Questions and Replies

Reply:

I have approved a waiver of visa requirements for diplomatic and official/service passport holders for Palestinian nationals. The drafting and finalisation of the Visa Waiver Agreement with the Palestinian Authority is at an advanced stage and I will make an announcement in due course.

As far as Palestinian ordinary passport holders are concerned, the Department intends to finalise waiver of visa requirements for this category by the end of June 2023.

END

Reply:

Yes, customs officials performed their duties in the presence of members of the South African Police Service (SAPS) and Border Management Authority officials.

END

Reply:

Yes, the health related issues were complied with by the officials of the Border Management Authority which now comprise officials transferred from the Department of Agriculture.

END

Reply:

(a) The were no naturalisation ceremonies that have taken place from 1 May 2019 to date.

(b)(i) No ceremonies have taken place.

(b)(ii) As indicated above there has not been ceremonies conducted.

(c) The “naturalisation ceremonies” were discontinued a long time ago.

(d)(i)(ii) There are no “naturalisation ceremonies” planned for the near and foreseeable future.

END

Reply:

(a&b) Tourism visas applied for within the country are considered repeat applications as holders of such visas would ordinarily be extending a tourist visa already issued abroad. The visa volumes mentioned below are per calendar year (not financial year). They are as follows:

Year	Application count
2020	4562
2021	11482
2022	14615

 

(aa) From 1 April 2023 to 11 May 2023, there were 1648 applications received. Applications finalised during the same period were 1545.

(bb) The table below shows from which countries were applications received. The data could not be separated per month.

Tourist visas issued per country

Country	Count of Sticker Number
China	198
Pakistan	197
India	143
United States	92
Germany	83
Saudi Arabia	78
United Kingdom	63
Nigeria	60
Russian Federation	53
France	48
Netherlands	39
Turkey	38
Bangladesh	36
Thailand	36
Angola	35
Dem. Rep. of the Congo	29
Zimbabwe	25
Switzerland	24
Canada	21
Namibia	17
Israel	17
Brazil	16
Australia	14
Italy	14
Kenya	13
Belgium	12
Gabon	11
Republic of South Korea	11
Egypt	10
Poland	9
Philippines	9
Hungary	9
Ireland	9
Mauritius	9
United Rep of Tanzania	8
Sweden	8
Botswana	8
Spain	7
Zambia	7
Cameroon	6
Japan	6
Ghana	6
Malaysia	6
Uganda	6
New Zealand	5
Yemen	5
Jordan	4
Liberia	4
Madagascar	4
Austria	4
Cuba	4
Portugal	4
Lebanon	4
Islamic Republic of Iran	4
Malawi	3
Vietnam	3
Ukraine	3
Mexico	3
Libya	3
Ethiopia	3
Denmark	3
Colombia	2
Algeria	2
Cote D'Ivoire	2
Somalia	2
Luxembourg	2
Malta	2
Mozambique	2
Guyana	1
Burkina Faso	1
Eritrea	1
Argentina	1
Morocco	1
Cape Verde	1
Chile	1
Greece	1
Belarus	1
Indonesia	1
Peru	1
Mali	1
Czech Republic	1
Senegal	1
Myanmar	1
Singapore	1
Nepal	1
Chad	1
Venezuela	1
Dem. People's Rep. of Korea	1
Iraq	1
Sudan	1
Congo	1
Afghanistan	1
Mongolia	1
Grand Total	1648

(cc) 14 applications of April 2023 were adjudicated as at 15 May 2023. The average time taken was 17 days.

END

Reply:

1. The following mechanisms are in place to ensure people with expired visas/permits leave the republic;

a) Immigration inspections/operations for detecting those without lawful documentation to be in South Africa;

b)Tracing of overstayers found on the movement control system

c) Overstay declaration and bans from re-entering the country from 1 to 5 years, depending on the length of overstay - Should a person with an expired visa/permit leave the country;

d) Inability to transact for services or work

2.  If a person is denied a visa and exhausts all appeals relating to that visa they are given an order to leave and if they remain they will be doing so illegally.

END

Reply:

(1)(a) The Department currently uses the ICT Systems mentioned below to process online visa applications

SYSTEM	DEVELOPER	DATE
DHA eVisa	SARS/BBD	2019
VFS eVisa (Nigeria)	VFS Global	2022
DHA/VFS Online	VFS Global	2014
VAS (Adjudication)	DHA IT	2014

(1)(b) An amount of R5m is budgeted in the current financial year for the DHA eVisa support and maintenance. The VAS system has no dedicated budget except the time and material for the officials supporting the system. The other systems are supported by VFS with no financial implications for DHA.

(1)(c) The amount budgeted for DHA eVisa development in the 2019/20 financial was 100% spent and for 3 years after go live in production the support and maintenance for eVisa amounted to R 2 264 616.

(1)(d) There are no challenges on the DHA eVisa except normal bugs and fixes that are done in all applications for routine maintenance to improve performance. On the VAS system we are currently performing a user requirements review to enable us to improve functionality.

(1)(e) On completion of the user requirements review on VAS there will be system development and implementation of changes.

(1)(f) VAS changes will be implemented by 31 March 2024.

(2)(a) An amount of R875 173 000 is budgeted for improvement of other ICT systems, support and maintenance, licences, new projects and the breakdown is as follows:

Maintenance and Support	R409 973 000
Licenses	R126 700 000
Technology refresh	R107 500 000
Projects	R231 000 000
Total	R875 173 000

(2)(b) The aim is to ensure systems stability and improved applications performance and IT infrastructure.

(2)(c) ICT systems require continuous support and maintenance hence every financial year we allocate budgets for information and communication technology and the related licenses.

