
Registrar;
ii)
To issue identity documents to all
citizens 16 years of age and above;
iii)
To secure processes and systems to
combat fraud and corruption; and
iv)
To integrate key systems and upgrade
IT infrastructure for improved security and data integrity.
The second outcome related to immigration managed
effectively and securely which had the following four measurable indicators:
i)
To effectively contribute to the
successful hosting of the 2010 FIFA World Cup;
ii)
To implement an integrated
immigration management system;
iii)
To participate and contribute
towards the establishment and functioning of a Border Management Agency; and
iv)
To review the policy and regulatory
framework to manage economic migration.
The third outcome related to efficient, accessible
and corruption-free service which had the following four measurable indicators:
i)
To improve leadership capacity and
capability;
ii)
To ensure ethical conduct and a zero
tolerance approach to corruption;
iii)
To obtain a clean audit report; and
iv)
To ensure effective, efficient and
accessible service delivery to clients. Achievement of the targets had improved
from previous years, particularly in comparing the strategic plan with the
annual report.
Programme 1 related to Administration, and had six
sub-programmes, namely Minister, Deputy Minister, Management, Corporate
Services and Property Management. The Department achieved nine out of the 20
performance indicators set out for this programme. Three of the targets not
achieved related to internal procurement and finding suitable service
providers. Two of the delayed targets related to an asset register only being
finalised towards the end of the financial year. The Department managed to
exceed three of its indicators related to training and refreshing of IT
equipment, as well as the notable achievement of its first unqualified report
in 16 years. The strategic plan however only mentioned 17 indicators for the
administration programme, one of which was not relevant for 2010/11. The Department
over-spent its budget allocation by 11.6% amounting to R176 million, which was
attributed to the settlement of debts with regard to consultancy services,
information services, legal services and leases. In addition, a virement total
of R37.2 million was shifted from Administration to other programmes. The Department
was allowed to shift up to 8% of its programme allocation from one programme to
another and it did not exceed that amount.
Some general questions in the analysis of the
Administration programme performance included the following:
·
What were the reasons for the problems in the
internal procurement procedures which led to not achieving some indicators?
·
What were the reasons for the delay in the
finalisation of the asset register?
·
What led to the variance in the number of indicators
in the strategic plan (17) and the annual report (20)? What was the
justification for over-spending in and shifting funds from, the administration
programme when so many indicators were not achieved?
·
What if any had been the results of counter
corruption strategies established by the Department?
Programme 2 related to Services to Citizens. The
purpose of Programme 2 was to secure efficient and accessible services and
documents for citizens and lawful residents. There were six sub-programmes,
namely, Management, Status Services, Identification, Home Affairs National
Identification System (HANIS), Civic Channel Management and Provincial Civic
Services. This programme had 19 indicators and 21 targets. Of the 21 targets,
11 were achieved. Three of the targets not achieved were in part attributed to
the prolonged public service strike and a further two targets were contingent
on other entities or lack of funding for procurement. The targets for the late
registration of birth (LRB) and issuing IDs to those 16 and older were stated
in the strategic plan as percentages (95%), however the performance that was
given as achieved was in numbers, which could not be evaluated since the total
number of citizens for these target was not mentioned. A notable target that
was exceeded was 2.2 million IDS being issued over the target of 1.99 million.
This was attributed to the Department’s campaigns prior to the Local Government
Elections. Targets that significantly underachieved were the time taken to
issue unabridged birth, death and marriage certificates which were issued within
six to eight weeks as opposed to three to four weeks and 24 days for the issuing
of manual passports as opposed to 10 days. These failings were attributed to
the dispute relating to the Who Am I Online project and problems with quality
of newly implemented digital photographs as well as cable theft power outages.
The Department over-spent its R1.51 billion allocation for citizen services by
16.8% or R258.3 million. In addition, an amount of R56.6 million was shifted
from citizen services to other programmes. Over-expenditure was mainly due to
increased printing costs of passports and the overhaul of HANIS.
Some general questions in the analysis of the
Services to Citizens programme performance included the following:
·
Why were targets for LRB (performance indicator 1.1.2.1)
and issuing of IDs to persons 16 and older (performance indicator 1.3.1.1)
reported in numbers, whereas the indicators were measured in percentages?
·
No total amounts for the relevant population groups
were mentioned. Given the significant over-spending virement associated with
the citizen services programme, why were just under half of all targets
achieved?
·
What amount was over-spent on the overhauling of
HANIS and what, if any, positive outcome had resulted from this?
