Questions and Replies
06 June 2023 - NW1278
Shaik Emam, Mr AM to ask the Minister of Home Affairs
What measures are being put in place to ensure that Palestinians who visit the Republic enjoy the same rights as their Israeli counterparts who do not need a visa to travel to the Republic whilst Palestinians are required to have visas? What measures are being put in place to ensure that Palestinians who visit the Republic enjoy the same rights as their Israeli counterparts who do not need a visa to travel to the Republic whilst Palestinians are required to have visas?
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
02 June 2023 - NW1594
Mente-Nkuna, Ms NV to ask the Minister of Home Affairs
Whether the United Arab Emirates president’s family did undergo the required customs declarations and inspections for any goods and/or items they brought into the Republic, in accordance with the customs and excise legislation; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?
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
02 June 2023 - NW1596
Ndlozi, Dr MQ to ask the Minister of Home Affairs
Whether the United Arab Emirates president’s family complied with all quarantine and health-related regulations upon arrival at the Bulembu Airport in Qonce, as required by the South African port of entry legislation; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?
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
02 June 2023 - NW1676
Roos, Mr AC to ask the Minister of Home Affairs
(a) What number of naturalisation ceremonies have taken place from 1 May 2019 to date, (b)(i) on what date and (ii) at what location did each ceremony take place, (c) what number of approved applicants currently require a naturalisation ceremony and (d) what is the schedule for naturalisation ceremonies for the 2023-24 financial year in terms of (i) dates and (ii) locations?
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
31 May 2023 - NW1634
De Freitas, Mr MS to ask the Minister of Home Affairs
With reference to tourism visa (a) applications and (b) repeat applications (i) in the past three financial years and (ii) from 1 April 2023 to date, (aa) what total number of applications were (aaa) received and/or (bbb) issued in each month, (bb) from which countries were applications received in each month and (cc) what is the average time taken between an application received and a visa being issued in each month?
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
29 May 2023 - NW1606
van der Merwe, Ms LL to ask the Minister of Home Affairs
(1)What mechanisms are in place to ensure that once permits and/or visas expire, foreign nationals who are deemed illegal within the borders leave the Republic; (2) whether the process stops with the visa denial; if not, what are the reasons that no further steps are taken; if so, what are the full relevant details
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
29 May 2023 - NW1678
Roos, Mr AC to ask the Minister of Home Affairs
(1) Regarding the challenges with information and communication technologies (ICT) and online application systems for the acceptance and processing of visa applications, what (a) are the ICT systems and software that are currently being used to process online visa applications, (b) is the budget allocated for the specified ICT systems, (c) percentage of the specified budget was spent in each year since 2009, (d) challenges have been identified in terms of the ICT systems and software that is currently being used, (e) measures will his department take to address the specified issues and (f) what date is it envisaged that the challenges will be addressed by; (2) (a) what budget has been allocated for the improvement of the related ICT systems, (b) what does the specified budget aim to accomplish and (c) by what date will the ICT-improvement project be completed?
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
25 May 2023 - NW1495
Zungula, Mr V to ask the Minister of Home Affairs
(1)What number of (a) foreign nationals have been appointed at the Commission for Gender Equality (CGE) to date, (b) the specified foreign nationals possess scarce and critical skills that could not be found in the Republic and (c) foreign nationals have acquired permanent residence status in the Republic; (2) whether he has found that the process of acquiring permanent residence status of the foreign nationals at CGE was legitimate; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are the relevant details; (3) how has he found (a) was a certain person (name and details furnished) appointed at the CGE in the first job which did not require scarce skills, for the specified person to end up being promoted to the position of chief executive officer and (b) did the person acquire the permanent residence status in the Republic?
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
25 May 2023 - NW1943
Mogale, Mr T to ask the Minister of Home Affairs
(1) Whether, in light of the fact that residents of Zwelihle in the Overberg are forced to travel 54 kilometres to access services, there is a mobile unit assigned to service the residents of Zwelihle; if not, why not; if so, (a) how often does the mobile unit travel to Zwelihle and (b) what total number of days does the mobile unit spend in Zwelihle; (2) whether there are plans to make provision for a mobile unit in Zwelihle; if not, why not; if so, by which date?