END

Reply:

Honourable member you are asking us about the activities of a chapter 9 institution. I wish to refer you to Chapter 9, section 181 (4) and (5) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, Act 108 of 1996.

181 (4) No person or organ of the state may interfere with the functioning of these institutions.

(5) These institutions are accountable to the National Assembly and must report on their activities and the performance of their functions to the Assembly at least once a year.

In my understanding Honourable Member, the Commission for Gender Equality (CGE) is accountable to you as a Member of the National Assembly and should report on their activities to you in the National Assembly.

I would humbly request you to follow that route.

END

Reply:

(1) Yes there is a mobile unit assigned to service the Zwelihle Community. The mobile unit itineraries/ notice of intended visits are communicated through local Community Leaders, stakeholders as well as the Local and District Municipality social media platforms.

The most commonly used venues where services are mostly rendered from is the Qhayiya Secondary School in Zwelihle and Moffatt Hall which is less than 5km away from the Zwelihle Community.

During April and May 2023, two (2) visits were made to Qhayiya Secondary School and one (1) visit to the Moffatt Hall. In June 2023 it is envisaged to make one (1) visit to the Moffatt Hall on 1 June 2023 and two (2) visits to the Zwelihle Community Hall on 14 and 15 June 2023.

(2) The Department is in the process of procuring an additional 100 Mobile Units to Provinces of which one (1) out of the ten (10) Mobile Units earmarked for the Western Cape, will be dedicated to the Caledon Office for the purpose of rendering a focused service to the Zwelihle Community and increase days for services.

END

Reply:

(1)(a) The Department of Home Affairs is a participant in the National Treasury’s RT61-2018 transversal contract for the hiring and leasing of aircrafts and helicopters to the state. Thirteen (13) service providers who are accredited on this contract were approached to submit quotations for the service. Out of the thirteen service providers, three responded. The Department selected the cheapest option from the quotations which were received.

(1)(b) The information is as follows:

(i) The quotes received were from:

• National Airways Corporation;
• Y and P Logistics;
• Cobra Aviation.

(ii) The total quoted amount for each is as follows:

• National Airways Corporation: R 1 412 927.00;
• Y and P Logistics: R 1 546 700.00; and
• Cobra Aviation: R 1 997 000.00.

(iii) National Airways Corporation was selected to render the service at an amount of R1 412 927.00.

2. No, the Department will not attempt to recover the costs relating to the charter flight from G4S. The Department does not have a legal basis to recover the cost of the charter flight from G4S as there is no contract or contractual relationship with G4S.

END

Reply:

• 1. The Department has turnaround times for visas that have a direct economic contribution in as far as employment and investment are concerned. The turnaround times are as follows:

1. Critical Skill work visa: turnaround time is 4 weeks
2. General work visa: turnaround time is 8 weeks
3. Business visa: turnaround time is 8 weeks

2. The Immigration Regulations do not make provision for time frames for decision-making on visa applications.

1. Section 7 of The Immigration Act, No. 13 of 2002 which confers powers to the Minister in relation to the Immigration Regulations does not prescribe the time frames for decision-making.
2. The Department endeavours to process visa applications in line with the principle of Service Standards as envisaged in the Batho Pele Principles. The volume of applications received and accepted daily by the Department currently exceeds the available human resource capacity in the Chief Directorate: Permits to issue, in equal measure, the equivalent number of outcomes to applicants The Department has already been open and transparent by publicly announcing that the current backlog will be cleared by June 2024.

3. The visa categories which are measured as per the Department’s Annual Performance Plan are critical skills, business and general work visas. Performance over the last two financial years indicates the following:

1. Financial Year 2022/23: the average number of weeks to finalise Business and General work visas was between 4,3 and 4,7 weeks.
2. Financial Year 2022/23: the average number of weeks to finalise Critical Skills work visas is between 6 and 6,5 weeks.
3. Financial Year 2021/22: the average number of weeks to issue Business and General work visas was between 5,3 and 6 weeks.
4. Financial Year 2021/22: the average number of weeks of Critical Skills work visas issued was between 4,6 and 5 weeks.

4. The Department has not assessed the economic impact of legal immigration on the Republic, as yet. Such an exercise will require an independent research study to be commissioned.

5. The Department has successfully collaborated with the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) on research work for the development and drafting of The Critical Skills List. Once DHET invites research proposals the Department will request that a study on the economic impact of legal immigration on the Republic be considered on behalf of Home Affairs.

END

Reply:

a) The department as part of its mandate to ensure all persons in South Africa are here on lawful basis regularly conducts business inspections and operations to ensure that businesses are not employing undocumented foreign nationals.

b) The department in conducting this operation, wanted to ensure that all employees were correctly documented and legally in South Africa. At this operation 5 restaurants were inspected and 15 undocumented persons were arrested including the employers who paid fines for employing undocumented persons.

END

Reply:

(1)(a) There are no special concessions in place to speed up applications of work visa renewals for the staff of embassies and consulates.

(1)(b) All special concessions by the Minister or Director-General are shared with staff, both local and abroad. The interpretation and the application of the contents of these concessions are shared with all staff to ensure uniformity.

(2) The work visa application of the staff member at the Indonesian Embassy was received by the Department on the 19th of September 2022. It was adjudicated and the rejection outcome dispatched on the 24th of October 2022. As per the checklist attached to the application at the time of submission, the applicant was informed that his application was incomplete. He insisted to submit without the required documents.

(3) The Immigration Act prescribes the manner in which the Minister can intervene in the processing of visa applications. Section 8(6) stipulates that an applicant aggrieved by a decision of the Director-General contemplated in subsection (5) may, within 10 working days of receipt of that decision, make an application in the prescribed manner to the Minister for the review or appeal of that decision. The applicant has not submitted an Appeal to the Minister regarding the rejection.

