Committee Programme & Budget: deliberations; Regulations on Immigration Act: briefing

Meeting report

HOME AFFAIRS PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE
29 January 2003
COMMITTEE PROGRAMME & BUDGET: DELIBERATIONS; REGULATIONS ON IMMIGRATION ACT: BRIEFING

Chairperson: Mr M Scott (ANC)

Documents handed out
Proposed budget for 2003/2004 (see Appendix)

Contact [email protected] for the following documents
Letter from Deputy Chair of Committees
Letters regarding corruption in Home Affairs
Final evaluation of Committee's 2003/2004 budget

SUMMARY
The Committee discussed the six matters to be dealt with during 2003, and agreed that it would have to meet with the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) to discuss the problems with the voters roll. Members raised concern with the problems with the provision of the budget, and discussed the steps to be taken to address this.

The Department of Home Affairs explained that the interim regulations on the Immigration Act provided a detailed and comprehensive account of the application procedure as an "all you need to know" guide. When the Advisory Board is established,a decision would be made on either supplementing these interim regulations or scrapping them and introducing a new set of regulations. The Committee will meet in study groups to discuss these interim regulations before its next meeting with the Department.

The Department was also asked to inform the Committee of its plans to address the problems with IT matters within the Department, the training and shortages of immigration officers and the plans for accommodating the influx of tourists and players due to the ICC Cricket World Cup.

MINUTES
The Chair welcomed Members to the first meeting of this Committee for 2003, and expressed his wish that Members discharged their duties in a collective manner and that the Committee functions as a team during 2003.

Committee Programme and Budget for 2003/2004
The Chair stated that the budget (see document attached) was submitted by this Committee in June 2002, yet it had not received any funds to date. In fact, no funds had to date been allocated to any Committee. This Committee's request to meet with senior members of the IEC would probably be shot down, and the basis on which these decisions were made was not clear. This Committee had to sort out its programme and budget as soon as possible, as well as its problems with under-resourcing.

Mr G Grobler (DP) asked whether a discussion of the Committee's year planning was on the agenda for this meeting. Furthermore, this Committee also had to schedule a meeting with the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), because there were problems with the voters roll for the upcoming elections. Senior members of the IEC should be present at this meeting, as they needed to explain the recent decision taken at regional level to not provide the addresses of voters. This contradicted the IEC's previous statement to this Committee that the addresses of voters would be included on the voters roll. This matter had to be examined.

The Chair agreed that this should be placed on the agenda for 2003. There were six primary matters that had to be dealt with by this Committee during 2003.

The first is the Electoral Act, which should be passed within three months, so that the IEC could have twelve months within which to prepare for the elections. This Committee would be placed under pressure to finalise this piece of legislation, as the IEC report on the electoral system had been completed in December 2002, was handed over to the Minister of Home Affairs (the Minister) and then to Cabinet. This report will probably be finalised by the end of February 2003. It is an urgent Bill and will define the future of our democratic system, and it will receive much attention from civil society.

The second is the Child Pornography legislation, which attempts to deal to some extent with cybercrimes. It was pioneered by the former Deputy Minister, and had to be dealt with by the end of June this year.

The third is the budget, and stated that he hoped that it was dealt with differently during 2003. The problems with staff shortages persisted, and ultimately had a negative effect on service delivery.

The fourth was the issue of corruption within Home Affairs, and was also an ongoing problem.

The fifth matter is the accessibility of Home Affairs and the identity document campaign. This is a problem especially in the rural areas, where children do not have identity documents and are thus unable to access the grants to contribute to the local economy. The result is that children suffer because they could not access the grants they need so desperately. The Department of Home Affairs (the Department) has to work with the Department of Social Development in this regard. It also has to be ensured that voters are able to use the same identity document they used during the previous election. The current problems regarding the lack of proper communication between the Department and the IEC had to be addressed as well, because the current position is not acceptable.

The sixth is the visits to the regions. This is an ongoing concern, and these visits are important in that Members are able to appreciate the serious problems and the difficulties with regard to the shortage of staff.

The Committee's budget for 2003/2004, based on this, is R1,1m.

Prince Zulu (IFP) sought clarity on the input given by the authorities when the budget is prepared. Where is the blockage? Without the necessary funds, the Committee could not function.

The Chair replied that this is a cause of frustration for all Chairpersons, because the approval of any request can take two to three weeks to finalise.

Mr I Pretorius (NNP) contended that there are two budgets: the first is this Committee's budget, which provides for the functioning of the Committee. The second is the proposed budget for the Department. In fact, the budget for 2003/2004 seems to be slightly lower than its predecessor, and this is a problem because it also has to accommodate the IEC visits.

Mr Grobler stated that the budget had to make provision for the visits and a time-frame is needed for the dates of these visits because this is an election year, so that Members can plan ahead. It would be a good idea to interact with the IEC only after the Committee finds out just what will be happening with the Electoral Bill, but this meeting should take place no later than March. During this meeting the issue of the voter's roll especially, as highlighted earlier, had to be discussed.