·
Had delays to the turnaround time performance for
delivering all passports been resolved and what was the current average service
time versus the target of 10 days?
Programme 3 related to immigration services. The
purpose of Programme 3 was to facilitate and regulate the secure movement of
people into and out of the Republic of South Africa through ports of entry, to
determine the status of asylum seekers and to regulate refugee affairs. There
were six sub-programmes for immigration services, namely, management,
admissions, immigration control, provincial immigration control, foreign
missions and refugee affairs. There were 16 indicators set for immigration in
the mentioned four outcomes. Of these, only three were fully achieved. Of the
targets not achieved, seven were attributed to no measuring tool being in
place. Three of the targets related to immigration policy legislation and
regulations were contingent on parliamentary processes and the establishment of
the Border Management Agency was contingent on the Justice, Crime Preventions
and Security government Cluster (JCPS). This was in part reflected in the
reported target achieved of the establishment of a risk based framework for
immigration. Key achievements under the immigration programme included
establishing and appointing a Chief Director for Asylum Seeker Management to
provide strategic leadership of the asylum seeker and refugee processes. A
chairperson of the Refugee Appeal Board was also appointed.
Strengthening the human resources capacity within the
Refugee sub-programme was also identified as a priority and a number of vacant
posts were filled. Refugee Affairs also developed and managed the
implementation of a framework to guide those Zimbabwean nationals who wanted to
voluntarily forgo their application for asylum in support of the Documentation
of Zimbabweans Project. A project team was established to deal with the backlog
of applications, and this team was relatively successful. The team also
implemented a Track and Trace system, which was rolled out to all offices.
An inspectorate tracing unit was set up during the
FIFA World Cup to monitor the incoming and outgoing traffic. This unit
collaborated with foreign missions and the police. The programme over-spent its
final allocation by 21% amounting to R253 million for a total of R1.28 billion.
This was attributed to providing services abroad through the Department of
International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) for foreign allowances and
operational expenditures. DIRCO issues passports, IDs and visas in foreign
countries and the DHA had to pay them back. In the past the Department had not
paid them back and this was one of the reasons that led to a qualified audit in
the past and was the main reason for the significant over-spending. In
addition, the Department received an overall virement of R103 million
transferred from other programmes.
Some general questions in the analysis of the
Immigration Services programme performance included the following:
·
Why were there no measuring tools in place for seven
of the uncompleted targets for Immigrations?
·
Given the already poor performance for refugee and
immigration targets, would the implementation of a risk based framework for
immigration not have a further negative effect on Human Rights and Skills
import requirements?
·
What were the measures put in place to ensure that
DIRCO was paid on time for its service to the DHA?
·
The target for the establishment of the Border
Management Agency was still outstanding almost two years after the target was
set. What were the reasons for delays in the JCPS or elsewhere?
On Human Resources (HR), the organisational structure
was aligned to municipal boundaries as per Chapter 3 Act No. 108 of the
Constitution, which should provide for better integration of governance and
intergovernmental relations at the provincial level. There was a review of the
whole HR structure, which included leave management, exit management, staffing
management and payroll management. This review was aimed at improving
efficiency and effectiveness. The Department identified and funded 417
positions for this financial year. Of the 417 positions, 178 posts were filled.
The Department indicated only a 7.4% vacancy rate, which was significantly
lower than previous years. The Department recruited and trained a lot of
immigration staff, particularly around the time of the World Cup. An absentee
management programme was implemented which reduced the absenteeism rate to
0.12% from almost 6%. This was better than the national average.
The Department also developed a performance
management system, which linked the organisational performance to individual
performance contracts. The Department established a learning academy and was
developing a national certification for Home Affairs Services. On gender
analysis, the Department comprised 53% women (4933 out of 9259) but only around
40% per cent of professional and higher employees.
Some general questions in the analysis of the Human
Resources performance included the following:
·
The Department indicated that it had a national
vacancy rate of 7.4%, however during oversight to the provinces, Parliament had
witnessed vacancy rates of up to 45%. And the DHA indicates a 33% resignation
rate. How could this be explained?
·
Given the high rate of resignation at the DHA, what
retention strategies had been implemented?
·
The Department indicated a number of 3452
terminations and 139 disciplinary actions. Why were terminations so high and
why such relatively low amounts of disciplinary action taken?
