Department of Home Affairs 2021/22 Annual Performance, with Minister & Deputy Minister

Meeting report

The Chairperson welcomed the Members in attendance, and the delegation from the Department of Home Affairs (DHA). She noted that this was the first time that the Committee had met with the DHA without the Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs also being present. It was the task of the Committee to represent the provincial interests in the national sphere of government. The Committee had requested that the DHA reflect in their briefing on its provincial achievements and challenges, as well as on the implementation of the Border Management Authority Act of 2020. The Committee had deliberated, at the beginning of the Sixth Parliament, on the issues related to the borders.

The delegation from the DHA consisted of Dr Aaron Motsoaledi, Minister of Home Affairs, Mr Nzuza Njabulo, Deputy Minister of Home Affairs, Mr Tommy Makhode. Director- General, DHA, Mr Gordon Hollamby, Deputy Director-General: Finance and Supply-Chain Management, Mr Thulani Mavuso, Deputy Director-General: Institutional Planning and Support, and Mr Muzi Njoko, Director at the DHA.

The purpose of the virtual meeting was for the Committee to be briefed by the DHA on its Annual Performance Plan (APP) and budget for the 2021/22 financial year.

Opening remarks by the Deputy Minister

Mr Nzuza Njabulo, Deputy Minister, DHA, stated that the purpose of the briefing was to inform the Committee of DHA’s APP and budget for the 2021/22 financial year. The briefing would also touch on the issues requested by the Committee, including key provincial achievements and challenges, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on resourcing, current vacancies, service delivery, and an overview on the Border Management Authority. He thanked the Committee for the opportunity to brief Members in this regard. The COVID-19 pandemic had had a significant impact on the operations of the DHA. This briefing would highlight the key considerations of the APP, including the substantial budget cuts and the DHA’s measures to address them.

Briefing by the DHA on its APP and budget

Mr Tommy Makhode, Director-General, DHA, presented the briefing.

Contextual background to the APP

The Committee was told that the DHA was committed to carrying out its mandate in line with its commitment to citizen empowerment, inclusivity, economic development, and national security. This was achieved by the DHA being an efficient and secure custodian of citizenship and civil registration, by securely and strategically managing international migration, by efficiently managing asylum seekers and refugees, and by efficiently determining and safeguarding the official identity and status of people. The services of the DHA were divided into three broad mandates - the management of citizenship and civil registration, international migration, and refugee protection.
 
The DHA had identified the following outcomes for the 2020 to 2025 period:
Secure management of international migration resulting in South Africa’s interests being served and fulfilling international commitments;
Secure and efficient management of citizenship and civil registration to fulfil constitutional and international obligations;
To ensure an efficient asylum seeker and refugee system in compliance with domestic and international obligations;
A secure population register to empower citizens, enable inclusivity, economic development, and national security;
To contribute to a capable and developmental state.

A major focus of the National Development Plan (NDP) was to confront the interlinked challenges of poverty, inequality, and unemployment by achieving higher growth rates. The DHA had a critical contribution to make to the achievement of the NDP’s 2030 objectives. The inclusion of all citizens in democracy and development was enabled by providing them with a status and an identity that gave them access to rights and services. This must be done in an efficient, effective, professional, and secure manner. Another priority was to facilitate the acquisition of the critical skills needed for economic growth as determined by the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) to build its skills base. The DHA would continue to drive integrated and coordinated border management to ensure South Africa’s borders were effectively protected, secured and well-managed. The DHA should play a key role in enabling regional development by working with the South African Development Community (SADC) countries through the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) to establish efficient, secure, and managed migration.

The DHA was central in building a capable state. The modernisation programme of the DHA could reduce fraud and the cost of doing business by enabling e-government which would attract more investment into the country.