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
25 May 2023 - NW1439
van der Merwe, Ms LL to ask the Minister of Home Affairs
(1)Considering that a Dassault Falcon 900B luxury jet was utilised to fly fugitives, Mr Thabo Bester and Dr Nandipha Magudumana, from Tanzania to the Republic and that the return trip allegedly cost taxpayers R1,4 million, what (a) total number of quotes were sourced and (b) are the full, relevant details of (i) all quotes, (ii) the details of each company, (iii) the total amount quoted by each company and (iv) the name of the service provider used; (2) whether his department will attempt to recoup the total specified cost from G4S; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?
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
22 May 2023 - NW1570
Herron, Mr BN to ask the Minister of Home Affairs
(1) Whether, with regard to the various visas available to foreign nationals for entrance to and/or residence in the Republic, he and/or his department established standards for the time period a decision on an application will be made for each of the visa types; if not, (a) why not and (b) what are the standards for each visa type; if so, (2) whether time frames for decision-making are managed by regulations; if not, why not; if so, (a) which regulations and (b) how does his department implement the Batho Pele principles; (3) what is the average time it has taken over the past two years for a decision on each visa type to be made and communicated to the applicants; (4) whether his department has assessed the economic impact of legal immigration on the Republic; if not, why not; if so, what is the impact in Rand value; (5) whether his department will assess the economic value and/or impact of legal immigration; if not, why not; if so, by what date?
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:
- Critical Skill work visa: turnaround time is 4 weeks
- General work visa: turnaround time is 8 weeks
- Business visa: turnaround time is 8 weeks
2. The Immigration Regulations do not make provision for time frames for decision-making on visa applications.
- 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.
- 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:
- Financial Year 2022/23: the average number of weeks to finalise Business and General work visas was between 4,3 and 4,7 weeks.
- Financial Year 2022/23: the average number of weeks to finalise Critical Skills work visas is between 6 and 6,5 weeks.
- Financial Year 2021/22: the average number of weeks to issue Business and General work visas was between 5,3 and 6 weeks.
- 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
17 May 2023 - NW1591
Makesini, Ms M to ask the Minister of Home Affairs
Considering his department’s operation in Sandton on 28 April 2023, in which officials raided restaurants in search of undocumented migrants, what (a) motivated the operation and (b) likely outcomes is his department hoping for?
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
17 May 2023 - NW1440
Hendricks, Mr MGE to ask the Minister of Home Affairs
(1) Whether (a) any concessions are made to speed up applications of work visa renewals for the staff of embassies and consulates and (b) staff in his department are briefed on such concessions; if not, why not, in each case; if so, what are the relevant details in each case; (2) what is the position of his department on the case of a staff member at the Indonesian Embassy (details furnished), who has been struggling since November 2022 to have a work visa renewed; (3) whether he can intervene as requests for his department’s assistance have only led to a dead end; if not, why not; if so, when?
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
17 May 2023 - NW1437
van der Merwe, Ms LL to ask the Minister of Home Affairs
What (a) were the outcomes of the Ministerial Task Team that was assigned the responsibility of reviewing the employment of foreign nationals, particularly considering that the Minister of Employment and Labour and other government officials admitted that some sectors employ up to 100% foreign nationals and (b) are the full, relevant details of the (i) joint programmes that are currently being run with the Departments of Small Business and Employment and Labour to address the employment of illegal migrants, (ii) total number of programmes annually and in which sectors and (iii) outcomes and progress made to address the employment of illegal foreign nationals
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
15 May 2023 - NW1438
van der Merwe, Ms LL to ask the Minister of Home Affairs
Considering that according to his department’s website, there are currently 25 banks that provide the service for passport and identity applications (details furnished), thereby noting that it appears that not even 10% of bank branches offer home affairs services, what (a) are the reasons that the bank footprint of his department is not expanding and (b) plans are afoot to ensure that all bank branches will be able to offer home affairs services?
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
15 May 2023 - NW1329
van der Merwe, Ms LL to ask the Minister of Home Affairs
(1)Whether he has been able to ascertain whether the seven suspects arrested for the recent murder of retired journalist, Jeremy Gordin, were undocumented foreign nationals; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what steps has (a) he and (b) his department taken to stem the unceasing flow of undocumented foreign nationals into the Republic; (2) which visas did the foreign nationals hold if they were documented; (3) what are the details of the checks-and-balances that are in place to ascertain whether documented foreign nationals have criminal records in their countries of origin before granting them visas?