The financial information reflected that the Department
had an unqualified audit report. The significant uncertainties were related to
various pending legal claims, which amounted to R1.2 billion. These pending
claims could have a significant knock-on effect. The material losses amounted
to R28.5 million for debt that were written off. This related to employees and
foreign expenses. Material losses of R38.2 million were the results of
adjustments made to tangible capital asset balance. Additional matters of
importance were concerning the usefulness of information, as 33% of indicators
were not quantifiably measurable as well as the procurement and contract
management, where senior managers did not disclose their business interests.
Some general questions in the analysis of the
financial information included the following:
·
What financial impacts would the settlement of the pending
legal disputes have on budget requirements in coming years?
·
What would be done to remedy the significant lack of
measurable targets in the Immigration programme? What was the nature of the R32
million debts that was written off?
·
What was the current state of the procurement policy
in the Department and what were some of the measures used to ensure its
enforcement, if any?
In conclusion the DHA could be commended for
achieving an unqualified report; however the report did not indicate
qualitative improvement in service delivery. This was a concern given the
significant over-spending by the Department.
·
The Committee commended the Department of Home Affairs for the
unqualified audit opinion and urged the Department to sustain and aim for a clean
administration by 2014. There were concerns expressed over the predetermined
objectives and the non-compliance with
national laws;
·
Delay in the finalisation of the asset register and a concern with
regard to the overspending of the budget were raised. The Committee was
informed that there would be no overspending in the current and following
financial years. The overspending would also not affect the current budget.
·
There was a concern raised regarding the contingent legal bill of the Department
which was high and the amount of litigation the Department was
involved in;
·
During the meeting with the Auditor-General (AG), it was mentioned
that government was moving away from the Basic Accounting
System (BAS) into the Integrated Financial
Management System (IFMS), yet the Department was
continuing training staff in BAS;
·
Due to financial challenges, the
‘new look and feel’ could not be implemented in all offices of the Department.
·
The Department was registering new born babies within 30 days in terms
of the new law but there was a concern with regard to connectivity in rural
hospitals.
·
During elections, there had been concerns with regard
to the late payment to the temporary electoral staff. The Committee met with
the AG and IEC before the 2011 Local Government elections to try to resolve the
issue. The Committee wanted to establish if the problem had been resolved.
·
Government has set a target to employ 2% persons with
disabilities and the IEC did not meet the
target to employ
people with disabilities.
·
Most of the targets of the FBP had been met but a
concern was expressed with regard to the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the FBP
and the South African Police Service (SAPS), which was important as they had to
work together to conduct raids. The training of 500 police by the FBP was
commendable but it was not enough.
·
It was important that senior management of GPW should
be appointed. The GPW did not have a permanent Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
It was reported that it was the responsibility of the Minister of Home Affairs
to employ the CEO.
·
The gender equity targets of the GPW needed to be
attended to as a matter of urgency.
·
If there was legislation needed to be brought to Parliament with regard to compelling
security printing to be done by GPW, the Committee advised the GPW to approach
the Ministry to have the legislation initiated.
The
Money Bills Amendment Procedure and Related Matters Act provides that
Committees must consider performance assessment reports by the Committee on
Public Accounts.
The
Committee referred to the report of the Committee on Public Accounts on
the unauthorised expenditure of the Department of Home Affairs relating to
2005/06.
The Committee
on Public Accounts noted the unauthorized expenditure of the Department of Home Affairs totalling
R97 286 000, incurred during the 2005/06 financial year relating to the following:
a)
An amount of R53 002
000 was overspent on its vote which resulted in unauthorised expenditure; and
b)
An amount of R46 881 000 which was earmarked for information
technology capital projects to defray current expenditure relating to
information technology without prior approval from National Treasury.
The Committee on Public Accounts
recommended that the amount of R97 286 000 relating to the 2005/06 financial
year be recovered from the Department’s future baseline budgets.
The 2011 State of the
Nation Address outlined the following key priorities that have an impact on the
Department of Home Affairs (DHA).[1]
These include:
·
Job creation through meaningful economic
transformation and inclusive growth in six priority areas.
·
Improved Service delivery and public service
performance should be accelerated.
·
The continued fight against corruption.
·
The fourth local government elections.
·
International assistance in democracy and
elections in countries such as
The
following were observed during two oversight trips conducted by the Portfolio
Committee on Home Affairs to the
7.2.1. Oversight visit to Department
of Home Affairs in the
The
Portfolio Committee visited border posts and offices in the
Whilst
acknowledging these and other improvements, the Committee noted the following
issues of concerns which could further improve service delivery:
7.2.1.1. Ramatlabama border post
·
There were no shelters for
travellers and customers during the rainy season or hot weather.
