Governance and Administration Cluster Media Briefing

The Governance and Administration cluster held a media briefing on the implementation of the Government plan of action for the post State of the Nation Address 2016. The briefing was attended by the Home Affairs Minister, Mr Malusi Gigaba, Corporate Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister, Mr Desmond van Rooyen, and Public Service and Administration Minister, Mr Ngoako Ramathlodi.

Questions and Answers:

Journalist: Minister, can you please give us figures on the number of uncollected ID documents?

Minister Gigaba: There are 200 000 uncollected smart cards at head office, and there are 5 000 uncollected green ID books. We will not destroy any documents between now and the date of collection to allow for people to still go and collect them. Once the South African citizens have applied, they must collect their ID documents, because it is expensive to print these out, therefore it is of crucial importance that South Africans do collect their IDs. We are concerned that there is a high number of uncollected IDs. We have about 178 offices that were converted to do live capturing. If we can have these offices and people still do not collect their ID documents, then this raises a concern. Fortunately we have robust systems to ensure that these documents are recorded once destroyed.

Journalist: Could you give us an indication of how far we are in the process of determining the date for voter registration?

Minister Van Rooyen: I would like to commend my fellow Minister Gigaba on the clear and precise feedback he has just given to this briefing. We still need to ensure that the nation is ready and that most IDs are collected, and this will take time. We have to be sure that this concern is attended to. The country is in a difficult situation fiscally. We have embarked on programmes to re-prioritize our spending patterns, but we will be affected in some respects. The credibility of the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) must not be questioned. It will continue to run South African elections efficiently. That is why the IEC took a decision to postpone the elections so they could look into compliance. We are not worried about the IEC’s credibility. The requirement is that municipalities must assist the IEC to ensure that people are registered with correct addresses and that they are registered at the required points.

Journalist: Minister, how concerned are you about the report that elections might be pushed to early next year?

Minister Ramathlodi: Once the voting date has passed, it will not be extended.

Journalist: Minister, with regard to the abolition of 21 municipalities, has this been taken into account in respect of people resorting to violence? Are you not concerned about the way the IEC is closing its cases, and its credibility?

Minister Van Rooyen: Some of the municipalities are not sustained properly and we are currently working with Eskom, National Treasury and the Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) to ensure that we provide a lasting solution to this problem. We have experienced some progress in other municipalities as far as innovation is concerned, for example, the sms system. There is still a lot of work to be done here. Recent studies indicate that our people prefer paying for clothing and food accounts instead of their municipal accounts.

Journalist: Minister, with regard to the Budget cuts in public finance, what is your view on this?

Minister Van Rooyen: We are expected to re-prioritise where possible. Innovation within the organisational structures within our ministries is imminent. The economic outlook is putting pressure on how we use public finances. We are expected to make serious preparations to ensure the nation is ready to conduct free and fair elections. Preparations will be impacted, pressure will be put on us. The Constitutional Court ruling implies that the IEC must ensure that the voters’ addresses are provided. We have instructed our legal team to look into the matter. If you look at the Revenue Bill provided by Minister Pravin Gordhan yesterday, we have established hands-on structures that deal with municipalities on a daily basis.

Journalist: Minister, please elaborate on the R20 billion owed -- is that the total debt owed by municipalities?

Minister Van Rooyen: We will provide more information about this matter. What we are owed collectively -- by businesses and households -- is in the region of R104 billion. Of that amount, the households constitute the bulk and businesses owe about R17 billion. If more information is needed, it can be freely provided.

Journalist: Minister, please take us through this process of uncollected ID documents. In addition to this number, do you know how many South Africans are roaming around the streets without IDs? What are the dangers to governance as far as security for these South Africans is concerned? Has the Department done any analysis as to why these IDs are not collected? What is the solution, because IDs are not just needed for elections – there is a whole range of factors why one needs an ID, and if it is a case of someone being unable to collect because he/she has no money for transport, what then?

Minister Gigaba: It is difficult to know how many South Africans do not possess IDs. Prior to 1994, some South Africans did not possess a birth certificate and therefore were not able to apply for an ID. The birth certificate system was introduced after 1994, and now it is a requirement that before you can apply for an ID, you must have a birth certificate. Every child born must be registered for a birth certificate within 30 days. We also have additional offices where officials go to collect parents’ IDs to assist with the registration of birth certificates. We have large numbers of South Africans applying for late registration, and over the years these numbers have dropped, meaning progress has been made in this regard. In an area such as eThekwini metro, we have South Africans who claim they do not have IDs. It was found that this late registration was being abused by people who were not meant to receive this document, as they were doing it fraudulently to obtain South African citizenship. This does not mean that South Africans will be denied their natural right to obtain an ID. The onus is on you to prove to the Department that you are a South African.

I do believe that there are still South Africans who do not have IDs, and we will continue to assist them because we can not deny them their right to citizenship. The risks are both economic and security. South Africa attracts large volumes of mixed migration flows. There are many security risks that pertain to the police and other institutions, as well as socio-economic risks. There are a number of risks and challenges we are faced with as far as this matter is concerned, but going forward we emphasise the issue of early birth registration, for if we were to achieve that objective then this would make our life really easy as a Department. We need all the assistance we can get from the communities. This information could be of great assistance even to Statistics South Africa, so that in terms of education the departments are aware of how many children are expected to attend schools in the forward planning of the nation. We need to focus more on forward planning in order to become more modern.

We have not done a comprehensive study as to why people are not collecting their Smart ID cards. As far as the green IDs are concerned, the reasons are that people would apply in one province and relocate to another province, and this would make it difficult for a person to collect. Also a person could lose their ID and apply for a replacement, and later re-discover it and not go back to collect the one he/she had applied for. The reasons therefore vary as far as this matter is concerned. Over the passage of time we should be able to forward a person’s ID to where a person is. We are continuing to improve our service in this regard. The partnership we are entering into with the banks will assist us to be able to reach out to as many people as possible. At present, the live-capture system requires that the person who applies for a Smart card must come to collect it and not somebody else. The card gets activated on biometrics, therefore this is crucial.

The briefing was adjourned.