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
15 May 2023 - NW1328
van der Merwe, Ms LL to ask the Minister of Home Affairs
(1)Whether he will furnish Ms L L van der Merwe with the full details of the qualifications and training provided to the permitting agents; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details; (2) whether he will furnish Ms L L van der Merwe with the full details of the process of quality control; if not, why not; if so, what is the extent of checking whether a marriage is valid; (3) whether he will furnish Ms L L van der Merwe with the full details of the vetting process of documents; if not, why not; if so, is it policy that agents phone universities to check if a person is enrolled? (4) what processes are in place to escalate queries with banks when they are reluctant to confirm the authenticity of bank statements?
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
15 May 2023 - NW1308
Tafeni, Ms N to ask the Minister of Home Affairs
What are the details of the progress that has been made in stabilising the system and network disruptions experienced at Home Affairs offices that render them non-operational?
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
10 May 2023 - NW1327
van der Merwe, Ms LL to ask the Minister of Home Affairs
What number of (a) calls and/or queries to the Home Affairs Call Centre that is contactable on 0800601190 are successfully answered and resolved on average (i) in each (aa) day, (bb) week and (cc) month, (ii) in the past year and (iii) since 1 January 2023 and (b) officials are employed at the specified call centre?
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.
10 May 2023 - NW1282
Pambo, Mr V to ask the Minister of Home Affairs
Whether Mr Thabo Bester has a South African identity document (ID); if not, what (a) are the reasons that the specified person was allowed to remain in prison for such a long period without an ID and (b) total number of inmates are in correctional facilities in the Republic without IDs?
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
03 May 2023 - NW1248
Roos, Mr AC to ask the Minister of Home Affairs
Whether he intends to pursue criminal charges against the Director for Appeals, Major Kobese, who was dismissed on charges of exerting pressure on the officials of the department to process and issue visas and permits in breach of the applicable laws and/or regulations and/or standard procedures applicable within the department, allowing outside and/or private individuals and/or interests to unduly control and influence him in the execution of his duties, and having engaged in grossly inappropriate conduct including paying a bribe; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?
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
21 April 2023 - NW1056
Breytenbach, Adv G to ask the Minister of Home Affairs
(1)Whether the SA Revenue Service laid a criminal complaint with the SA Police Service in terms of section 15 of the Customs and Excise Act, Act 91 of 1964, read with section 34(2) of the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act, Act 12 of 2004, against the traveller, Mr Hazim Mustafa, for failing to declare his possession of currency which is an offence in terms of section 81 of the specified Customs and Excise Act; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details; (2) whether the passport of the specified person will be or has been flagged at all ports of entry to the Republic; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?
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
21 April 2023 - NW826
van der Merwe, Ms LL to ask the Minister of Home Affairs
(1)With regard to the 22 Afghan nationals who have allegedly been granted permission to enter the Republic to seek asylum, (a) how long will it take his department to adjudicate their claim for asylum and (b) what are the time frames; (2) how long does it take on average from when a person enters the Republic to when they are informed that their claim for asylum has been successful or not; (3) what (a) total number of refugees are currently residing within the borders of the Republic and (b) are the details of the countries that the refugees come from; (4) (a) what is the current backlog in terms of finalising applications for asylum, (b) what total number of asylum applications are turned down annually, (c) how does his department ensure that those who have had their asylum applications rejected, leave the Republic and (d) what total number of deportations have taken place in each of the past 10 years; (5) whether his department has found that the asylum seekers simply stay on illegally because his department does not have the capacity to identify, apprehend and/or deport illegal migrants; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are the further relevant details?
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
18 April 2023 - NW1246
Roos, Mr AC to ask the Minister of Home Affairs
Whether, with reference to his reply to question 626 on 16 March 2023, that the visa and permit applications management tender was cancelled, any amounts were paid to Kelotlhoko Consulting Services; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, (a) have the amounts been recovered and (b) what is the progress and timelines for a reissue of the tender?
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
12 April 2023 - NW686
van der Merwe, Ms LL to ask the Minister of Home Affairs
In light of the fact that there are far too many non-citizens with fake Identity Documents (IDs), fake passports of which his department has been made aware that illegal foreign nationals are printing their own fake documents, his admission that up to 40% of all visas his department issue could be fake, including study, work and investment visas, the Republic has now been greylisted by the Financial Action Task Force, it is possible that illegal businesses run by illegal foreign nationals in the Republic are funding terrorist organisations, what action has he and/or his department taken in conjunction with the National Treasury and the Department of Justice and Correctional Services to combat and prevent illicit financial flows?