END

Reply:

(a&b) The inter-Ministerial Committee that was assigned the responsibility off reviewing the employment of foreign nationals is chaired by the Minister of Employment and Labour and the Minister of Home Affairs. The task team includes departments in the security and economic cluster as well as employers and unions. The following departments are involved: Department of Transport, Department of Employment and Labour, Department of Home Affairs, South African Police Services and the Bargaining Council. The task team also includes the All Truckers Driver Forum (ATDF), the Road Freight Association (RFA), The Truckers Association of South Africa (TASA), amongst others.

The task team has so far developed an 11point plan with the employers and unions involved in the trucking and logistics sector. This plan was finalised in June 2022. The plan includes the following:

i) Facilitate the appointment of the Task Team

ii) Validity of Foreign Driving Licences

iii) Enforcement of the VISA requirement in issuance of a work visa

• Validity of SA driving licences issued to Traffic Register Number (TRN);

• Interphase between NaTIS, DHA and SAR

iv) Registration with the labour laws ATDF and other organisation to provide details of companies that they are aware of employing foreign nationals

v) Operating Licence processes for freight industry

vi) Driver Capacity and skills (Driving training project)

vii) Integrated and Multi-disciplinary joint law enforcement operations conducted

viii) Amendment of the National Road Traffic Regulations, 2000

ix) Review the Cross-Border Road Transport Legislation

x) Review of the TRN

xi) Registration of operator in terms of section 45 of the National Road Traffic Act, 2000 (NRTA) - Assessment of the requirements for an “Operator Permit/Card” as per the National Road Traffic Act to determine its effectiveness to achieve the objectives to seek compliance to other laws in South Africa

Due to the economic challenges that arise when there is disruption in this sector, the plans of the IMC have focussed on the trucking and logistics sector. Meetings on this matter are held monthly led by senior officials of the Department of Transport and the Department of Employment and Labour. With regard to addressing the employment of foreign nationals, a total of 1291 drivers have been inspected for their immigration status with 131 found to be undocumented. The Department of Home Affairs through its Annual Performance Plan has planned to conduct 1296 inspections/operations in this financial year to combat the employment of illegal foreign nationals.

END

Reply:

a) The expansion of the banks footprint is dependent on the signing of partnership agreements with the banks and has been delayed due to the banks requirements that DHA should guarantee minimal system downtime and quicker response to calls logged for IT support.

b) The DHA and Banking Association of South Africa (BASA) which represent all banks are crafting plans that will mitigate the issues raised by banks to ensure that the partnership agreements are eventually signed in the current financial year.

END

Reply:

(1)(a) According to the investigation docket from the South African Police Service, there are eight (8) suspects, of whom six (6) are undocumented persons, one (1) is in possession of Zimbabwe Exemption Permit(ZEP) and one (1) with a suspected fraudulent document.

(1)(b) The Department efforts to stem the flow of undocumented foreign nationals into the Country include the implementation of the Border Management Authority and the appointment of the Border Guards which commenced in July 2022. The Department also participates in joint operations which is coordinated by Provincial and National Joint intelligent structures aimed at combatting illegal immigration. In addition, the department leads law enforcement operations through Operation Siyasebenta, which is supported by the structures mentioned above.

(2) One (1) foreign national is in possession of Zimbabwe Exemption Permit.

3. The Department has a visa and entry stop list at ports of entry wherein a criminal who is sought, can be placed on that list through SAPS working with Interpol. On application for certain category of visas, Police clearances are required from the Country of origin and Countries where the applicant has lived for a prescribed duration of stay in terms of the relevant visa, except for countries that are exempt from visa requirements. For these nationals who come from visa free countries, the visa and entry stop will create alerts on the ports of entry systems if a person is a wanted person or fugitive from justice.

END

 

Reply:

1. Section 46 of The Immigration Act, No. 13 of 2002 giving recognition to Immigration Practitioners (Agents) was repealed by section 23 of Act No. 13 of 2011. There is therefore no legislation that recognises or regulates immigration agents. The Department does not provide any training to immigration / permitting agents.

2. The full details of the process of quality control on applications is available on request. It details the workflow of applications within the Visa Application System (VAS) and the various activities that are performed with regard to verification of supporting documents such as a marriage certificate to confirm whether such a marriage is valid. The validity of marriages, for instance is verified on the National Population Register (NPR).

3. Supporting documents to a visa or permanent residence application are verified, not vetted. Verification includes contacting the author of the supporting document to verify the authenticity of the document. Verification can be obtained orally through a telephone call or in writing through an email confirmation.

4. Most banks do have access to verification services. Some banks issue bank statements with QR codes that DHA officials can scan to verify without the need to contact the bank but it is ultimately the applicant’s responsibility to ensure that the author of any document in support of their application is verifiable.

END

 

Reply:

1. Network connectivity remains a challenge in the success of system implementation and stabilisation in the Department. The Department has implemented the following to address challenges: -

a) To review current Service Level Agreements (SLAs) with SITA

b) To be exempted from SITA in order to approach service providers directly

c) Procuring LTE network backup for each District.

d) Continue to replace copper links to fiber.