Progress on the National Identity System and e-Visas

Committee Members were told that the DHA had developed the National Identity System (NIS) specification document with the State Information Technology Agency (SITA) in partnership with the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) to ensure readiness once a decision on a development partner had been made. The procurement process of the NIS was expected to commence in the 2020/21 financial year. However there were security requirements and risks associated with an open bidding process for a programme of this magnitude. There had also been challenges with the Who Am I Online (WAIO) initiative and the procurement of the Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS). The DHA was therefore in engagements with the National Treasury to explore other options.
 
The DHA modernisation programme sought to improve service delivery and efficiencies. One of the modernisation tools was the implementation of an e-Visa system. An e-Visa system managed the whole lifecycle of the visa request until approval. The system administrators could supervise the status of the request and see whether it was pending or validated.

As international travel started to recover in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the DHA intended to roll out the e-Visa system and service to visitors from China, India, Nigeria, Kenya and 10 other countries, subject to security considerations. These were Cameroon, DRC, Egypt, Ethiopia, Mexico, Uganda, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Philippines, and Pakistan. The rollout of the e-Visa system was subject to lockdown regulations of earmarked countries due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the DIRCO upgrade for connectivity in kits missions and appropriate resources.

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the DHA’s planning and operations

The strategic planning process in preparation for the APP of the 2021/22 financial year took place during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. This “new normal” necessitated the introduction of a scenario approach to setting targets, especially for those targets dealing with volumes and turnaround times as various health and safety protocols, including social distancing measures and work rotations, had to be adhered to.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the remainder of the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) period and foreseeable future was difficult to predict in an accurate manner. Factors to be considered were the risk of office and service point closures at the DHA offices, health facilities, and business partners; the alignment of human resource capacity with the various lockdown levels; and the possible occurrence of further waves of the pandemic. These would have a definite impact on organisational performance, operations and service delivery. The potential impact of the pandemic on the DHA’s performance for the 2020/21 financial year was considered in the planning process. The strategic planning process took place against a bleak economic outlook with a severe reduction in the DHA budget vote baseline for the period  from 2021 to 2024. The DHA’s baseline would be reduced by R3.2 billion over the MTEF period. This included a R2.4 billion cut in the budget for compensation of employees. This would have a detrimental impact on the capacitation of certain critical areas in the DHA such as information services and frontline operations. Departmental operations would be impacted by this reduction as well as the strategic agenda of the DHA.

The impact of the COVID-19 global pandemic was evident in the extent to which the Immigration Services branch had been required to adjust by implementing a large-scale operational review and reduction of operations relating to port control, permitting and asylum seeker management. The Inspectorate had remained operational. It participated in authorised interdepartmental crime containment operations with a focus on combating illegal migration, movement of undocumented persons and in carrying out deportations. With regards to the Immigration Services’ environment and target setting, the permitting and asylum seeker management areas were most affected by the lockdown regulations. The DHA had established a business partnership with VFS Global, a visa facilitation company that provided a client-facing service on behalf of the DHA. VFS Global was also affected by the lockdown regulations which in turn impacted negatively on the intake of applications for visas and permits. The closure of the VFS offices impacted on the methodology used to determine the finalisation of a visa and permitting product. The immigration service back-office processing capacity was also impacted on by the pandemic. The asylum seeker management environment remained non-operational.

The Civic Services branch’s planning and delivery models were structured in terms of the quantity and volumes of clients able to visit a DHA office and the use of equipment to process services. The implementation of the lockdown regulations such as social distancing therefore posed significant challenges in how the Civic Services branch managed the processing of services. The need for digital processes had become paramount. Smart ID-cards, early birth registration, and adult passport issuance were significantly dependent on the input process in order to achieve the set targets which are output based. To issue smart ID-cards and passports and register births in an optimal manner, front offices must be able to function with full establishments, stable systems, and automated features such as capturing online biometrics. The closure of health facilities, other service delivery points, and the DHA offices as a result of the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, impacted on performance and service delivery.

The DHA outlined the lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic:

The importance and centrality of the DHA mandate to the country – The services rendered by the DHA were critical for society to function and certain DHA services such as death registration would always be required irrespective of the prevailing circumstances or conditions.