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
12 April 2023 - NW1076
van der Merwe, Ms LL to ask the Minister of Home Affairs
(1)Whether he instructed officials of his department to implement the recommendations of the report emanating from the investigation conducted by Nexia SAB&T (details furnished); if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details? (2) what are the reasons that it has taken almost a year to action disciplinary processes against the implicated officials of whom one has since retired; (3) whether the retired official will face any consequences; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?
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
12 April 2023 - NW842
van der Merwe, Ms LL to ask the Minister of Home Affairs
(1) What total number of banks currently provide the Home Affairs services; (2) whether, there are plans to expand services to more banks; if not; why not in each case; if so, what total number of additional banks are expected to provide services in 2023?
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
29 March 2023 - NW507
Herron, Mr BN to ask the Minister of Home Affairs
In view of the fact that one of the greatest issues plaguing our Home Affairs system are the IT systems which are pivotal to online data capturing and efficiency at branches, what (a)(i) date was the last time that the IT system at Home Affairs branches was upgraded and (ii) did that upgrade/maintenance consist of, (b) quantity of our current documentation in paper format has been transferred into a digital format, (c) security measures have been added to the decaying IT system to ensure the protection of citizens’ personal data/information and (d)(i) are the most recent statistics captured to show the number of times the system goes down at various branches nationwide and (ii) are the most common causes for the system reboots/shut downs?
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
29 March 2023 - NW791
Roos, Mr AC to ask the Minister of Home Affairs
Whether the report on the installation of cameras at the offices of his department for the purpose of safety and security has been completed after the stipulated six months set by the Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs in November 2021 following the unrest in KwaZulu-Natal in July 2021; if not, by what date is it envisaged that the report will be completed; if so, by what date will it be submitted to the committee secretary of the Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs?
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
29 March 2023 - NW790
Roos, Mr AC to ask the Minister of Home Affairs
In view of the case in 2018 where Lawyers for Human Rights took his department to court to force them to issue a birth certificate to an abandoned child after which the Pretoria High Court ordered his department to issue a birth certificate to the child, what is the process for abandoned babies without proof of birth to receive a birth certificate or notice of birth?
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
29 March 2023 - NW789
Roos, Mr AC to ask the Minister of Home Affairs
Regarding the letter informing the National Assembly that he has not issued any Certificates of Naturalisation for 2022, as contemplated in the South African Citizenship Act, Act 88 of 1995, what (a) are the reasons that no certificates of naturalisation were issued and (b) is the (i) current backlog of naturalisation applications and (ii) backlog of naturalisation certificates to be signed by him?
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
29 March 2023 - NW627
Roos, Mr AC to ask the Minister of Home Affairs
With regard to the collapse of the ceiling at the Byron Place Home Affairs office in February 2023, what (a) is the maintenance arrangement with the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure and the owners of the specified office building to ensure that offices of his department are safe workspaces and (b) systems are in place for tracking maintenance-related complaints submitted by the Home Affairs offices?
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:
- Maintenance, repairs and servicing of all air-conditioning units (monthly);
- Maintenance, repairs and servicing of the generator (annually);
- Servicing of the electrical transformer (annually);
- Infra-red testing of all the DB boards (annually);
- Inspect, clean, test and maintain all the DB boards (annually);
- Maintain and inspect all electrical equipment (monthly);
- Lighting inspection (weekly);
- Annual Service - extinguishers, hose reels & hydrants (annually);
- Servicing of lifts (monthly)
- Annexure B inspection of lifts (once every two years);
- Cleaning of common areas (daily);
- 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
22 March 2023 - NW588
Van Minnen, Ms BM to ask the Minister of Home Affairs
Whether, given that a number of questions have already been asked about the Home Affairs office in Main Road, Somerset West in the Western Cape and despite the various assurances he had given, the problems at the specified office remain unresolved, the full staff complement has now been deployed to work in the specified office; if not, why not; if so, (a) what total number of vacancies are there at present and (b) how does his department intend to fill the specified vacancies?