The Chair contended that the time-frames will be circulated by next week, but Members have to remember that the dates will be flexible, because Cabinet's plans have not yet been finalised.

Mr Pretorius referred to the problem raised by Mr Grobler regarding the registration of votes and asked whether it is government policy that registration commence de novo with the result that the current database was scrapped, or would information merely be added on to existing records.

The Chair stated that, according to his understanding following the meeting with the IEC, an address-on approach would be followed. Voters would thus be able to go to local government municipalities to update their records. This matter had to be followed-up even if it was done just before the end of February 2003. The issue of the Director-General had to yet been finalised, and the number of acting posts within the Department is causing uncertainty. This also had to be looked into. What is needed here is certainty and strong leadership. This is not to say that this Committee would interfere with the decisions taken with regard to the allocation of posts, but it will instead oversee the procedure followed in an effort to ensure stability.

Mr M Kalako (ANC) contended that if the Committee is not properly resourced, it will not be able to do its work properly. The IEC tender process also had to be dealt with, and perhaps the Committee should intervene here.

Mr W Sikakane (ANC) stated that this might be too direct an approach to adopt, as the Committee is not that well informed on the matter.

Ms I Mars (IFP) stated that she agreed with Mr Skhosana, and proposed that the details of the matter be provided to Members before the next meeting.

Mr Pretorius recommended that Members receive the necessary documentation even before the next meeting, so that they can prepare themselves.

The Chair agreed and stated that the documents have to be made available to Members before the meeting on 18 February 2003.

Mr Pretorius contended that a recent media report regarding the influx of foreigners due to the ICC Cricket World Cup created the impression that there are currently inadequate numbers of immigration officials to deal with the tourists attending the matches. These people have to wait in very long queues at the airports before their documents are finalised. This is a great embarrassment for our country which had to be sorted out.

The Chair stated that the Director-General (DG), when he addresses this Committee later on, will be asked to put a response to this matter in writing. This Committee also has to consider the salaries paid to immigration officers as the current rate stands at only R2 200 per month, which "opens them up to corruption".

The Chair added that there was one more issue he wished to raise with the Committee: this is the last meeting as Chairperson, and hoped that a Chair would be appointed before the end of February 2003 who would continue to rebuild this Committee as a team. It is important that this is done because this is a very important Department with regard to service delivery, and is also "the face of the country". Prince Zulu, Mr Grobler, Mr Pretorius, Mr I Mfundisi (UCDP), Mr Kalako and Mr Sikakane thanked the Chair for his leadership and guidance, noted that his departure marks a loss for the legislature and wished him well in his future position of employment.

The Chair thanked Members for their kind words and stated that he would miss working with them.

Briefing by Acting Director-General on Regulations of Immigration Act
Mr C Schravesande, Acting Chief-Director: Migration in the Department, introduced himself and his colleague, Mr T N Matibe, the Department's Senior Legal Admin Officer. The regulations have to be approved by the Minister under Section 52 of the Immigration Act (the Act), and they give effect to various provision in the Act. The regulations are also given effect via Section 7 of the Act. The procedure for the implementation of regulations under Section 7 was not followed because these are interim regulations that will come into effect when the Act itself comes into operation, and will remain in place until the Advisory Board decides to impose new regulations.

The text forms the first part of the regulations and is followed by the schedule, which provides a guideline to any person that wishes to implement or understand the Act. It is the only document that any official or person visiting South African would have to consult, as it provides detailed information regarding the type of document needed, provides a description of that document, explains the application needed for that permit, the procedure to be followed, where the document has to be lodged, sets out all the supplementary documentation and also sets out the requisite fee payable in consideration of the application.

Yet all this limits the Department, to an extent, to the requirements listed in the schedule, and serves to ensure that the Department "does not move the goalposts further". The regulations then prescribe the actual application form, the documentation needed and permits, via the annexure to the regulations. The intention here is that the Advisory Board will be put in place by April 2003 and the Act itself will come into operation in December 2003, with the result that the Board will be up-and-running before the Act. The Board will thus be able to study the regulations in advance, and would be better placed to advise the Minister on any aspects it might deem necessary.

The same detail of information is provided in the regulations and the schedule regarding both the work and quota permits. The quota permit system is aimed at securing persons with the needed qualifications, rather than being concerned with positions. The need here is to identify the qualifications and skills needed in South Africa, and ensuring that this application process is expedited.

Discussion
Prince Zulu stated that he thought he heard Mr Schravesande saying that the regulation process was not followed to the letter of the law.

Mr Schravesande replied that he was trying to inform Members that there are two separate sections in the Act that deal with regulations. The first is Section 7, which sets out the procedure for the promulgation of the regulations which are established once the Board and Act come into operation. The second is Section 52, which stipulates the provisional procedure to be followed for interim regulations. The regulations were thus devised according to the letter of the law, and were not done under Section 7 but via Section 52, because they are merely interim regulations.

The Chair stated that this means that when the Board is established, it can decide to follow one of two routes: it could either look at these interim regulations and adopt or supplement them, or it could scrap them completely and devise a new set of regulations. In either case, the regulations finally decided on by the Board will then be permanent.