The need to review service delivery and operating models - A key realisation from the COVID-19 pandemic was that the DHA would need to review its service delivery and operating models as well as its access strategy to adapt to the “new normal” brought about by the pandemic. These models must find ways in which the DHA serviced its clientele in a more effective, efficient, and secure manner. The increased focus on technology would be central for the DHA going forward as would the need to speed up the modernisation programme. The DHA is investigating the use of contactless equipment to further ensure the health of clients and staff. There was a need for adaptable and flexible service delivery. Key considerations included the working of shift systems and flexi-time, remote working arrangements, and the review of specific business processes such as permitting. There was a need to provide tools of the trade to staff to ensure uninterrupted service delivery. The DHA must take measures to ensure its readiness for future pandemics and states of disaster.

The importance of timely and accurate communication and oversight - TTimely and accurate departmental communication was important in ensuring uninterrupted operations and service delivery. Continuous oversight and management of staff and resources was necessary to ensure that there was accountability at all times.

The importance of wellness related interventions and support – The pandemic had taken a heavy psychological and emotional toll on officials. This included fear associated with a high risk of exposure in frontline offices and ports of entry, and in the inspectorate environment, as well as dealing with the untimely deaths of colleagues, officials, and close relatives.

There ias a definite correlation between the pandemic and organisational performance – This could be attributed to the reduction in the number of clients visiting the DHA service points, the unforeseen closure of offices and limited access to certain service points such as health facilities, the changes in the COVID-19 Regulations and reduced staff capacity in offices due to space and social distancing regulations . This highlighted a need for purpose-built offices. A risk-based return-to-work strategy would be implemented to ensure the safety of employees while maintaining service delivery.

Securing South Africa’s borders:

During December 2020, the country had been hit hard by the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic which placed high demands on the government to increase stringent measures to ensure adherence to health and safety protocols. Furthermore, due to limitations in migratory movement and stringent health requirements, it was anticipated that there would be a rise in foreign nationals who would attempt entry into South Africa through non-designated borderline crossings. Immigration officers were deployed from 2 January 2021 to 21 February 2021 to support the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) at identified high risk areas along the borderline where people had a tendency to cross illegally into South Africa. This was to ensure that anybody visiting South Africa must use the official ports of entry and produce all the requisite documentation. It was envisaged that there would be deterrence of trafficking or smuggling or any illegal activities along the borderline.

The DHA had deployed 60 immigration officers to the borders to support the SANDF in Operation Corona and the deployment - 12 members were deployed at the northern borderline, 12 members were deployed at the central Free State borderline, and additional members were deployed at the eastern borderlines.

The overall total number of arrests made during the borderline patrols and roadblocks amounted to 13 924, for the period from 3 January 2021 to 20 February 2021. Mpumalanga topped the list for the number of arrests made with 59 percent of the total. followed by Limpopo at 25 percent, Free State at 11 percent and KwaZulu-Natal at less than five percent. Nationals from Mozambique and Swaziland were arrested in high numbers in Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal, nationals from Lesotho were found in the Free State, and nationals from Zimbabwe were found in Limpopo. All foreign nationals arrested did not fall within the allowed categories for travelling. Instead, the majority were undocumented economic migrants who were trying to enter South Africa illegally without following the legal prescripts such as the COVID-19 health certificate.

Arrests of nationals from neighbouring countries amounted to 13 705. This meant that the biggest challenge was economic migrants from countries sharing borders with South Africa.

Breakdown of the APP targets

For Civic Services, the outcome was outlined as achieving a secure and efficient management of citizenship and civil registration to fulfil constitutional and international obligations. The output indicators and annual targets for the 2021/22 financial year were:

Registering 700 000 births within 30 calendar days.
Issuing 1.6 million smart ID-cards to citizens.
Issuing 90 percent of machine-readable adult passports using the new live capture system within 13 working days after applications had been collected and processed.
Submitting the Marriage Bill to the Cabinet.