·
There were no chairs/benches for
travellers and customers when queuing for services.
·
The absence of a tourism
information desk was a challenge. The Department of Tourism was not available
at the border to market
·
The Department of Health was
not represented, in order to deal with vaccination of migrants.
·
There was concern that the Department
of Agriculture was not always available to inspect the certification of stock
being imported into the country.
·
Officials were not regularly
vaccinated against diseases.
·
There was no glass partitioning at
service counters to eliminate risks such as spreading of contagious diseases
e.g. flu, etc.
·
There was accommodation at the
border but it was not enough. Some officials were compelled to travel at night
with their own transport which compromised their safety.
·
There was no clinic or school to
cater for officials who lived at the port of entry.
·
There was not enough staff to help
travellers at the border despite it being the busiest between
·
Officials had to work night shift
and the Department of Home Affairs was not providing official transport for night shift officials
although other stakeholders at the port of entry were provided with transport.
In addition, the Committee was
informed that South African Revenue Services (SARS) was present at the border but that their scanner was not
working. It was thus impossible to detect drugs/weapons coming in and out of
7.2.1.2
Skilpadshek border post
·
It was reported that it was important to have the SANDF along
the borderline in order to combat drug smuggling, human trafficking as well as stock
theft and the entry of pirate material into
·
Residential accommodation was a big challenge and the staff lived
at the military village without their families and did not have water. They
relied on boreholes for water and there was sewerage plant nearby.
·
There were no schools nearby and schools were in Zeerust
which was 52 km away from the port of entry.
7.2.1.3
Atamelang District Office
·
The live capture of passport was done at the Mmabatho
Regional Office which was 115 km away from the Atamelang Office. The capturing
was done 2-3 times per week.
·
Late Registration of Birth (LRB) duplicate cases and rectifications
took long before they were finalised by the Head Office. Duplicate cases were a
huge problem, especially when a client had to bury his or her deceased family.
The office would issue a hand written death certificate, which sometimes might
not be accepted by insurance companies.
·
Transport was a challenge. The office had three vehicles and
they serviced far flung rural areas. The vehicles were old and very risky to
the staff.
7.2.1.4 Lichtenburg District Office
·
There was a shortage of staff and the office was operating
at 58% of its capacity which was a big challenge.
·
The office was capturing passports at Mmabatho Regional
office which was 85 km away.
·
Officials at the office complained that it took long to
deport illegal immigrants because of the lack of transport. The office did not
have enough vehicles to service far flung rural areas.
·
LRB, duplicates cases, rectifications take long before they
were finalised by the Head Office.
7.2.1.5 Mmabatho Large Office
·
There was a shortage of transport and mobile units to
conduct on-site service visits.
·
The office did not have a Control Immigration Officer and it
is the biggest office in the Province.
·
There was a need to train immigration officers with regards
to the current amendments of the legislation.
·
There were a number of illegal immigrants and employers were
employing them in contravention of the Immigration Act.
·
There were a number of foreigners who had Section 22 permits
which had expired. The province did not have a refugee reception office. They
relied on
·
There was a problem of South Africans helping foreigners to
acquire South African identity documents and some South Africans were
harbouring illegal foreigners.
·
It was reported during the oversight that the Head Office
was very slow on applications captured to the hub for adjudication and that
there was no responsiveness on enquiries.
7.2.1.6 Klerksdorp Regional Office
·
There were no permanent appointments for DHA service points
and hospital offices. Staff were taken from the Klerksdorp office to service
these points, leaving the office with long queues.
·
The holding cells for illegal immigrants did not have proper
burglar doors.
·
The office had three vehicles and the immigration section
did not have a sedan. Bakkies were used to transport illegal immigrants and
they frequently broke down.
·
South Africans were colluding with illegal foreigners to
access identity documents.
·
Marriages of convenience (for access to RDP houses and other
citizen benefits) were a challenge.
7.2.1.7 Itsoseng Local Office
·
There were three park offices which they operated from. It
was a huge problem when it was raining as clients could not access the office.
People queue outside the park homes and it was inaccessible to people with
disabilities and they were serviced from outside.
·
The office had one toilet for staff and members of the
public. The park homes had 2 computers and three vehicles to service clients
from 25 villages, 51 schools, and two health centres. There was a challenge of unfilled
vacant positions. The office did not have immigration officers among their
staff and they did not employ people with disabilities.