Mr Sikakane proposed that it would not be wise to continue this discussion as Members do not have a copy of the regulations in front of them. This Committee cannot begin discussions on this matter on the assumption that the regulations in fact say what the officials say they do. Members themselves have to be able to look at the regulations.

The Chair agreed that Members need to have the actual document before them. Perhaps here a small committee that represents all political parties should be established by the interim Chairperson, and should be tasked with going through the regulations. This would be useful because the regulations have to be fast-tracked, and must be completed by the end of February 2003.

Mr Grobler expressed his concern at this development and stated that there were far too many misunderstandings in 2002 regarding the communication between the Department and the Committee, and it seems that even 2003 has begun on a negative note.

The Chair stated that the letter forwarded to the Department stated that at this meeting the Department would brief Members on the regulations, and this means that the Department has to ensure that all the necessary and relevant documentation is supplied to Members. Yet only one copy of the regulations have been supplied.

Mr Schravesande replied that, because the regulations are a total of 197 pages, the Department was not exactly sure how it would go about briefing this Committee in totality if Members have not yet seen the regulations. He apologised for the current situation and assured Members that they would receive a copy of the regulations.

Ms A Van Wyk (UDM) stated that this is the modern age, and the Department and this Committee have to open up channels of communication between themselves. This working relationship is not what it should be.

Mr Kalako added that one of the duties of the Department is to provide information, and it has not done so in this case.

The Chair stated that the issue to be decided was how the Committee should proceed with the regulations.

Mr Grobler proposed that an entire day be set aside for the sub-committee to explore the regulations with senior Department officials, and this sub-committee would then have to report back to this Committee on the results.

Mr Sikakane asked why this cannot be done via study groups.

Mr Mfundisi agreed with Mr Sikakane's proposal, because when Members leave the workshop with the Department officials they will almost already be bound by what was said by the Department. Study groups are preferable, because Members would then be able to process the regulations with their own parties before entering into any discussions.

Mr Pretorius asked whether the Department would be preparing a memorandum that explains the regulations.

Ms Mars proposed that the parties' study groups consider the regulations, and Members would then be able to raise any concerns at the next meeting of this Committee with the Department.

The Chair noted that Members agree that the study groups must have considered the regulations by 15-18 February 2003, when this Committee will next be meeting with the Department to raise concerns or issues of clarity regarding the regulations. At that meeting Members will then decide whether a sub-committee needs to be established. In fact, nothing prevents the study groups themselves from interacting with the Department on this matter. Members have to be supplied with copies of all the relevant documentation by tomorrow.

Mr Schravesande agreed.

The Chair asked the Department to respond to three issues. Firstly, when will the Department be conducting its IT programmes?

Mr Schravesande replied that there are currently two programmes running simultaneously that are aimed at bringing the current management control system in line with the Act. In fact, this had been done already, and will be put in place at the border posts before the Act becomes operational.

Secondly, the Chair asked whether there are any plans in place to provide training for immigration officers.

Mr Schravesande replied that a training group has been established to train all immigration officers in the implementation of both the Act and the regulations, and the aim here is to have trained all immigration officers before the implementation of the Act. It is the most intensive training that immigration officers have received, even more so than was the case under the previous Aliens Control Act, where such officers received only two days training. The current training programme lasted for one week, and officials will be better equipped because they would have prior knowledge of the Act before it actually comes into operation.

Thirdly, the Chair asked how the Department plans to deal with the chronic shortages in immigration officers.

Mr Schravesande stated that the Department still had to deal with the restrictions it was faced with when it last discussed this matter with this Committee. The Department did request the Department of Public Service and Administration to allow it to fill the critical posts, such as the border posts. That Department is yet to respond to the request and, in the mean time, other staff will be used, especially with the advent of the ICC Cricket World Cup.

The Chair stated that a point was raised earlier regarding the ICC Cricket World Cup, and asked Mr Schravesande to explain the interim management structures that have been put in place here.

Mr Schravesande replied that the Department is expecting a significant increase in the number of passengers arriving at the country's three major international airports: Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg. The increase at Durban's airport is not expected to be as substantial as those at Cape Town and Johannesburg, and an additional twenty personnel have been appointed at the Cape Town and Johannesburg airports to accommodate this influx. The regional directors have alerted all other staff who have already been trained in preparation for the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) to be able to work at short notice.

The Bangladesh team were the first to arrive in South Africa and flew to Namibia to prepare for the competition. The Pakistan side were the first to enter South Africa for the competition, and the feedback received from Dr Bacher was that they complemented the way they were treated at the airport. In fact, Dr Bacher and his assistants will be at the airports to assist the teams entering the country to ensure that they are channelled to the proper terminals for integration. The communication between the Department, Dr Bacher and the Department of Sport and Recreation has been good, and no problems are foreseen in this regard.

The Chair stated that this shows that steps are being taken to ensure the process goes smoothly, and the efforts being made have the support of this Committee.

There were no further questions or comments and the meeting was adjourned.

Appendix