Department of Home Affairs on IT Modernisation Programme & 3rd quarter 2014/15 performance

Home Affairs

10 March 2015
Chairperson: Mr B Mashile (ANC)
Share this page:

Meeting Summary

The Department of Home Affairs (DHA) briefed the Committee on the Quarter 3 Performance Report of 2014/2015, the Quarter 3 Expenditure Report, and IT Modernisation. In relation to performance, detailed figures and percentages were presented for each of the programmes and sub-programmes. In general, it was noted that the DHA has met a 67% achievement with its Quarter 3 goals. Work was being done to resolve complex challenges in the implementation of digital systems and smart ID cards that utilised individuals' biometric information to verify them. The implementation of the VISA facilitation partnership was on track and significant progress had been made in establishing the Border Management Agency. Unreliable power supplies and IT networks had troubled these initiatives, though updates to the system and strategic distribution of generators to critical facilities have helped to lessen the problem. Future developments in the IT Network, Asylum Seeker Management, Civic front office hours, and Civic front office services were forthcoming to address known and acknowledged challenges. Members wanted to know exactly what measures were in place to address front service office delivery problems and several highlighted, and insisted that measures must be taken to address offices closing early, poor staff attitudes, people being told to call in for their IDs only to find that they were not available, the need for better supervision and unannounced visits by management. They were interested in measures being taken, despite low budget, to ensure a secured and responsive immigration system. Questions of clarification were asked about the Zimbabwean Special Permits, what would be done for anyone not getting this permit, and why cases were rejected. They asked if any changes to the legislation might be needed to improve performance on residence applications. One Member felt that the same information was presented repetitively and queried whether the information was indeed correct or merely a cut and paste from previous reports.

The Budget Expenditure Report was presented, with detailed figures breaking down targets, achievements and figures for each of the programmes, by economic classification and by sub-programme. Overall, the spending in this quarter varied between 66% and 82%, but overspending was noted in Finance and Supply Chain, and the Legal Services. There had also been overspending in the Foreign Office and Inspectorate, in part due to the high cost of obtaining deportation orders. The provinces were spending slightly higher than the projections. A virement had been done  to allow orders to be issued at the start of the financial year and would be adjusted during the adjustment budget processes later in the year. High expenditure (353%) in Households (HH) referred to leave gratuities. Because deportations were expensive, the Immigration Affairs section was expected to over-spend.

The third presentation was on IT modernisation. The DHA initiative on IT Modernisation was intended to secure national ID services and enable efficient, safe immigration services. There were some difficulties in delays, which meant that the solution was unlikely to be completed in 2016, but would be pushed back to 2017/18. By end March the smart ID card and passport system would be active in 140 DHA offices and at least 1,6 million citizens, ages 16 and 60, would be given their cards. However, difficulties were pointed out with the relative geographic unavailability of services for people living in western Limpopo or Northern Cape. Mobile service platforms were being contemplated and discussed to contend with these difficulties. The report also announced an E-Permit System that allows the Department to remotely adjudicate VISA applications and significantly enhance immigration efficiency and an Enhanced Movement Control System (EMCS) that scanned biometrics and criminal history at some ports of entry. Although the prevalence of automated systems had pushed greater reliance on network and power stability, there were concerns about copper theft that resulted in down-time. The DHA was aware of the need to ensure physical network stability, and said that DHA was investigating network updates and power service solutions. Partnerships with banks and post offices were being considered to enhance service delivery.

Members asked that the DHA modernisation reports should be kept fully up to date, not within quarter dates. Again, one Member criticised the reports as containing little new. Members asked for explanation on low spending figures, and another asked for breakdown on HR figures, pointing out that better spending here had the potential to vastly increase service, and also asked for further information on other categories. Overtime pay and the process was queried. Members asked for more details on the proposals for bank partnerships and wanted assurances on security for these, and asked if the current figure of inspectors was sufficient, and what would be done to increase it. DHA confirmed that the security systems used for the old live capture system remained until the new and old systems could be merged. False IDs were being addressed, the penalties had been increased but the DHA was urging the Department of Justice to impose appropriate sentences against people found guilty.
 

Meeting report

Department of Home Affairs 3rd Quarter 2014/15 performance report
Mr Mkuseli Apleni, Director-General, Department of Home Affairs, briefed the Committee on the Quarter 3 Performance Report of 2014/2015.

Mr Apleni described the achievements made by officials in rolling out digital systems and smart ID cards, and the progress in the implementation of the visa facilitation partnership. 69% of the targets for the Department of Home Affairs (DHA or the Department) had been achieved by quarter 2. However, the smart ID cards required stable networks with sufficient bandwidth, and State Information Technology Agency (SITA) data at the end of last year had been plagued by load shedding and network downtime. DHA had been talking to the Department of Telecommunications and Postal Services to get those issues resolved.