7.2.2. Oversight visit to the Department
of Home Affairs in the
The
following observations were made by the Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs for
Ficksburg and
·
Shortage of office accommodation at ports of entry and
offices of the Department. There is no
cash office at Ficksburg,
·
There was a shortage of staff at the two ports of entry and
the Thaba Nchu Local office.
·
There were faulty passport scanners at the two ports of
entry. This led to people with fake passports being able to come through to
·
The goods scanner at Ficksburg border post was not working
and the one at
·
Construction of a taxi rank closer to the Ficksburg border post
was causing congestion.
·
There were no floor scanners at the two ports of entry and
SARS employees had to off-load goods to check the contents.
·
During the walk-about at the
·
The Committee was not pleased with the conditions at the
Thaba Nchu office. The air-conditioners were not working, there was no cash
office and the strong room was very small and confidential documents were not
kept safe.
·
The Committee was pleased with the filling and conditions at
the Botshabelo Average office and the Bloemfontein Regional office. The
Bloemfontein Regional Office was a model office of the Department.
7.3.1 Budget Analysis
Over
the past decade, strong growth in public spending, including for the DHA, has
not always been matched with a concomitant improvement in service delivery. If
government’s development and economic objectives stipulated in the new growth
path are to be met, public service delivery must improve significantly. Better
public services require a culture of efficiency, effectiveness and stewardship
of public resources, obliging government to become more responsive to the needs
of citizens. Following on from this, the outcomes approach was adopted and 12
outcome targets were agreed upon for government, and the Minister of Home
Affairs signed a ministerial performance agreement and inter-Departmental and
interagency delivery agreements followed.
The
outcomes approach provides a platform for achieving greater efficiency in the
public service as it is aimed at addressing the weaknesses identified in
coordination and cooperation across government. The five major budget
priorities over the medium term expenditure framework period are expressed in
terms of the 12 government outcomes. Budget decisions are informed by an agreed
set of outputs and activities to the extent that they are organised around the
12 government outcomes and elaborated upon in delivery agreements. It is in
line with this functional approach that the previous four major programmes of
the DHA have been consolidated into three. This sees the transfer to
entities/agencies falling under Programme 4 in previous years being absorbed in
to Programme 2; Citizen Affairs (Formerly Services to Citizens). This makes
functional sense since the Electoral Commission (IEC), Film and Publications
Board (FPB), and government Printing Works are certainly services aimed at
Citizens.
There
was a considerable adjustment of the reporting figures for the Department when
comparing the 2010/11 figures in the current Estimates of National Expenditure
(ENE) versus the numbers indicated in the Medium Term Budget Policy Statement
(MTBPS). These changes were largely due
to a change in the Department’s programme structure; where the total
expenditure for provincial offices falls under Civilian Affairs as opposed to
being separated into immigration and citizen programme budgets. In addition
transfers to the Film and Publication Board, Government Printing Works and the
Electoral Commission, were also included in this programmes budget. This makes
programme expenditure trends comparison more difficult. Almost R600 million
allocated mostly to Provincial Immigration Services in the Immigration
Programme in 2010/11 has retrospectively been reported under Citizen Affairs.
According
to the 2011/12 ENE, the budget of the Department of Home Affairs decreased by
6.35 per cent in nominal terms and 10.64 per cent in real (inflation adjusted
terms) from 5.8 billion in 2010/11 to 5.5 billion in 2011/12. This is compared
with an 8.6 per cent increase in nominal terms and 1.84 per cent in real terms
in the 2010/11 financial year. The only programme which increased its
allocation is Administration which receives an additional R316 million, for a
total of R853 million equalling a 16 per cent real increase. This is largely
due to a 15 per cent real increase of R146 million in the sub programme
“Transversal Information Technology Management” as well as a 35 per cent real
increase of R99 million on accommodation.
The
19.5 per cent per cent real decline in Citizen Affairs is accounted for by an
increased expenditure between 2007/08 and 2010/11 in the Status Services and
Electoral Commission (IEC) sub-programmes due to electoral operations. Status
services declines by 55 per cent and the IEC by 47 per cent, totalling R784
million less in real terms in 2011/12.
It is assumed that since preparations for the elections are at an
advanced stage, such expenditure is no longer needed, however this needs to be
confirmed by the DHA since less information is given in the 2011/12 ENE
concerning details of sub-programmes than in the 2010/11 ENE. In addition one
cannot discern in the current ENE between provincial allocation for citizen
affairs and immigration affairs.