2. The Department is also engaging CSIR to achieve the following objectives to improve network connectivity and stabilising the system:

a) Review of Infrastructure, Network and Systems architectures to determine their adherence to the DHA Modernisation Programme, the DHA EA Principles, the DHA EA Policy and the Government Wide Enterprise Architecture.

b) Determine whether systems development, deployment, support, and maintenance are aligned to the best practices.

c) Determine whether infrastructure refresh, support and maintenance are executed in a manner that supports the DHA Modernisation Programme.

d) Conduct a thorough analysis of selected current and new system downtime incidents experienced by the DHA including the frequency, duration, and impact of each incident.

e) Review the DHA’s existing IT infrastructure, systems, and procedures, to assess their effectiveness in minimising and addressing system downtime.

f) Identify the root causes of selected system downtime incidents, taking into consideration factors such as hardware failure, software issues, cyber-attacks, network issues, human error, and other relevant factors.

g) Propose remedial actions to minimise future occurrences of system downtime, including technical, procedural, and training recommendations.

h) Provide a comprehensive report that outlines the findings of the investigation and the proposed remedial actions and present this report to DHA's Exco in a clear and concise manner.

i) Provide agreed to follow-up support or assistance to the DHA to ensure that the proposed remedial actions are implemented effectively and that system downtime incidents are minimised.

j) Timeously provide progress reports/documents to the DHA and the CSIR Executives as required.

END

Reply:

(a)(i) The number of calls to the Home Affairs Contact Centre toll-free number: 0800601190 received during 2022 are as follows:

aa) Daily average calls for the period under question is 2647 calls

bb) Weekly average calls answered for the period is 12828

cc) Monthly calls answered, cases created and resolved are as below

Month	Calls Answered	Cases Created	Cases Resolved	Percentage Resolved
Jan-22	41474	17850	16065	90%
Feb-22	41953	16151	14374	89%
Mar-22	76536	19889	18098	91%
Apr-22	58116	13247	11922	90%
May-22	65736	19827	17844	90%
Jun-22	57940	12267	11040	90%
Jul-22	58796	17034	15160	89%
Aug-22	65180	18406	16197	88%
Sep-22	61436	13389	11648	87%
Oct-22	50871	12935	10994	85%
Nov-22	52417	13523	10953	81%
Dec-22	36649	6488	5190	80%
Total calls	667104	181006	159953	88%

(a)(ii) Total calls answered by the Contact Centre through the 0800601190 number for 2022 calendar year is 667104

(a)(iii) Calls answered by the Contact Centre through the 0800601190 number from 01 January to 31 March 2023 is 120721 is tabulated below:

Month	Calls Answered	Cases created	Cases resolved	Percentage resolved
Jan-23	41994	18437	16040	87%
Feb-23	45300	19012	16920	89%
Mar-23	33427	4609	3779	82%
Total calls	120721	42058	36739	86%

b) Total number of Contact Centre Agents is 88 and the number of Contact Centre Agents handling calls from the toll-free line is 68

END.

Reply:

No, Thabo Bester does not have an Identity Document- at least not one issued by the Department of Home Affairs.

a) The question should be referred to the Department of Correctional Services

b) The Department does not do any audit of inmates at Correctional Services facilities. We expect the Department to approach us if there are any issues of identity to be dealt with.

END

Reply:

The Department is currently assessing available evidence, including evidence led in the disciplinary matter ultimately leading to the dismissal of Mr Kobese and will refer any evidence pointing to the commission of a crime to the relevant law enforcement agencies, in due course. It is envisaged that this analysis will be completed by the end of April 2023, and the necessary referral, if any, be made.

END

Reply:

1. The Honourable member is requested to direct this question to the relevant authority, namely the South African Revenue Services.

2. The relevant law enforcement authorities did not request the Department to flag Mr Hazim Mustafa’s passport, consequently, the Department is not in a legal position to flag his passport.

END

Reply:

(1)(a) The department strives to conclude all asylum applications with immediate effect. However, each case is informed by its complexities, the need to conduct research, consult other institutions or further investigations do affect finalization.

(1(b) Same as above.

(2) Same as question 1(a) response.

(3)(a) According to the NIIS which is the system used by the department to record refugees, there are 129 325 refugees ever registered in the system, whilst there are 66 601 of them who are active and 9 363 refugee statuses withdrawn.

(3)(b) The majority of the refugees come from the following countries; Somalia, DRC, Ethiopia, Burundi, Rwanda, Eritrea, Uganda and Zimbabweans.

(4)(a) There are no backlogs in finalising asylum cases at the level of refugee status determination, which is the first instance by adjudication officers. The backlogs usually spoken about are cases already rejected at the first instance and are at the level of appeals which the department is working with UNHCR to address.

(4)(b) The total number of asylum applications turned down annually are in the table below:

Year:	Rejection Numbers	Rejection % per cases finalised
2022	8 948	91%
2021	No new comers	0% (numbers affected by Covid)
2020	1 916	86% (numbers affected by Covid)
2019	22 083	92%
2018	16 510	91%
2017	25 713	92%

(4)(c) The failed asylum seekers are handed over to the Immigration Officers stationed within the Inspectorate at the Refugee Reception Office (RRO) for processing in terms of the Immigration Act 13 of 2002, for deportation purposes. Upon arrest they are detained at the police station with jurisdiction of the RRO.

(4)(d) The total number of deportations that have taken place in each of the past 10 years is as follows:

Year	Total
2012/13	105 392
2013/14	131 907
2014/15	54 169
2015/16	33 399
2016/17	23 004
2017/18	15 033
2018/19	24 266
2019/20	29 376
2020/21	14 859
2021/22	20 093

(5) Additional human resources will improve law enforcement in immigration, and serve to detect and deport not only failed asylum seekers, but illegal immigrants who entered the country unlawfully with no record as well.

When failed asylum seekers are arrested due to the final rejection of their asylum applications, or abandoning the process by not ensuring they receive the outcome and/or their appeals to the Refugee Appeal Board not succeeding, they must be given the opportunity to apply to the High Court for a Judicial Review of the negative decision. The backlog in the caseload leads to further abuse of the asylum seeker regime, as upon arrest and failed asylum seekers disclosing their intention to take the administrative decision to court, they have to be released and the turnaround time for their court hearing cannot be estimated.