For Immigration Services, the outcome was outlined as achieving a secure and efficient management of citizenship and civil registration to fulfil constitutional and international obligations. Another outcome was the achievement of securely managed international migration by fulfilling international commitments. The output indicators and annual targets for the 2021/22 financial year were:

Conducting 220 law enforcement operations and inspections to ensure compliance with immigration legislation.
Adjudicating 85 percent of permanent residence applications within eight months after the applications had been processed.
Achieving a level of 85 percent of critical skills visas being adjudicated within four weeks after applications had been processed in the country.
Adjudicating 90 percent of business and general work visas within eight weeks fafter applications were processed.

For the Border Management Authority, the outcomes were outlined as achieving a secure and efficient management of citizenship and civil registration to fulfil constitutional and international obligations. The output indicators and annual targets for the 2021/22 financial year were:

Establishing the Border Management Authority in incremental steps by rolling out ports of entry.
Incrementally establishing the National Targeting Centre (NTC) commencing with an interim entity.
Reaching financial and contractual closure with the appointed bidders in respect of the redevelopment of six priority ports.
Submitting the One-Stop-Border-Post policy to the Cabinet for approval after previously calling for public comments.

For Information Services, the outcomes were outlined as securing a population register to empower citizens, and enable inclusivity, economic development, and national security. The output indicators and annual targets were outlined for the 2021/22 financial year were:
Implementing the Biometric Movement Control System (BMCS) tat 23 selected ports of entry.
Developing the second phase of the e-Visa system.
Developing the Asylum Seeker and Refugee System after a service provider ahd been contracted.

For Human Resources Management and Development, the outcomes were outlined as positioning the DHA to contribute positively to a capable and developmental state. The output indicator was to implement the DHA’s Gender-based Violence and Femicide Strategies and to conduct 13 awareness sessions in this regard.

For the Office of the Director General, the outcomes were outlined as positioning the DHA to contribute positively to a capable and developmental state. The output indicators and targets for the 2021/22 financial year were:

Submitting the DHA Bill to Cabinet for approval, after the public consultation processes had been concluded.
Implementing the DHA’s Communication Strategy and Plan through 20 media engagements, six outreach engagements, and three campaigns.

For Institutional Planning and Support, the outcomes were outlined as achieving a secure and efficient management of citizenship and civil registration to fulfil constitutional and international obligations. The output indicators and targets for the 2021/22 financial year were:

Submitting the Green Paper on the Management of Citizenship, International Migration, and Refugee Protection to the Cabinet to request approval to commence the public consultation processes.
Submitting the Official Identity Management Policy to the Cabinet for approval.
Getting approval from the Minister on the Revised Service Delivery Model.
 Implementing the DHA’s Access Model and submitting it to the National Treasury.

For Counter Corruption and Security Services, the outcomes were outlined as positioning the DHA to contribute positively to a capable and developmental state. The output indicators and targets for the 2021/22 financial year were:

Evaluating one of the DHA’s business processes to identify possible vulnerabilities to fraud, corruption, and security breaches.
Finalising 50 percent of reported fraud and corruption cases within 90 working days.
Conducting 40 Threat and Risk Assessments.
Referring 300 vetting files to the SITA.

Updates on the Border Management Authority:

The Committee was told that the Border Management Authority Act was enacted in 2020, requiring the President to appoint a Commissioner and Deputy Commissioners for the Border Management Authority. The DHA and the Border Management Authority Project Management Office were leading the project to  establish and the operationalise the Border Management Authority.

The DHA outlined the Border Management Authority Implementation plan as follows:

Commencement of the Border Management Authority Act – The President of South Africa was responsible for determining the different dates regarding the commencement of the statute’s different provisions. The DHA reported that this phase had been completed.

Appointment of the Commissioner and Deputy Commissioners – This process was currently underway, and the timeframe for completion still had to be determined.

Conclusion of implementation protocols – The Border Management Authority Act required the Border Management Authority to conclude mandatory implementation protocols with the SANDF, the South African Police Services (APS), and the South African Revenue Services (SARS). Discussions were ongoing after the draft implementation protocols had been shared with the various organs of state. The estimated completion date was 15 June 2021.