Immigration
Affairs declines significantly by 20 per cent in 2011/12 largely due to
declines in the Immigration management and Admissions sub-programmes of 55 and
45 per cent respectively in real terms. This amounts nominally to R127.5
million less for Admissions services and is likely due to additional
expenditure allocated in 2010/11 for more staff during the FIFA Soccer World
Cup.
The budget sets out additional allocations of R176.9 million in 2011/12,
R444.8 million in 2012/13 and R600.2 million in 2013/14 for:
·
Infrastructure projects (R264.9 million in 2012/13
and R296.8 million in 2013/14);
·
Municipal and accommodation charges (R21.6 million,
R26 million and R29.9 million);
·
Improved conditions of service in the Department,
the Electoral Commission and the Film and Publication Board (R75.3 million, R78
million and R90.7 million);
·
Management of asylum seekers and refugees (R37
million in 2012/13 and R42 million in 2013/14);
·
The issuance of work permits (R17.5 million in
2012/13 and R42 million in 2013/14); and
·
The deployment of mobile offices (R21.5 million in
2012/13).
Infrastructure
spending is mostly on the ‘Who Am I Online’ project which is estimated at R2.2
billion over 5 years. The project has been reinstated after a hiatus of almost
a year due to a dispute with the service providers. To date, R390.4 million has
been spent since 2008/09 and R299.3 million, R298.6 million and R315 million
has been allocated over the MTEF period. Although only partial funding has been
allocated for the project, National Treasury has approved the business case for
the total lifecycle cost of R2.2 billion beyond the MTEF period.
The
Department of Home Affairs was allocated a total amount of R5.83 billion for
the 2010/11 financial year. At the end
of the third quarter, the Department had spent R3.75 billion or 64.29 per cent
of the allocation. This means that in the third quarter the Department had
reported under expenditure of R625 million or 10.71 per cent of the allocation.
Even though the Department had reported under expenditure in current payments
and transfer budget, over expenditure had been reported by capital assets.
An
overall allocation of R4.09 billion was allocated for current payments. At the
end of the third quarter R2.68 billion or 65.61 per cent was spent. The slow
spending in the overall current payments was due to the slow spending in the
compensation of employees in the administration programme.
·
The current payments were allocated R1.47 billion
in the administration programme. At the end of the third quarter, the Department
had spent R793 million or 57.64 per cent.
·
An amount of R1.29 billion was allocated for
current payments in the Immigration Services programme. At the end of the third
quarter, the Department had spent R702 million or 54.29 per cent of the
allocation.
·
An overall allocation of R1.59 billion was
earmarked for transfers and subsidies: at the end of the third quarter the Department
had only spent R898.5 million or 56.29 per cent of the allocation.
·
An amount of R1.59 billion was allocated for
transfers to agencies. At the end of the third quarter R893 million or 56.16
per cent of this had been transferred. The slow spending in this regard was due
to a lesser transfer being made to Electoral Commission (IEC).
·
In the administration programme R1.33 billion was
allocated for transfers. At the end of the third quarter the Department had
spent R831 million or 62.11 per cent of the allocation.
·
An overall allocation of R139.3 million was made
available for capital payments. At the end of the third quarter the Department
had spent R162.7 million or 116.83 per cent of the allocation. This means that
the Department had overspent the capital budget by 16.83 per cent in the third
quarter.
·
An amount of R41.4 million was allocated for the
capital budget in the Service to Citizens Programme. At the end of the third
quarter R136.4 million or 328.75 per cent of the allocation was spent. This
means that the Department had overspent by 253.75 per cent during the third
quarter.
·
According to the National Treasury the higher level
of under expenditure on current payments was due to the following:
o
Unspent funds for accommodation, and monthly
contractual commitments for the Who Am I Online (WAIO) project;
o
The LOGIS procurement system could not split the
Provincial Civic and Immigration expenditure; and
o
A large amount of outstanding debts for suppliers
from previous years.
The
following observations are consolidated from the various sources included in
the report and from the discussions of the Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs
on the Budget Revue Recommendation Report. Recommendations are according to the
four programmes in the 2010/11-13/14 Strategic Plan of the DHA.
8.1 Administration
·
The DHA’s capital asset register management was
still not up to date and did not fully conform to the reporting systems as
outlined in the Public Finance Management Act and related legislative framework
by the end of the 2010/11 financial year.