DHA officials, in spite of a shortage of specialists, were resolving complex challenges to roll out digital systems and smart ID cards. The implementation of the visa facilitation partnership was on track; thus improving security and overall management of the process. Significant progress had been made in establishing the Border Management Agency (BMA).

Currently, the system was still overwhelmed by economic migrants who claimed asylum, largely because of the court ruling that would allow them permits to work or study while awaiting their adjudication. In June 2015 the DHA would engage with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to discuss how this body might assist in meeting this challenge. DHA was also engaging with various departments that provided other forms of assistance to asylum seekers so as to define a country position.

Staff attendance and service quality were two issues that were damaging service to the public at DHA offices. To cope with this, new business hours were announced last week, that would align staff attendance with peak operation hours. Additionally, a Service Delivery Charter would be released that set minimum service standards in DHA offices for the public. Managers would be forced to perform daily readiness checks. At the end of the month, mandatory staff meetings would facilitate internal communication about issues and successes. Lastly, senior management at the Director and above level were contracted to spend five days per year in front line offices to enhance vertical communication and understanding.

Mr Apleni then went on to describe the achievements within specific Quarter 3 targets across the three Programmes: Administration, Citizen Affairs, and Immigration Affairs; and what was being done to fulfill any areas where achievement fell short of targets (see attached presentation for full details). A recent development on annual target 2.2.1 that he highlighted was that the Cabinet had approved the BMA feasibility study, which had already been approved by the Minister.

Discussion
Ms T Kenye (ANC) referred to page 9 of the Q3 Performance Report and asked if there were clear measures in place to address front office service delivery problems.

She then questioned what measures were being taken, given current allocations, to ensure a secured and responsive immigration system and the strategic objectives that outlined that goal, with reference to page 11 of the report.

Mr A Figlan (DA) thanked Mr Apleni for his initiative and efforts and then proceeded to ask when the DHA front office revised hours would take effect. He asked for a list of offices utilising new information capturing systems.

Ms D Raphuti (ANC) relayed an account of service in the North West where sms messages would be received telling an individual to pick up his smart card from the DHA office, only to travel there and find that it was not available for collection. She would appreciate the senior management staff getting onto the ground to see matters for what they were.

Ms Raphuti referred to page 13 of the Q3 Performance Report and inquired about the nature of the Zimbabwean Special Permit rejection cases. 

Mr D Gumede (ANC) said he had visited DHA front line offices and had been disappointed by their service and performance. Passports were unavailable to individuals after they had been told to collect them. Offices were closing at 14:00, when the advertised closing time was 16:00. Attendants had a poor attitude towards clients. There was definitely room for improvement, though he admitted that DHA is a difficult department.

Ms N Mnisi (ANC) drew the Committee's attention to page 34 of the Q3 Performance Report and acknowledged the challenges pushing the residence applications percentage low. She asked whether there was any legislative problem or gap that required input from the Committee, to help streamline the process. Also, she enquired about the timetable for a permanent resident to be accepted.

Mr B Nesi (ANC) raised the point that in townships with Somalis, Pakistanis and others, he heard that illegal immigrants were being moved out but he did not see that happening. He was critical of pages 11 and 30 for saying the same thing and said that much of the information seemed to be a repeat, and wondered if there was a cut and paste effort being used.

The Chairperson asked whether the DHA was confident that it would achieve its deadlines and targets by April and what its plans were for the future.

The Chairperson also acknowledged Mr Nesi's comment and said that unless there was a fundamental change in the underlying circumstances or progress was made between reports, it was likely that reports could reiterate similar things between quarters. Only regression or advancement would result in changes being noted.

Mr Apleni first referenced the number of services that DHA offices offered and highlighted that there was a Service Delivery Charter, in addition to attendance/performance sheets that attendants must get their managers to sign. These methods of trying to ensure due diligence would become standard operating procedures because when people were not monitored they would do things differently.

The new DHA front line office hours were approved and ready for implementation on 1 March but would actually be taking effect on 23 March. On the issue of front line office services, he noted that the DHA was launching a project around conduct and leadership. Higher ranking DHA employees planned on visiting offices to deal with the problems of early closings, which hampered efforts of South Africans to acquire a smart card.

Mr Apleni said anyone between the ages of 16 and 60 could receive a smart card. At this point, the system’s limited reach and capability could not handle the inclusion of all citizens outside of those age ranges.

He noted that the Zimbabwean Special Permit (ZSP) cases figures took into account the criminal records analyzed in conjunction with the South African Police Service (SAPS). Any Zimbabwean in South Africa who wanted to start work or business must apply through the mainstream immigration process.

Mr Apleni said the DHA was looking at the immigration process in South Africa, and said that it had concluded that there was nothing wrong with giving someone permanent residence quickly, rather then forcing them to wait a set number of years before becoming eligible.