Listing of the Border Management Authority Act – The Border Management Authority Act required that the Border Management Authority be established as a national public entity, and the initial consultations had been held with the National Treasury in this regard. Follow-up meetings had been scheduled for May 2021. The estimated completion date for this phase was set as 30 June 2021.

Establishment of the Inter-Ministerial Advisory Committee and the Border Technical Committee – This ensured compliance with the Border Management Authority Act through inter-ministerial coordination. The estimated completion date for this phase was set as 30 June 2021.

The Regulations of the Border Management Authority Act – A total of 13 sets of Regulations had been identified for completion, and the first draft set had been finalised. Virtual meetings were ongoing with various organs of state that had been requested to provide comments. The DHA had not yet received any substantive comments. The estimated completion date for this phase was set as 15 July 2021.

Transfer of administration of laws between Ministers – Letters had been sent to various Directors General in October 2020 informing them of the transfer of administration of laws from their departments to the Border Management Authority, which was met with some resistance leading to reluctance in concluding the implementation protocols. The letter was withdrawn in March 2021 after the DHA initiated discussions with other departments, and discussions were ongoing with the SANDF and the SAPS. The estimated completion date for this phase was set as 15 July 2021.

Delegation of functions, powers, and duties by the Minister to the Commissioner – The Border Management Authority Act empowered the Minister to delegate powers or duties (when permissible) to the Commissioner or Deputy Commissioners. This process had not yet commenced. The estimated completion date for this phase was set as 15 July 2021.

Collective agreements with organised labour on the transfer and placement of staff, and the conditions of service – The DHA had concluded negotiations in this regard and would present the Border Management Authority Blueprint and Implementation Plan at the Public Services Coordinating Bargaining Council in June 2021. The estimated completion date for this phase was set as 15 July 2021.

Ring-fencing – Prior to the transfer of staff, assets, systems, resources, and liabilities, there was a need for ring-fencing. The affected Ministers would have to agree with the outcomes of the ring-fencing exercises. The estimated completion date for this phase was set as 30 July 2021.

Transfer of functions between institutions – Extensive consultations were undertaken in the 2019/20 financial year. The estimated completion date for this phase was set as 30 August 2021. The transfer of employees required the transfer letters to be signed by the relevant Ministers. The estimated completion date for this phase was set as 15 September 2021.

Application to National Treasury on the transfer of functions, budget shifts, and changes to the budget structures – Once agreements were reached among Ministers, the National Treasury would have to transfer the budgets for these functions to the Border Management Authority. The estimated completion date for this phase was set as 15 September 2021.

The DHA said the risks relating to the Border Management Authority Implementation Plan included a lack of cooperation and resistance by some organs of state as well as budgetary constraints.

Budget allocations and the impact of budget cuts

The DHA told the Committee that it was historically underfunded. Baseline cuts were implemented for the 2020/21 financial year, including a budget cut of R562 million during the Special Adjustment Budget, and R301 million during the MTEF processes. The 2020/21 financial year also necessitated the reprioritising of funds for the COVID-19 pandemic. The DHA was facing immense budget pressures in the current financial year and over the MTEF period. This included the reprioritisation of an additional R80 million for the Border Management Authority’s Border Guard in the 2021/22 financial year, R18 million for the records digitisation project, and the reprioritisation of R10 million for the ministerial committees on electoral reforms and the issuance of permits.

The allocated budget for the 2021/22 financial year amounted to R8.69 billion. The DHA’s budget for the 2022/23 financial year was estimated at R8.83 billion and at R8.88 billion for the 2023/24 financial year.
It was reported that the DHA did not have any funding vacancies as posts were unfunded as they became vacant. There were critical vacancies in senior management, such as the position of Chief Information Officer. Other critical areas were under-capacitated, such as the departments for Legal and Policy mattress; the Standing Committee on Refugee Affairs; the Refugees Appeals Board; Risk Management department and  the Inspectorate. Service delivery demands in the provinces had increased in the midst of reduced capacity. There were insufficient staff levels and management at frontline offices. In order not to compromise segregation of duties, the life capture system required a minimum of five officials to operate in an office. The insufficient capacity at provincial level resulted in long queues, extended waiting time to access services at offices and reputational damage to the DHA because offices were perceived as super spreader locations. All major ports of entry were operational at all times, and the DHA did not have sufficient staff to provide for shifts, sick leave, and demands of peak times. The DHA used overtime to augment staff shortages in some areas and at peak times.