·
Insufficient training was conducted on basic
accounting systems to ensure better internal audit procedures for all relevant
staff in the Department and its Entities.
·
There was a shortage of vehicles and sometimes aging
vehicles inconvenienced officials and put them in danger.
·
The Department’s system of risk management,
internal control and governance processes were not continually monitored for
effectiveness and efficiency.
·
The details on the status of the R1.2 billion
possible contingent legal fees in the DHA’s 2010/11 annual report were not yet
available or provided to Parliament.
·
DHA excellence centres were not all completed
and more were needed.
·
A concern is that in the 2010/11 annual report
of the DHA only 21 out of 47 (47%) targets were achieved. It was observed that
there was a lack of monitoring and evaluation as well as a need for more
deliberation in terms of ensuring SMART (Specific, Measureable, Attainable,
Relevant and Time Bound) performance indicators.
·
The objective to achieve a clean audit requires
that a large number of systems and controls (governance, management and
operational) are in place. Similarly, performance management requires systems
as well as a change in values and behaviour by staff and managers.
·
There is concern of continued under spending by
the provinces on the budgets allocated to them.
8.2 Citizens Services
·
The DHA needed better cooperation with the Department
of Health on the hospital connectivity in rural areas with regards to
registration of births within 30 days.
·
There were many unresolved queries and delays on
duplicates, amendments, unabridged birth certificates and confirmation letters.
·
Some parents were still unable to register births
within 30 days due to customary traditions on the naming of children.
·
The issue of uncollected Identity Documents
remains a concern.
·
The Smart Card ID project was suspended by the
Minister of Home Affairs in order to conduct a
forensic
investigation on tender processes, which has now been completed. Thus further
delays in rolling out the Smart Card ID project by the end of 2011/12 are not
expected. The GPW has demonstrated that it is capable of printing such IDs.
·
The introduction of live capture of photos for
passports and identity document applications is recommended at all Home Affairs
offices throughout the country by end of 2012/13 financial year.
·
Online verification of identity had still not
been implemented at all DHA offices countrywide by the end of 2010/11.
·
The current Late Registration of Birth Process
(LRB) will be replaced by a far more stringent process now that the Birth and
Deaths Registration Act has been passed. The phasing out of LRB is likely to
pose administrative challenges to the DHA in coming years.
8.3 Immigration Services
·
There was no policy to deal with low and
unskilled migrants other than Zimbabweans.
·
The list of quota/critical skills to be
prioritised in issuing permits had not been gazetted for the past two years.
·
There is a shortage of staff at the ports of
entry and the offices of the Department of Home Affairs and lack of office
accommodation.
·
Not all ports of entry comply with the Basic
Accounting System (BAS).
·
There is still a backlog of outstanding asylum
applications and appeals and refugee offices are not acting at full capacity.
Changes in the Refugee Act may also require additional legal staff.
·
There is still widespread uncertainty by both
South Africans and migrants about the difference between refugees and economic
migrants.
·
The DHA has not provided sufficient information
on the special procedures for immigration services to large accounts/companies.
·
Permits were not all issued within the pre-determined
timeframes.
·
The under spending in the first quarter of the
2011/12 financial year in the immigration programmes is a concern and does not
bode well for future spending. This could infer poor planning by the Department
and therefore places the Department under greater spending pressure in the last
three quarters of the financial year.
·
The Department has not sufficiently acknowledged
outcome 5 of the Government Programme of Action which is ‘A skilled and capable
workforce to support an inclusive growth path’. Objective 2.4 which is ‘To
realise a positive skills migration trend of around 50 000 migrants
annually’, has not yet been shown to
have specific monitoring and evaluation measures, particularly considering the
more stringent requirement of the amended Immigration Act such as needing to
apply in person for documents.
8.4 Entities
·
GPW did not have a permanent Chief Executive Officer
(CEO). It was reported that it was the responsibility of the Minister of Home
Affairs to employ the CEO and it was a concern to the Committee that the CEO
has not been employed. This negatively impacts on the functioning of GPW.
·
The Committee advised the GPW to approach the Ministry to have the
legislation initiated in terms of being the sole provider of security printing
in the country.
·
The GPW was observed to have numerous matters of
emphasis from the AG.
·
The FPB indicated needing more support from the
Security cluster such as SAPS in conducting raids and funds for recruiting more
compliance inspectors.