 

END

Reply:

a) No payments were made to Kelotlhoko Consulting Services. The successful bid was cancelled before any contract could be signed with Kelotlhoko Consulting Services.

b) The tender was re-advertised on the 10th of March 2023 with a closing date of 31st March 2023.

END

Reply:

Operationally, the National Joints Operations (NATJOINTS) structure, which is chaired by the South African Police Services (SAPS), is responsible to coordinate the preventative and responsive actions of the justice and security cluster. The Department, through its Immigration Inspectorate, is represented in the NATJOINTS and participates in the joint operations that are conducted by law enforcement agencies to deal with crime countrywide. These operations are intelligence-driven.

The Department is also part of the National Intelligence Co-ordinating (NICOC) structure, where high security risks cases are identified and the investigation and prosecution thereof are planned and authorised for implementation. As and when illegal activities are detected, such as money laundering and the funding of terrorist organisations by foreign nationals as referred to, the information is shared at the structure and investigated within the shortest possible time.

The prevention of illicit financial flows and money laundering will be handled by the Financial Intelligence Centre who oversee all financial and banking transactions.

END

Reply:

1. Yes, officials from the Department have been instructed to implement the recommendations from the investigative report. As such, disciplinary proceedings have been initiated.

2. The reasons for the delays were varied. The main reason was that the contract between the Department and Nexia SAB&T had lapsed. This required the Department to enter into a new arrangement with SAB&T to provide expert witness testimony during the disciplinary proceedings.

3. Yes. Misconduct charges were preferred against the official and a disciplinary hearing was convened. The recommendation of the Chairperson was that the charges be withdrawn post the official’s last working day, as the Department lacks jurisdiction to continue to pursue disciplinary proceedings against an official whose employment relationship with the Department has been terminated. Notwithstanding the above, the Department has placed a marker on the payroll system against the official’s termination type, through which the Department will be notified should the official attempt to re-enter the Public Service. This notification will allow the Department the prerogative to invoke Section 16B, subsection (4) of the Public Service Act, 1994 (Proclamation 103 of 1994), as amended, which directs as follows, should it deem expedient:

16B (4) - If an employee of a department (in this subsection referred to as 'the new department'), is alleged to have committed misconduct in a department by whom he or she was employed previously (in paragraph (b) referred to as 'the former department'), the head of the new department-

(a) may institute or continue disciplinary steps against that employee; and

(b) shall institute or continue such steps if so requested-

(i) by the former executive authority if the relevant employee is a head of department; or

(ii) by the head of the former department, in the case of any other employee.

 

END

Reply:

1. Currently there are 28 bank branches which provide Home Affairs services.

2. Yes, however there are engagements underway with BASA (Banking Association of South Africa) regarding the expansion of services to more banks.

END

Reply:

(a)(i) The system for processing of IDs and Passports was upgraded on 03-05 February 2023.

(a)(ii) The release was introducing the web based system for processing of ID Cards and Passports and doing bug fixes.

b) The quantity of documents transferred into digital format is 3 175 442.

c) The Department has implemented the Biometric Access Control Management (BACM) to control access to sensitive transactions and are stored in aforensic vault. The NPR, ABIS and HANIS have several security measures implemented to protect citizen data. These are the main systems that citizen’s data are stored. Regular Vulnerabilities and Penetration tests are performed to identify possible vulnerabilities and fix them. A project has been initiated to review the current enterprise architecture and introduce the necessary improvements.

(d)(i) The downtime stats report from SITA is attached as Annexure A.

(d)(ii) The main cause of system downtime currently, is power failure / load shedding. Whilst there is effort to ensure that generators and UPS are working at the offices during power outages, there are instances where the generators and or UPS are in need of maintenance.

END

Reply:

The Honourable Member will recall that the Department did on 22 February 2022 brief the Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs regarding the Department’s implementation report in respect of the Budget Review and Recommendations Report 2021/22 of the Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs. Your attention is drawn to item 6.2.5 of the Department’s implementation report (Annexure A) which I tabled on 5 February 2022 in the National Assembly.

END

Reply:

A notice of birth can be submitted by a social worker within 60 days of obtaining a court order in terms of section 156 of the Children’s Act and must be accompanied by the following:

• A court order issued by the Children’s court
• A certified copy of identity/valid passport or permit of the social worker
• A certified copy of the identity document or passport or visa or permit of the parent(s) of the child
• A certified copy of death certificate of the parent(s) of the child (if applicable)
• A social worker’s report that was presented to the Children’s court
• If a child whose birth is sought to be registered in terms of a court order is a non-South African citizen, the Director-General may deal with the notice as contemplated in Regulation 8 and inform the relevant Children’s court accordingly
• Where applicable, a court order indicating the age of the child
• The social worker who submits a notice of birth must give a name and surname, to that child if no names were given to the child before the registration can take place
• A birth certificate issued in terms of section 12 of the Act must contain the particulars of the parent(s) of the child where such particulars are known.
• Officials must sign on behalf of the Director-General

END

Reply:

(a) The letter submitted to the Speaker of the National Assembly and the Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces relates to Section 5(9) of the South African Citizenship Act 88 of 1995, which requires the Minister of Home Affairs to within 14 days after the commencement of the sitting of Parliament in each year, to table in Parliament the names of any person to whom certificates of naturalisation were granted in the preceding year, including the reasons for granting such certificate. In this regard, no application for naturalisation in terms of Section 5(9) of the Act was received which requires granting of a certificate of naturalisation.

(b)(i) and (ii)

There is currently no backlog on application for naturalisation in terms of Section 5(9) of the South African Citizenship Act.