Mr Apleni referred to a special mandate that had been started some years ago to deal with the issue of mass migration from Zimbabwe. This would take into account greater economic considerations when looking at the issue and would then move on to address migrants from other neighboring countries.

The Chairperson asked whether the 56 064 ZSP approvals out of the 208 000 ZSP applications made threatened current achievement deadlines. He then inquired about the 36 000 unregistered Zimbabweans in the country and wondered whether anyone had tried to locate them, or whether the administration was worried that they were not supposed to be in South Africa or had not applied to be here.

Mr Apleni responded that if the present illegal immigrants did not apply for a permit by 31 December, they must leave on their own, or they would be deported if caught.

Mr Apleni noted that in relation to networks and load shedding, generators had had been rolled out to a number of offices and network hubs, although they did not have the capacity to sustain the system for very long if a blackout persisted.

DHA Quarter 3 Budget Expenditure Report.
Mr Gordon Hollamby, Deputy Director-General: Finance and Supply Chain Management, Department of Home Affairs, then briefed the Committee on the Quarter 3 Budget Expenditure Report. It contained a detailed breakdown of targets, achievements and figures for each of the programmes, by economic classification and by sub-programme. Overall, the spending in this quarter varied between 66% and 82%, but overspending was noted in Finance and Supply Chain, and the Legal Services. There had also been overspending in the Foreign Office and Inspectorate, in part due to the high cost of obtaining deportation orders. The provinces were spending (as analysed in another slide) slightly higher than the projections. A virement had been done (explained in slide 52) to allow orders to be issued at the start of the financial year and would be adjusted during the adjustment budget processes later in the year. He also noted the high over-expenditure (353%) in Households (HH) and explained that this covered leave gratuity for employees who had passed away or exited the Department. Self-financing and supply chain management had high costs because of legal services and legal relations costs. Finally, he reminded the Committee that deportation was a very expensive business and as a result, Immigration Affairs was expected to over-spend on its allocation.

IT Modernisation in the DHA
The Chairperson noted that the IT Modernisation strategy in the DHA had been started a few years back, and should be updated to the dates of the meetings, notwithstanding that this would cover ground beyond the Quarter 3 reports.

Ms Nthumeni Nengovhela, Acting Deputy Director-General: Information Technology Services, Department of Home Affairs (DHA) briefed the Committee on DHA Modernisation of IT services.

She noted a slippage in Phase 2 with the development of Trusted Traveller and rollout of Live Capture in the additional 70 DHA offices, and said that as a result the projected goals would likely be pushed back. As a result, DHA Modernisation finalisation could be expected around 2017/2018, rather than mid-2017 dates originally noted. The Live Capture system was a fully automated front end system to process smart ID cards and passports and would be rolled out to 140 offices by the end of March 2015. However, 140 offices was not sufficient for the uptake of smart cards for all persons in the target age range of 16-60, spurring considerations for a partnership with banks and/or post offices to assist implementation.

The E-Permit system had been tested and implemented and covered Zimbabwean Special Permits as well. The system automatically received VISA applications from Visa Facilitation Services and enabled the Department to electronically adjudicate permit applications and issue a response, resulting in significant efficiency increases.

DHA expected that an additional seven points of entry (POE) would be added to the Enhanced Movement Control System (EMCS) by April. She stated that in Modernisation Phase II (2015/16-17), the Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) would need a system and hardware refresh to fully integrate with police and judicial demands.

Unfortunately, due to automation, the systems were fully dependent on power and network availability and this meant that copper cable theft was a common issue undermining service. She highlighted that it was most important for the BVR center and Centurion Data Centers housing SITA data to receive an uninterrupted flow of power.

Discussion on Quarter 3 and Modernisation presentations
The Chairperson asked if Mr Hollamby could speak to the 0%, 26%, and 28% of spending figures found in the Sub Programme for Immigration Affairs 2013 Budget Table.

Mr Hollamby replied that the 0% in Social Benefits had been a R31 000 misallocation that could easily be fixed. The 28% found in Foreign Missions was due to the late appointment of the Chief Director in this subprogramme and that explained why there was little spending besides the Chief Director’s salary.

Mr Jackie Mckay, Deputy Director General: Immigration Services, DHA, added that there were still some transfers that needed to go through which would effect changes to the budget table.

The Chairperson retorted that this meant that the DHA still had a challenge on its hands.

Mr Apleni added that the DHA was still working out some processes.

Mr Gumede asked about the breakdown of the human resources (HR) performance. The HR sub programme had only spent 49% of its adjudication and he was worried that this was negatively impacting front line office services in unnecessary ways. He pointed out that HR spending had the potential to make a large difference in front line offices and thus the Department and should fully solve these problems.