The
Department has moved from a strategic plan based on six goals with 93 performance
Indicators in 2010/11 to only three outputs with 47 performance indicators in
2011/12. Of these, only 47 per cent had been achieved. Although this is in line
with Government’s move towards improved performance monitoring, it is hoped the
reduction of performance indicators will not lead to less detailed reporting
and monitoring.
Over
and above financial reporting improvements, the Department thus also needs
considerable improvements in its service delivery as well as better planning to
improve in monitoring and evaluation in this regard.
Of
the abovementioned observations, the Portfolio Committee of Home Affairs
considered the following recommendations to be the most critical for the Budget
Review process:
10.1
Administration
·
The
Minister should prioritise the filling and funding of all critical vacant posts
by 2012/13. The Department must forthwith report its staffing requirements,
including unfunded vacancies, and must report its vacancy rate taking these
unfunded vacancies into account.
·
The
Minister must implement mechanisms to effectively measure compliance with pre-determined
service delivery targets by the end of 2011/12.
·
The
Minister should focus on improving provision of transport in all DHA offices
and the ports of entry. Such measures as roving or pooled vehicles as well as
dedicated deportation officials could be considered.
·
The
Minister should increase employment of persons with disabilities to the
required two per cent, and access to offices for persons with disabilities by
2012/13.
·
The
Minister should find permanent suitable office accommodation at Itsoseng,
Ganyisa and Taung local offices by the end of 2011/12.
·
The
Minister should find additional office accommodation and cashiers facilities at
the Ficksburg and Maseru Border posts and improve conditions at the Thaba Nchu
office.
·
The
Minister should initiate an analysis of measures to prevent the most common
areas of civil litigation against the DHA, such as following proper tender
procedures. This should be conducted and included in the Risk and Strategic
Planning of the Department for 2012/13.
·
An
on-going monitoring of the follow on effects of the Who Am I Online (WAIO)
project/settlement needs to be included by the Minister in the performance
targets of the DHA.
·
The
Minister must ensure that capital asset register management is up to date and
conforms with the reporting systems as outlined in the Public Finance
Management Act and related legislative framework by end of 2011/112 financial
year.
·
The
Minister must ensure that online verification of identity should be rolled out
to all the Home Affairs offices countrywide by end of the 2012/13 financial
year.
·
Further
improvements on internal auditing, including monitoring of performance
objectives dealing with risk management and internal control, should be implemented
by the Minister in the 2012/13 strategic targets.
·
The Committee recommended that all the matters of emphasis raised by the
AG with regard to the Department and the entities, particularly the GPW, should
be attended to.
·
The Department should ensure that the relocation of the Department’s Head
Office to new offices would not cause administrative problems such as lost
documents;
·
The
Minister should consider the establishment of additional excellence service centres.
·
The
Minister needs to implement a maintenance solution to ensure that all mobile
units are working properly, particularly to service rural areas during the
2011/12 financial year.
·
The
Minister should ensure better utilisation and maintenance of electronic
security surveillance in its risk prone offices by the end of 2011/12.
10.2
Citizens Services
·
The
Minister needs to make provision for passport live capturing machines in all
offices of the DHA by 2012/13.
·
The
Minister should proactively address the issue of duplicate identity numbers as
matter of urgency.
·
The
audit report on the Smart ID card was presented to Parliament and it is thus
expected that there will be no further delays in the piloting of this project
by the end of the 2011/12 period. This must be prioritised.
10.3
Immigration Services
·
The
Minister should assist government in deploying the South African National Defence
Force (SANDF) along the borderline with an immediate effect.
·
The
Minister needs to actively monitor progress made in terms of eliminating the
backlog of outstanding asylum applications and appeals by fully capacitating
refugee offices. Changes in the Refugee Act may also require additional legal
staff by the Refugee Appeals Authority.
·
The
relocation of the
10.4
Entities
·
The
Minister of Home Affairs should motivate that the Government Printing Works
must be given a special dispensation by the Minister of Public Service and
Administration to pay commercially competitive salaries for technical staff to
prevent high vacancies, overtime and staff turnover.
·
The Film and Publications Board should reduce fruitless
and wasteful expenditure and initiatives to ensure that the status of an
unqualified audit opinion is maintained and that such fruitless expenditure is
not repeated in the 2011/12 financial year.
·
The GPW must be assisted by the Minister to ensure
that the matters of emphasis from the AG in its Annual report are not repeated.
·
The Minister should ensure the
urgent appointment a permanent CEO for the GPW.
Report
to be considered