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
22 March 2023 - NW825
van der Merwe, Ms LL to ask the Minister of Home Affairs
Whether, with regard to the official opening of a Home Affairs office at Menlyn Park Shopping Centre on 6 March 2023, wherein he stated that, if successful, the plan is to roll out similar offices at Cresta Shopping Centre in Johannesburg, then to The Pavilion Shopping Centre in eThekwini and Tyger Valley Shopping Centre in Cape Town, his department intends to open such offices in (a) smaller shopping centres such as N1 City in Cape Town to take advantage of lower costs for rental of the floor space and (b) the rural areas such as Ulundi Shopping Centre in KwaZulu-Natal to service the rural communities; if not, why not, in each case; if so, what are the relevant details in each case?
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
22 March 2023 - NW687
van der Merwe, Ms LL to ask the Minister of Home Affairs
With regard to the briefing on the Crime Statistics reporting 7 555 persons were murdered in the three months of reporting and the huge problem added by the high number of undocumented foreign nationals that are hard to trace after having committed of a crime, what measures has his department put in place to address the growing number of undocumented foreign nationals, considering that his department is responsible for managing borders and making sure all foreign nationals within the Republic are documented?
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
22 March 2023 - NW590
Van Minnen, Ms BM to ask the Minister of Home Affairs
(a) What are the reasons that there is no queue to assist the elderly and disabled at the Home Affairs office located in Main Road, Somerset West in the Western Cape and (b) has he found that the security guards at the entrance have been sufficiently trained to deal with the public?
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
22 March 2023 - NW393
Shaik Emam, Mr AM to ask the Minister of Home Affairs
What are the details of the (a) problems his department’s offices are experiencing with the ID system that is allegedly compromised, resulting in lengthy delays, and (b) steps that are being taken to resolve it?
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
16 March 2023 - NW626
Roos, Mr AC to ask the Minister of Home Affairs
Whether, with regard to the bidding process for the visa and permit applications management tender which closed on 25 February 2022, a service provider has been appointed; if not, what is the (a) status and (b) timeline of the bidding process; if so, (i) who was the winning bidder and (ii) what was the (aa) value and (bb) duration of the contract?
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
16 March 2023 - NW467
De Villiers, Mr JN to ask the Minister of Home Affairs
What (a) is the salary of each (i) chief executive officer and (ii) top executive position in each state-owned entity reporting to him and (b) total amount does each get paid to attend a meeting?
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
16 March 2023 - NW270
Roos, Mr AC to ask the Minister of Home Affairs
Whether he will furnish Mr A C Roos with a list of the offices of his department with (a)(i) faulty and/or broken (aa) unlimited power supply (UPS) and (bb) generator systems and (ii) by what date the systems will be repaired and (b)(i) non-functional (aa) generator and (bb) UPS system and (ii) by what date emergency power supply systems will be installed in each of the offices?
Reply:
Honourable Roos is referred to my response to Parliamentary Question No:31 which answers all of the above.
END
16 March 2023 - NW269
Roos, Mr AC to ask the Minister of Home Affairs
(1)(a) What total number of visa and/or permit applications were processed in total in the period 1 November 2022 to 31 January 2023, (b) what number of visa and/or permit applications were rejected based on missing documents and (c) how do the documents go missing when they are supposed to be captured and scanned electronically by VFS Global; (2) what total number of marriage certificate applications were rejected because (a) no proof of marriage was attached and (b) the marriage certificate was missing from the application; (3) with reference to applications lodged through VFS Global, (a) why is an applicant not allowed to have a copy of the checklist and (b) why must the applicant follow the appeal process and pay an additional application fee to VFS while the reason for the appeal is a supporting document lost by his department?
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
16 March 2023 - NW198
De Villiers, Mr JN to ask the Minister of Home Affairs
(1)What are the details of the (a) destination and (b) total costs for (i) accommodation, (ii) travel and (iii) any other costs incurred for international travel of each (aa) Minister and (bb) Deputy Minister of his department since 1 June 2019; (2) what is the total cost incurred for domestic air travel for each (a) Minister and (b) Deputy Minister of his department since 1 June 2019?
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
16 March 2023 - NW592
Van Zyl, Ms A M to ask the Minister of Home Affairs
(1)What total number of offices of his department that are located in the (a) Walter Sisulu Local Municipality and (b) Senqu Local Municipality; (2) whether he will furnish Ms A M van Zyl with a list of the specified offices in each town; if not, why not; if so, by what date; (3) whether there is a mobile Home Affairs office that assists with the day-to-day services, such as the registration of births and deaths, in the towns and/or areas that are not serviced by his department; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details; (4) what number of mobile offices are available in the (a) Walter Sisulu Local Municipality and (b) Senqu Local Municipality; (5) whether he will furnish Ms A M van Zyl with (a) a timetable and (b) a list of areas visited by the mobile offices on a rotational basis; if not, why not; if so, by what date?