The uptake of the Early Retirement Incentive had been insignificant. The DHA had already reprioritized internally to ensure that the ministerial priorities and APP targets were funded. A further reduction of the goods and services budget placed the achievement of these targets at serious risk. Contractual commitments, especially on contracts with a forex component, were at risk of not being honoured. This could lead to service disruptions and litigation. The timely payment of suppliers within 30 days became difficult towards the end of the financial year particular. Maintenance and support were compromised as vehicles were not repaired. The fleet budget hardly covered the running costs of fuel. Technology refreshes were delayed, contributing to downtime and system instability and ultimately customer frustration. The DHA’s security services were underfunded. This had already led to the withdrawal of certain shifts and the compromising of the asset base of the DHA and the safety of its officials and clients. The DHA could not afford to open new offices.

It would be impossible for the DHA to stay within budget and the ceiling set for the compensation of employees. This also depended on the wage negotiations between the government and labour unions. The DHA was not in a position to create and fund new posts or even fill vacancies as and when these became vacant. The pressure on the goods and services budget would increase and priority would be given to ensuring that staff stayed safe by providing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and other health and safety necessities. The revenue projections were significantly lower than in prior years and this impacted on self-financing expenditure. The DHA would continue to manage its budget in a responsible manner and in accordance with the law.

Conclusion and recommendations:

The DHA recommended that the Committee note the presentation made on its APP and budget for the 2021/22 financial year, and the information presented regarding key provincial achievements and challenges relating to staffing and resourcing. Other issues to be noted were the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on resourcing, current vacancies, and service delivery, and the overview on the Border Management Authority.

Discussion:

Mr E Mthethwa (ANC, KZN) thanked the DHA for the comprehensive briefing. He asked for an update on people who lived at a border and went to school or work on the other sides of the border. It was crucial that the Committee be briefed on the DHA’s plans to address this.

Mr T Dodovu (ANC, North West) appreciated the briefing by the DHA. It was empowering when the Committee had comprehensive information at its disposal, and it showed that the DHA was tackling the issues and challenges raised by Parliament. He appreciated the systematic implementation of the Border Management Authority Act. He expressed hope that the time frames would be adhered to so that the issue of illegal immigrants in South Africa could be dealt with decisively. What had the DHA done to address the issues that had been raised leading up to the enactment of the Border Management Authority Act? What was the capacity of the DHA to deal with the large numbers of immigrants entering the country? There were very few immigration officials who could spend time on these issues, and the human resources were spread too thinly.

Regarding the local government elections scheduled for the current year, clarity was needed on how the DHA would help people applying for IDs that must be provided on time to allow them to vote.

He raised the issue of polyandry dealt with in the Marriage Bill which would entitle women to have more than one spouse. There was a clear need to respect gender equality and non-sexism in South Africa. However, this legal move was unprecedented. What had the DHA been doing to engage with communities to get the public’s view on this?

Ms M Bartlett (ANC, Northern Cape) asked for details on how many posts were currently vacant within the DHA. What cost-saving measures were being put in place to ensure that the DHA’s service delivery was not compromised, given the challenges related to the compensation of employees? What measures were put in place to reduce the budget on goods and services in the current economic climate? She referred to the DHA’s statement that maintenance and support were compromised as vehicles were not repaired.  She asked what mitigating measures were put in place by the DHA. She asked the DHA to expand on its consequence management initiatives regarding cases of fraud and corruption.

Ms C Visser (DA, North West) thanked the DHA for its extensive briefing to the Committee. She asked how the DHA assisted in the humanitarian crises where people were fleeing from their countries. Had there been a replacement of scanners at the border posts that were used to scan for human trafficking and drugs?

Ms N Nkosi (ANC, Mpumalanga) welcomed the presentation made by the DHA. There had been many complaints regarding the insufficient service delivery and long queues at the offices of the DHA. She asked for more details regarding the challenges of staff and service delivery in the provinces. She agreed with Mr Dodovu’s concerns regarding the issuing of IDs ahead of the local government elections. What measures have been implemented by the DHA towards modernisation and the increased use of technology? She asked the DHA to provide information regarding connectivity challenges of mobile units in rural areas that impeded service delivery. Regarding Civic Services, she asked for more details on the challenges experienced by the DHA in the COVID-19 pandemic and how it hampered service delivery.

Mr I Sileku (DA, Western Cape) appreciated the work and efforts of the DHA in briefing the Committee. How long did it take for the DHA to consider and finalise an application for asylum? The DHA must exercise caution when reducing targets in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. He agreed with Ms Nkosi on the issues and complaints regarding the insufficient service delivery and long queues at the offices of the DHA. What measures were actively being implemented to address these challenges? He expressed concern as to whether the timeframes for the implementation of the Border Management Authority would be adhered to.

The Chairperson appreciated the briefing by the DHA. She agreed with Mr Dodovu that it was empowering when the Committee had comprehensive information at its disposal, including the systematic implementation of the Border Management Authority Act. What had the DHA done to address the issues that had been raised leading up to the enactment of the Border Management Authority Act? Regarding the Beitbridge border post, she reminded the DHA that the Committee undertook an oversight visit and made recommendations regarding the issues of security and infrastructure. These recommendations related to the need for the urgent installation of robots and boom gates at the Beitbridge to curb the entry of vehicles. She asked for an update on whether these recommendations had been implemented.

Responses by the DHA:

Mr Thulani Mavuso, Deputy Director-General: Institutional Planning and Support, DHA, responded to the question regarding the people who lived at a border and went to school or work on the other side. He said the DHA conducted a Borderline Survey a few years ago on this issue. There were a lot of communities that were separated by the borders of South Africa and neighbouring countries. One of the strategies employed by the DHA was a community-crossing point. Communities in an area were issued with cards allowing them to cross the border within a radius of 50 km. This mechanism allowed children to attend their schools by crossing the border.

Regarding the questions on the Marriage Bill, he responded that the DHA had started with a review on the marriage policy of South Africa back in 2019. The DHA was planning a major campaign for stakeholder consultation that would also be done through media platforms as part of efforts to communicate and explain aspects of the Marriage Bill.

 He requested that the DHA be allowed to respond in writing to the question on whether the scanners at the border posts had been replaced. On the issue regarding connectivity challenges of mobile units in rural areas, he stated that the units were connected using LTE routers that were connected to cell phone towers that were static. Satellite connectivity was also being utilised in this regard. The DHA was in engagements to increase connectivity.

Mr Gordon Hollamby, Deputy Director-General: Finance and Supply-Chain Management, DHA, stated that the Department was doing everything possible to implement cost-saving measures in all its operations without impeding its service delivery. This included limitations on the travel and accommodation of employees because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The budget for goods and services was R2.61 billion and included the costs of over 500 private leases and ICT contractual agreements that made up the bulk of this amount.

Mr Makhode responded to the questions on staffing and capacity challenges. He stated that the DHA had historically been underfunded, and this had a negative impact on the entity’s staffing. This had an impact on the operationalism and maintenance of all the structures in the DHA. There was an inadequate budget for the DHA’s remuneration of employees that would allow the attraction of the skills needed. This caused existing employees to be burdened with more and more responsibilities without additional remuneration. Critical positions were being prioritised by the DHA.

The Chairperson thanked Members for their inputs during the meeting and noted the Committee’s appreciation of the ministerial attendance.

The meeting was adjourned.