END

Reply:

a) n terms of clause 11.2 (read with clauses 13.1 and 13.2) of the Lease Agreement between the Department of Public Works and the landlord, the landlord at Byron’s Place is responsible for the normal maintenance and repairs of both the interior and exterior of the premises. To this end, the landlord carries out inter alia the following maintenance, repairs and servicing, at the following intervals:

1. Maintenance, repairs and servicing of all air-conditioning units (monthly);
2. Maintenance, repairs and servicing of the generator (annually);
3. Servicing of the electrical transformer (annually);
4. Infra-red testing of all the DB boards (annually);
5. Inspect, clean, test and maintain all the DB boards (annually);
6. Maintain and inspect all electrical equipment (monthly);
7. Lighting inspection (weekly);
8. Annual Service - extinguishers, hose reels & hydrants (annually);
9. Servicing of lifts (monthly)
10. Annexure B inspection of lifts (once every two years);
11. Cleaning of common areas (daily);
12. Pest control (monthly).

The ceiling on the ground floor of the office at Byron Place, corner of Nana Sita and Sophie de Bruyn streets collapsed during the afternoon of Thursday, 16 February 2023. As a result, services at this office were interrupted on Friday, 17 February 2023. The Office Manager immediately informed the landlord (Zambli 216 (Pty) Ltd) of the damages. The ceiling was repaired by the landlord over the weekend of 18 and 19 February 2023 and the office resumed operations on Monday, 20 February 2023.

b) Maintenance-related complaints regarding leased properties are managed at office level. Office managers have been provided with the contact details of their respective landlords. The office manager will first report the maintenance matter directly to the landlord and should there be no resolution, the matter is then escalated to Property Management at Head office who in turn escalates to the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure. Maintenance matters escalated to the Department of Public Works & Infrastructure are tracked via an EXCELL Spreadsheet where all matters are recorded.

END

Reply:

a) The office has 18 funded posts and 17 of them are filled and there’s only one vacancy.

b) The post was advertised, interviews were conducted on 1 March 2023 and it is envisaged to fill the post w.e.f 1 April 2023.

END

Reply:

a) The Department will consider opening offices in Malls in accordance with its Access Model and Footprint Development Strategy and take advantage of lower costs for rental or where rent is free like in Menlyn Mall, where we got a five year rent free agreement.

b) The current DHA office in Ulundi is located next to the shopping centre but our rural communities strategy is to deploy mobile units to better service the communities.

END

Reply:

The BMA has trained and deployed Border Guards to various segments of the land border law enforcement areas and Ports of Entry. Their key responsibilities, amongst others, is to detect and prevent illegal persons from entering the country. Illegal foreign nationals who are apprehended in the border law enforcement area are handed over to Immigration Services who do verification of their nationality. Once the process is concluded, the deportation process will be initiated.

Inland within the borders of the Republic, the Department of Home Affairs has an Inspectorate Unit which coordinates operations with the SAPS. Persons who are apprehended by the Inspectorate Unit are processed for the verification of their status in the country. Once the status is verified and they are found to be undocumented / illegal, the process of deportation is initiated.

The Department is currently in the process of procuring handheld IT tools that will be used to remotely access and verify information on the National Population Register (NPR) in real-time. This system, which will have biometric capabilities, will assist in the verification of documents produced by people during citizenship-related operations. The budget for the procurement was received from the Criminal Asset Recovery (CARA) fund.

Further, the Department of Health has requested access to the NPR for their processes. In this regard, DHA’s IT Branch in conjunction with their counterparts at the Department of Health are looking into the request.

END

Reply:

(a) The elderly, frail, pregnant mothers, mothers with babies and learners in school uniform are always identified from the queue by the staff and brought in front on the queue.

(b) Yes, the service provider trains all guards deployed in our offices and the office managers are also instructed to brief the guards regularly on how to interact with clients.

END

Reply:

a) The Department’s IT systems are not compromised but there has been instances during power failure or load-shedding where applications captured in offices do not automatically replicate in the central database, thus requiring the IT team to do manual replication which results in delays in the issuance of the documents.

b) The IT team is working on an alternative routing of the interfaces to minimize the impact of power failure.

END

Reply:

a) The bid for the appointment of a transaction adviser for the visa and permit facilitation process that closed on 25 February 2022 was awarded on 24 May 2022 and a service provider was appointed. The bid was subsequently cancelled after discovering that the owner and director was convicted of money laundering in the Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crimes Court.

b) The timeline of the bidding process is as follows:

• the bid closed on 25 February 2022 at 11:00 am,
• the bid evaluation was held between 22 March 2022 and 18 April 2022,
• the bid adjudication was held on 08 April 2022 and 18 May 2022,
• the appointment letter was issued on 24 May 2022,
• the contract was cancelled on 1 August 2022.

(i) Kelotlhoko Consulting Services.

(ii) (aa) R 8 400 000.00

(ii) (bb) Three (3) years

END

Reply:

The question was referred to the entities and they responded as follows:

Electoral Commission.

(a)(i) Annual Salary of the Chief Electoral Officer: R2 251 892, 50

(a)(ii) Not applicable

(b) Not applicable

Government Printing Works

(a)(i) Chief Executive Officer – R 2 068 458.00 (Total Cost per annum)

(a)(ii) Not applicable

(b) Not applicable

END

Reply:

Honourable Roos is referred to my response to Parliamentary Question No:31 which answers all of the above.

END

Reply:

(1)(a) The total number of visa and/or permit applications that were processed in total in the period 1 November 2022 to 31 January 2023 is 17 093.

(1)(b) The number of visa and/or permit applications that were rejected based on missing documents is 333.

(1)(c) In the Visa Adjudicating System when certain documents are not attached by the applicant, the Adjudicator will give a rejection that states missing documents. This does not mean the document was lost between VFS and Home Affairs.

(2)(a-b) The total number of marriage certificate applications rejected because no proof of marriage was attached and the marriage certificate was missing from the application is 70.

(3)(a) The copy of the checklist can be given to the applicant upon request. Providing the copy of the checklist to the applicant is not part of the application process.

(3)(b) In terms of PAJA, applicants have a right to appeal any negative decision issued by the Department. The appeal process is a legislated procedure.

END

Reply:

(1) (a) (aa) Minister

For the details of the destination and total costs related to my international travel for the period 1 June 2019 to 28 February 2023, please see annexure A. Please note I did not undertake any international trips in the 2020/21 and 2021/22 financial years.

(1) (a) (bb) Deputy Minister

For the details of the destination and total costs related to the international travel for Deputy Minister Nzuza, MP for the period 1 June 2019 to 28 February 2023, please see annexure B. Please note that Deputy Minister Nzuza, MP did not undertake any international trips in the 2020/21 and 2021/22 financial years.

(2) (a)

Total cost domestic air travel – Minister for the period 1 June 2019 to 28 February 2023 = R795 212.12

(2) (b)

Total cost domestic air travel – Deputy Minister for the period 1 June 2019 to 28 February 2023 = R1 907580.65

END

Reply:

(1)(a) There are two offices situated in the Walter Sisulu Local Municipality, one in Burgersdorp and the other one in Maletswai.

(1)(b) There is one office situated at Sterkspruit in the Senqu Local Municipality.

(2) The offices are:

- Burgersdorp DHA Local Office Small

- Aliwal North DHA Local Office Medium

- Sterkspruit DHA Local Office Medium

(3) Yes, a mobile itinerary to visit areas with no DHA footprint is drafted monthly.

(4) For now, one mobile unit stationed at Sterkspruit is responsible for both Local Municipalities.

(5) The attached monthly itinerary (Annexure A) shows areas to be visited.

END

Reply:

a) In its effort to eliminate long queues in front offices, the department has rolled out the Branch Application Booking system to all one hundred and ninety-eight (198) offices with live capture system for clients to book a slot before they can visit our offices. In addition, twenty (20) additional mobile trucks have been procured making the fleet now stands at a total of one hundred and twenty-seven(127) and they are deployed at schools and at offices with high volumes of clients to deal with the issue of long queues.

The department in partnership with Banks and Malls will be expanding its footprint where there will be DHA offices in Banks and Malls. Currently The department has twenty-eight (28) bank branches rolled out with live capture system for both ID Cards and Passports applications as well as collections. For this financial year the department will also roll out its services to the Malls. The pilot will commence at Menlyn Shopping Mall in March 2023 and will be rolled out in phases to other provinces.

b) The department is continuously engaging with private partners to ensure that its footprint is expanded and this will resolve the problem of long queues.

END

Reply:

a) Honourable Speaker, the Department has developed a plan for the implementation of the recommendations from the Vulindlela Team that compiled a report on the review of the work visa regime and part of the implementation plan is the amendment of the Legislation and Regulations to include the remote work visa.

b) The amendment of the Regulations will be undertaken in the new financial year, 2023/2024, while the Legislation is still at the Green Paper stage.

END

Reply:

Applications for Passports and IDs do not disappear as a result of load shedding. When there is load shedding, replications stop because servers of the affected Branches are off. However, the applications captured before load shedding appear on the database. The officials then run a process to reconcile the information.

END

Reply:

The BMA has trained and deployed Border Guards to various segments of the land border law enforcement areas and Ports of Entry. Their key responsibilities, amongst others, is to detect and prevent illegal persons from entering the country. Since their deployment, the Border Guards have registered multiple successes in preventing cross-border crime, including illegal migration.

Further, from the 1st of April 2023 officials from the Departments of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development; Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment; Health; and Home Affairs, who are responsible for the execution of border law enforcement functions at Ports of Entry, will be integrated into the BMA which will be characterised by a single command and control structure at Ports of Entry. Guided by the Authority’s SOPs, such a structure will streamline processes for the detection and handling of persons attempting to enter the country illegally by the Authority’s personnel.

END

Reply:

a) Total number of calls to the Home Affairs Hotline number for the 2021-22 financial year

1. Total calls received by the Hotline = 602 607 calls
2. Total number of calls dropped by clients before they answered are 273 760.

b) The Contact Centre service level targets are as follows:

1. 80% of calls offered to agents by the integrated voice response system are to be answered within 20 seconds
2. 60% of calls relating to information requests (e.g. how much is an enabling document, which documents are required to apply for enabling documents, how do I apply online, how do I change my online application, live capture offices, location of offices, etc.) and status updates (how far is my application) are to be resolved within the first call (first call resolution).
3. Average call handling time = 6 minutes
4. Call abandonment rate= 20%. These are calls that are sometimes dropped or terminated by clients before being responded to.
5. Cases created and escalated to second line support are to be escalated within 24 hours of the case being created.

c) All service levels for the period under review, with the exception of the call abandonment rate were achieved. This was due to the centre operating at 50% capacity to ensure compliance with the lockdown and Covid-19 regulations as passed by the President of the Republic of South Africa and the World Health Organization.

d) The first call resolution percentage for the financial year 2021-22 was 61%.

e) At the moment there are no systems to measure customer satisfaction levels. The Centre however has a quality assurance unit that ensures that quality interactions happen and that clients are treated in line with the public service code of conduct and that the Bathopele principles are upheld. Where breakdowns in quality assurance are identified, coaching and calibration sessions are arranged to address the gaps. Where misconducts are identified, corrective measures are instituted accordingly.

The Department is in the process of procuring the latest Contact Centre solution with customer satisfaction surveys and questionnaire modules and feedback mechanisms to cover all elements of customer relationship management.

f) The Contact Centre does not have the customer satisfaction measurement module; as such the satisfaction level could not be measured.

g) The total number of Contact Centre Agents on the approved Home Affairs Contact Centre organizational structure is 120. The total number of agents for the 2021-22 financial year was 94. During this period the Contact Centre operated on a rotation system catering for 50% capacity per shift to ensure adherence to the Lockdown and Covid 19 regulations. The Centre therefore had on average 42 agents per shift excluding those with comorbidities and those on isolation as a result of the Covid-19 infections.

END

Reply:

1. Yes indeed frequent loadshedding has led to frequent faulty and/or broken UPS, uninterrupted power supply. Here is a list of those affected as of 17/02/2023.

 

EASTERN CAPE
1	Libode
2	Mt Ayliff
3	Tsolo
4	Mthatha
5	Bizana
6	Sterkspuit
7	Ngcobo
8	Cleary Park
9	Uitenhage
10	Graaff Reinet
11	Port Alfred
12	Willowvale
13	Butterworth
14	Mdantsane
15	King Willaims Town
16	Centane
2. FREE STATE (UPS)
1	Bloemfontein
2	Thaba Nchu
3	Koffiefontein
4	Ficksburg
5	Phutaditjhaba
6	Harrismith
7	Kroodstad
8	Sosolburg
9	Welkom
10	Bothaville
11	Bulfontein
3. GAUTENG (UPS)
1	Heidelberg
2	Sebokeng
3	Springs
4. KWAZULU-NATAL (UPS)
1	Empangeni
2	Richards Bay
3	Ndwendwe
4	Mondlo
5	Hluhluwe
6	Mbazwana
7	Mtubauba
8	Ixopo
9	Kokstad
10	Port Shepstone
11	Scottburg
12	Umngeni
13	Tongaat
5. LIMPOPO (UPS)
1	Thohoyandou
2	Malamulele
3	Vuwani
4	Musina
5	Mokopane
6	Mookgophong
7	Jane Furse
8	Nebo
9	Praktiseer
10	Mankweng
11	Dendron
12	Motjadhiskloof
13	Giyani
6. MPUMALANGA (UPS)
1	White iver
2	Hezyview
3	Mhala
4	Komatipoort
5	Malalane
6	Carolina
7	Piet Retief
8	Secunda
9	Standerton
7. NORTHERN CAPE (UPS)
1	Kimberly
2	Galeshewe
3	Barkley West
4	Pampierstad
5	Postmasburg
6	Kuruman
7	Sprinkbok
8	Calvinia
9	De Aar
10	Prieska
11	Colesburg
12	Douglas
13	Carnavon
8. NORTH WEST (UPS)
1	Swartruggens
2	Makwe
3	Potchefstroom
4	Wolmaranstad
5	Molopo
6	Lichtenburg
7	Taung
9 WESTERN CAPE (UPS)
1	Nyanga
2	Atlantis
3	Wynberg
4	Citrusdal
5	Worcester
6	Plettenburg Bay
7	Caledon
8	Mosselbay

(b) Generators are subjected to frequent breakdowns during loadshedding. Here is a list of those affected as at 23/02/23.

EASTERN CAPE (GENERATOR)
1	Ngqeleni
2	Cradock
3	Sterkspuit
4	Ngcobo
5	Uitenhage
6	Graaff Reinet
7	Port Alfred
8	Willowvale
9	Butterworth
FREE STATE (GENERRATOR)
1	Bloemfontein
2	Botshabelo
3	Thaba Nchu
4	Koffiefontein
5	Harrismith
6	Viljoenstroon
7	Welkom
GAUTENG (GENERATOR)
1	Centurion
2	Soweto
3	Evaton
KWAZULU-NATAL (GENERATOR)
1	Empangeni
2	Ndwendwe
3	Mondlo
4	Mbazwana
5	Paulpeitersburg
6	Ixopo
7	New Hanover
8	Umzikhulu
9	Kokstad
10	Port Shepstone
11	Scottburg
12	Pinetown
13	Commercial Road
14	Greytown
15	Ladysmith
LIMPOPO (GENERATOR)
1	Thohoyandou
2	Malamulele
3	Vuwani
4	Musina
5	Thabazimbi
6	Mookgophong
7	Jane Furse
8	Praktiseer
9	Mankweng
10	Dendron
11	Motjadhiskloof
12	Giyani
6. MPUMALANGA (GENERATOR)
1	White River
2	Hezyview
3	Mhala
4	Mashishing
5	Komatipoort
6	Malalane
7	Bethal
8	Secunda
9	Volksrust
NORTHERN CAPE (GENERATOR)
1	Galeshewe
2	Pampierstad
3	Jan Kempdorp
4	Calvinia
5	De Aar
6	Prieska
7	Colesburg
8	Douglas
9	Carnavon
8. NORTH WEST (GENERATOR)
1	Makwe
2	Klerksdorp
9. WESTERN CAPE (GENERATOR)
1	Nyanga
2	Atlantis
3	Bredasdorp
4	Wynberg
5	Citrusdal
6	Worcester
7	Plettenburg Bay
8	Caledon
9	Mosselbay
10	Mitchell's Plain
11	Ceres
12	Oudtshoon
13	Prince Albert
14	Vredendal
80

(i)The department has installed generators and Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) units in all its modernised offices throughout the country. The department has contracted a service provider to service and repair all the generators and UPS units where necessary.

(ii) This service provider is currently in all the Provinces. The challenge is the scarcity of UPS units within the country.

END

Reply:

i) No vehicle was purchased for the Minister since 1 June 2019.

ii) No vehicle was purchased for the former Minister since 1 June 2019.

iii) The following vehicle was purchased for the Deputy Minister (a) make: BMW (b) model: 520d (c) year of manufacture: 2019 (d) cost: R668 000 (e) purchase date: 19 December 2019.

iv) No vehicle was purchased for the former Deputy Minister of the department since 1 June 2019.

END