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
07 March 2023 - NW387
Tito, Ms LF to ask the Minister of Home Affairs
What (a) progress has he made in dealing with the problem of long queues at the offices of his department and (b) are the reasons that he has been unable to resolve the crisis to date?
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
07 March 2023 - NW405
van der Merwe, Ms LL to ask the Minister of Home Affairs
Whether, he will clarify the position on e-visas as stated by the President of the Republic, Mr M C Ramaphosa, during the State of the Nation address that after the Government has completed a comprehensive review of the work visa system, it will move quickly to implement the recommendations put forward and will also introduce a remote worker visa, compared to his statement in 2022 that the current visa categories are legislated by the Immigration Act, Act 13 of 2002, and that in its current form the Act does not make provision for a digital nomad e-visa, therefore there are no plans to implement a digital nomad e-visa; if not, (a) why not and (b) what are the timeframes in this regard; if so, what are the relevant details?
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
07 March 2023 - NW394
Roos, Mr AC to ask the Minister of Home Affairs
What urgent steps will his department take to resolve the matter of disappearing (a) ID and (b) passport applications as a result of load shedding?
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
07 March 2023 - NW381
Chabane, Mr MS to ask the Minister of Home Affairs
Considering that since the establishment of the Border Management Authority (BMA) significant progress has been made to date, notwithstanding, the Republic still experiencing persons entering the country illegally, what measures are put in place by the BMA to tackle such challenges?
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
07 March 2023 - NW32
Roos, Mr AC to ask the Minister of Home Affairs
What (a) total number of calls to the Home Affairs Hotline number 0800 60 11 90 were (i) received by the hotline and (ii) dropped before they were attended to, (b) are the service level targets of the call centre, (c) was the achievement against the service level target, (d) is the percentage of first contact resolution, (e) mechanism of customer satisfaction is in place, (f) measure of customer satisfaction was achieved and (g) total number of call centre agents were in the call centre on any one shift in the 2021-22 financial year?
Reply:
a) Total number of calls to the Home Affairs Hotline number for the 2021-22 financial year
- Total calls received by the Hotline = 602 607 calls
- Total number of calls dropped by clients before they answered are 273 760.
b) The Contact Centre service level targets are as follows:
- 80% of calls offered to agents by the integrated voice response system are to be answered within 20 seconds
- 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).
- Average call handling time = 6 minutes
- Call abandonment rate= 20%. These are calls that are sometimes dropped or terminated by clients before being responded to.
- 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
07 March 2023 - NW31
Roos, Mr AC to ask the Minister of Home Affairs
Whether he will furnish Mr A C Roos with a list of the Home Affairs offices with (a) faulty and/or broken Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS) systems and (b) no functioning generator; if not, why not; if so, by what date will the (i) UPS be repaired and (ii) emergency power supply systems be installed in each of the specified offices?
Reply:
- 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.
|
|
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.
|
||
1 |
Ngqeleni |
|
2 |
Cradock |
|
3 |
Sterkspuit |
|
4 |
Ngcobo |
|
5 |
Uitenhage |
|
6 |
Graaff Reinet |
|
7 |
Port Alfred |
|
8 |
Willowvale |
|
9 |
Butterworth |
|
|
||
1 |
Bloemfontein |
|
2 |
Botshabelo |
|
3 |
Thaba Nchu |
|
4 |
Koffiefontein |
|
5 |
Harrismith |
|
6 |
Viljoenstroon |
|
7 |
Welkom |
|
|
||
1 |
Centurion |
|
2 |
Soweto |
|
3 |
Evaton |
|
|
||
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 |
|
|
||
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 |
|
|
||
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
02 March 2023 - NW88
De Villiers, Mr JN to ask the Minister of Home Affairs
What are the details of the (a) make, (b) model, (c) year of manufacture, (d) cost and (e) purchase date of all the official vehicles purchased for (i) him, (ii) the former Minister, (iii) the Deputy Minister and the (iv) former Deputy Minister of his department since 1 June 2019?
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