Mr Gumede also asked for the budgetary breakdown and impact in sub programmes for Buildings and Other Fixed Structures, and Software and Intangible Assets.

Mr Gumede wanted to know what was included in Civic Services Special Projects, what the sub committee’s impact was, and why its allocation had not been completely spent.

Mr Hollamby replied that within Buildings and Other Fixed Structures, the current 61% balance would be allocated to the Goods and Services economic classification or would be spent on bridges. Software and Intangible Assets had paid their licensing agreements and should be able to spend the remainder of their allocations. The 49% spent of HR included R40 million overtime pay because HR was responsible for the issue of overtime authorisations. He suggested that this remain the case for control purposes.

Mr Gumede asked whether the under spending in HR had resulted in vacancies or a slowdown in centre response. Also, he suggested that overtime spending did not reflect the actual HR picture, which made oversight difficult.

Mr Apleni added that overtime over 30% of pay must be approved, which was the role of HR. Overtime payment was centralised and so HR was used in efforts to control, as opposed to trying to effect service.

The Chairperson said that he had considered the finances of the sub programmes and provinces. It seemed that  provinces exercised some financial discipline, but all the sub programmes were "a mixed bag" and asked whether there was any clarification that DHA could offer in that regard.

The Chairperson referred to the map and the fact that some people living in Western Limpopo, Northern Cape, Eastern Cape, and Western Cape faced significant disadvantages and the highest costs in accessing DHA services, due to the size of these regions and number of DHA offices there. He said this would result in people not using services and suggested some type of mobile unit to bring DHA Modernisation to these remote places.

Mr Apleni began by emphasising that DHA services were dependent on network availability, but alternatives like paper systems had a high risk of fraud. Once a card was produced, it was instantly in the system and accounted for decreasing the propensity for fraud. 

The Chairperson also wanted to ask for an explanation of SABRIC and how the bank partnership was going to work.

Mr Nesi commented again on information that appeared to have been cut and pasted from previous reports, highlighting page 16 of the DHA Modernisation document, which repeated prior information and was unnecessary. He then brought up the issue of private sector banks' involvement in public sector and government affairs. He asked who owned the banks and whether they were secure places for keeping the information of the citizens. He expressed concern about the possibility of background information provided on the cards being leveraged by the banks to determine loans in ways that might preferentially disenfranchise black people.

The Chairperson noted that the full rollout strategy involving the banks was under discussion and that the Minister was to provide more details later. The bank contingent was simply for distribution, and at the moment it was ineffectual to debate the specifics of a system still being developed. 

Ms Mnisi asked what was being done to include officials into this system.

The Chairperson asked for more numbers and pointed to a potential bottleneck due to limited number of inspectors at points of entry with information capture services.

Mr Apleni said the banks' information was held in safe custody and there were no fears of breaching any security or trust. Partnership with the Post Office appeared promising because there were approximately 4 500 offices in the country. The Department of Telecommunications and Postal Services needed to connect with DHA to solve some of these problems. He agreed with the Chairperson's comments on the possibilities with regard to a mobile service platform. 117 trucks helped implement the old system, though they were not properly equipped to handle the new one, demanding a new solution. Answering questions on what was being done at points of entry, he said that the DHA had been training officials in the issuing of finger-prints and taking photos at points of entry, and on the techniques to utilise the new information capture systems.

Mr Mckay said that DHA was worried that the current figure of only 650 inspectors nationally was not sufficient, but that the DHA had received a budget of R36 million, for this financial year, to recruit more inspectors starting in the next financial year, quarter 1.

Mr Vusi Mkhize, Deputy Director General: Civic Services, DHA, wanted to elaborate on the plans and said there had been collaboration, but no outsourcing. The country remained under the security of the old live capture system until the new and old systems could be merged.

Mr Mkhize also noted, in answer to the Chairperson’s question about service limitation in some provinces, that the DHA had identified those provinces, and a study was done, for which details could be provided.

The Chairperson reminded the DHA that it must carefully manage all risks to avoid the situation where it might find that the task was running ahead of them unsecured.

Mr Gumede asked how issues around false identification and fake IDs were being addressed.

Mr Apleni said the penalty for using fake identification had been increased to a maximum sentence of 15 years, though the backing of the judiciary in imposing severe sentences would be needed, for full effect.

Mr Apleni finally wanted to supplement the remarks on the Smart ID cards and noted that if the bank support was included, the DHA might have the capacity to include citizens outside of this initial age range of 16 to 60. Also, newly naturalized citizens were included in the group of people receiving smart cards .

The meeting was adjourned. 
 

Download as PDF

You can download this page as a PDF using your browser's print functionality. Click on the "Print" button below and select the "PDF" option under destinations/printers.

See detailed instructions for your browser here.

Share this page: