Questions and Replies

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:

(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) 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:

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:

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:

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:

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.

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

(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:

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:

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

Reply:

(a)(i) In the period requested, the department had a total of 110 mobile units from 01 April 2022 to 30 September 2022. The breakdown per province is as follows:

(a)(ii) Out of one hundred and ten (110) mobile units, one hundred and seven (107) were fully operational. The three (3) mobile units allocated to Western Cape, Eastern Cape and Free State respectively are not fully operational due to mechanical breakdown challenges as the units belong to an old fleet procured in FY 2005/06 and some of the units were previously involved in accidents.

(b) A total of 107/110 mobile units were deployed during the reporting period with planned day to day schedules. This averages a total of 95% of the total units deployed on day to day schedules to close the gaps where there is no DHA footprint and render services in remote rural areas.

During the above reporting period 464 areas/visiting points were visited by mobile units as per day to day schedules in terms of DHA Hybrid Access Model. A further 46 areas were visited during Ministerial service delivery outreach programmes in Eastern Cape, Limpopo, Mpumalanga and North West to promote early birth registration and Smart ID card products.

(c)(i) The total number of one hundred and eleven thousand nine hundred and sixteen (111 916) smart ID cards applications were collected by mobile units of which contributes to 8,44% of the national total applications collected on mobile units. A further, four thousand eight hundred and eighty-six (4 886) passport applications were collected by mobile units during the reporting period.

(c)(ii) A total number of two thousand two hundred and eight (2 208) schools were visited by mobile units during the above period in different provinces.

END

Reply:

(a)(i) In the period requested, the department had a total of 110 mobile units from 01 April 2022 to 30 September 2022. The breakdown per province is as follows:

(a)(ii) Out of one hundred and ten (110) mobile units, one hundred and seven (107) were fully operational. The three (3) mobile units allocated to Western Cape, Eastern Cape and Free State respectively are not fully operational due to mechanical breakdown challenges as the units belong to an old fleet procured in FY 2005/06 and some of the units were previously involved in accidents.

(b) A total of 107/110 mobile units were deployed during the reporting period with planned day to day schedules. This averages a total of 95% of the total units deployed on day to day schedules to close the gaps where there is no DHA footprint and render services in remote rural areas.

During the above reporting period 464 areas/visiting points were visited by mobile units as per day to day schedules in terms of DHA Hybrid Access Model. A further 46 areas were visited during Ministerial service delivery outreach programmes in Eastern Cape, Limpopo, Mpumalanga and North West to promote early birth registration and Smart ID card products.

(c)(i) The total number of one hundred and eleven thousand nine hundred and sixteen (111 916) smart ID cards applications were collected by mobile units of which contributes to 8,44% of the national total applications collected on mobile units. A further, four thousand eight hundred and eighty-six (4 886) passport applications were collected by mobile units during the reporting period.

(c)(ii) A total number of two thousand two hundred and eight (2 208) schools were visited by mobile units during the above period in different provinces.

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

Reply:

1. According to departmental system, Mr Esmael Maulide Ramos Nangy, is a Mozambican national holder of a non-South African Identity document. He applied for permanent residence permits in 1991 for himself and family which were subsequently issued in 1992.

The arrest of Mr Esmael Maulide Ramos Nangy was as per warrant of arrest and extradition request by the government of Mozambique through INTERPOL, where he is alleged to be linked to multiple kidnappings criminal activities.

There is no information at the disposal of the department that link him to be involved as the kingpin in human trafficking activities as alleged. He is still in detention pending court appearance in court on 20 February 2023 for bail hearing and commencement of extradition process.

2. The department is primarily responsible for illegal migration and collaborates with the South African Police Service (SAPS) as a way of addressing any illegal activities including dealing with criminal syndicates, human trafficking and smuggling activities. This is done through enforcement operations guided by the Immigration Act that empowers police and immigration officers to detain persons suspected of being in contravention of the Act in order to verify their status. The department is running its own Siyasebenta operation which has targeted a number of areas such as security industry, mining and factories.

The Immigration Act regulates the immigration of legal status as well as the processes related to arrest, detention, prosecution and deportation of any person entering and remaining in the country illegally. This legislation retains the strong security border control and the use of law enforcement to manage migration inland and at ports of entry as well as manning of the borderline by the newly established Border Management Agency (BMA) in collaboration with South African National Defence (SANDF).

(3)(a) The total number of persons deported from Jan to Dec 2022 is 22258.

(3)(b) The breakdown of country of origin of the highest numbers of foreign nationals deported in the calendar year from Jan to Dec 2022 are as follows:

END

Reply:

1) On 14 July 2022 the BMA deployed the first 200 cohort of the Border Guards in various ports of entry and some vulnerable segments of the borderline. Forty (40) Border Guards were deployed at Beit Bridge Port of Entry and are responsible for the implementation of border law enforcement in conjunction with members of the SAPS. This is due to the fact that the Border Guards are not yet fully capacitated to full take over the functions. Currently, these functions are implemented through a Multi-Agency approach which is coordinated by the BMA through a Multi-Party Agreement. In fact, the BMA would fully take over the functions from the 1st of April 2023 through the implementation of an integrated model.

The port operational functioning has a process flow managed through various cascading Border structures overseen on quarterly basis by the Legislated Committees, the Border Technical Committee (BTC) and the Inter Ministerial Consultative Committee (IMCC). The two latter structures the BTC and IMCC were designed to deal with all challenges that cannot be solved by the Border Management operational structures. The BTC and IMCC have already met 3 times in 2022 and the final 4th quarter meeting will take place respectively on the 15th and 24th March 2023. In that upcoming meeting the BMA will present the feedback review and reflections on operations conducted in the border environment especially during December 2022/January 2023 festive season. It should be noted that Ministers of Police and Home Affairs are permanent members of IMCC, so all issues that are part of the review and reflections of the festive season would be dealt with in the meeting of 24 March 2023.

(2)(a) With regard to challenges of insider threat and possible corrupt activities by officials, the BMA would through during the integration process embark on extensive vetting processes of all officials to be integrated into the BMA as required by section 13 of the BMA Act, 2020.

(2)(b) The BMA and SAPS have entered into an Implementation Protocol in accordance with the provisions of the BMA Act which details the coordination and cooperation between the two state organs towards the implementation of border law enforcement functions. The Protocols were signed by both BMA and SAPS Commissioners on the 9th of June 2022.

(3) Matters, including challenges, related to border management are discussed by the BMA’s Inter-Ministerial Consultative Committee (IMCC) on Border Management which comprises of ten (10) members of Cabinet including the Ministers of Police, Home Affairs, Defence, State Security and others. Identified interventions to resolve such challenges are endorsed by the Committee for implementation.

(4) The number of refugees who travel across borders cannot be determined due to the fact that they do not travel with passports reflecting their asylum seeker status. Those who happen to travel do not inform the department and the responsible unit (Asylum Seeker Management) that they are leaving the country. Therefore, the Department is unable to provide the required statistics.

END

Reply:

(a) The reasons for failing to file Heads of Argument on 14 November 2022 will be subject to an application for condonation in court. In the circumstances, I am hamstrung to answer the question at this stage.

(b) In light of the answer above, it is premature to speculate on the remedial action.

(c) The Department of Home Affairs (“DHA”) has adopted a strict internal communication protocol in 2020 dealing, inter alia, with failure to comply with Court Orders by officials of the DHA. Failure to comply with Court Orders is visited by disciplinary action. Furthermore, in terms of the said internal communication

Reply:

(1) I did attend a meeting of the deployment committee of the ANC at the end of 2019 to brief them on the process I was going to follow in the appointment of the Director General of the Department and the CEO of Government Printing Works. I did not go there to receive any recommendations about who to appoint.

(2) As I said I briefed them on my processes and they agreed with me (a) I discussed the appointment of the Director General and the CEO of Government Printing works. I never received any recommendations as the Committee agreed with what I had outlined to them. From there I followed all the public service prescripts on the appointment of such positions until the Cabinet made the final decision on whom to appoint.

(b) No other Government matters were discussed.

Reply:

No, the Department has however issued a circular to all its local front offices directing them on the process and the email address to be used by offices to update or amend the marital status of individuals including the deceased on the National Population Register(NPR).

The relevant details should include the following:

1. Affidavit from a family member confirming that the deceased person was never married.
2. ID copy of the deceased person
3. ID copy of the informant
4. Copy of death certificate

The Department, if furnished with the details as alluded to above, will investigate and analyse the veracity of the information, and update the details on NPR accordingly.

END

Reply:

a) Yes, the Department has a procedure for dealing with reported fraudulent marriages and identity theft. To elaborate further,it must be highlighted that identity documents theft and fraud, in most cases, does not necessarily involve only the Departmental officials but also the public at large, contractors or service providers, etc., that very well form part of the corrupt activities.

The Department however assists victims of identity theft if the case is reported by the aggrieved or affected persons. Victims should immediately report identity theft through the Law enforcement agencies, mainly the South African Police Services(SAPS) and also the Departments’ Immigration Services Branch to assume investigations and to provide feedback on findings in this regard. Victims can also call the National Anti-Corruption Hotline to report cases of fraud and corruption. Where there is sufficient evidence provided and it can be proven without doubt that the marriage is fraudulent, the Department expunges such a marriage and provides feedback to the victims.

The Department due to the number of fraudulent marriages reported every year has implemented some measures that have largely contributed in reducing the number of fraudulent marriages, as follows:

• Introduction of a new marriage register (DHA-30) which requires a photo and thumbprint of the couples for verification purposes.
• The Department requires prospective couples to make an appointment with the nearest front office to verify the marital status and to subject themselves to brief interviews prior to registration of the marriage.
• On the day of the marriage, a couple must present the following documents to the person officiating at the marriage ceremony:
• Identity documents (for each person getting married).
• If a foreign national is marrying a South African citizen, the non-citizen should present a valid passport as well as well as a completed BI-31 Form (Declaration for the Purpose of Marriage, Letter of no impediment to confirm that he/she is not married in country of origin).
• If the marriage is for a minor (a person under the age of 18 years), written consent is needed in the form of DHA32 by both parents/ legal guardian or form DHA34 from the Commissioner of Child Welfare or a judge. In the case where the marriage is between minors under the ages of 18 for boys or 15 for girls, written consent from the Minister of Home Affairs will also be required.
• If any of the persons who are getting married are divorced, the final decree of divorce should be furnished.
• If any of the persons who are getting married are widowed, the deceased spouse’s death certificate must be submitted.

b) No, as indicated above in (a), the Department does not have challenges in providing identity documents to any individuals who found themselves married without their consent or due to identity theft. In terms of the Identification Act. (No. 68 of 1997) the Department provides identity documents to all citizens of the country provided that, their particulars are included in the population register and provided that they apply in the prescribed manner for an identity document.

END

Reply:

a) Approximately 6000 by September 2022. More applications are streaming in a daily basis.

(b) The breakdown of the total number of applications at the moment in terms of each visa category is as follows, and list not exhaustive.

• Critical skills – 1195
• Business - 19
• General work visas – 62
• Relative visa – 1006
• Study visa – 443
• Retired visa – 19

( c) The information regarding applications that are successful and/or rejected cannot be disclosed at this stage due to the ongoing litigation. One of the disputes before court is on the potential success or otherwise of the application lodged by the affected Zimbabwean nationals.

(d) The Department of Home Affairs has appointed a Departmental Advisory Committee to advice on the visa applications – furthermore, I have approved a significant number of waiver applications lodged by the affected Zimbabwean nationals.

END

Reply:

a) Yes, in terms of the Births and Death Act (Act 51 of 1992), all notices of birth of any South African that meets the requirements must be registered within thirty (30) days, and a computerised birth certificate is issued. South African citizens not possessing the documentation required to apply for identity documents follow the Late Registration of Birth(LRB) process. The LRB process is in place to accommodate South Africans who have not registered their children within the stipulated 30 days of birth and to ensure that qualifying applicant(s) are assisted with birth registration, where young persons are unable to obtain their identity documents (IDs) as a result of not having evidence of birth registration or proof of birth.

In respect of LRB applications for births above thirty-one (31) days to one (1) year the applicants are not subjected to interviews by the screening committee panelists, however a document verification process is done on the spot with the applicant, and the ID number will be generated by the office of application and as such the birth certificate is issued on the same day, if systems are operational.

However the LRB process for births of one (1) year up to fifteen (15) years and above has more stringent measures, as it is done only at designated local front offices in the province and is subjected to a screening committee which composes of a Chairperson at a District Manager: Operations(DMO) level, Office Manager, Immigration Officer and Secretariat and an additional member.

The steps in the application process and the requirements are as follows:

• Complete DHA 24 (LRB), DHA 288 (LRB affidavit), and all other relevant forms.
• Online verification of the informant’s fingerprints against HANIS (Home Affairs National Identification System); or a full set of manual fingerprints taken to be submitted for verification at Head Office, to be verified against HANIS.
• After verification of fingerprints, they are taken back to office of application to continue with process of application.
• Applicant(s) to provide Proof of Birth issued by Health Facility where child was born or school letter with copy of admission register from school or baptismal certificate (issued within 5 years of birth).
• DHA office to conduct further background checks to authenticate the veracity of the information furnished, including information relating to the health facility / school records / church records, etc.
• Separate interviews conducted for the applicant and informant(s) of the person whose birth is to be registered, through the LRB screening committee, as established by DHA.
• If above approved by the LRB screening committee the File with all relevant information and supporting documents is sent to DHA Head Office (Pretoria) where the ID number will be generated, provided it complies with all requirements. If approval is not granted the matter is referred to Immigration Services for further investigation with the reasons provided.
• Short message service (sms) is activated to inform the applicant of the successful application and to collect the birth certificate.
• Birth Certificate to be collected at the office of application.
• Applicant can apply for an ID as a result.

b) The turnaround time is one hundred and eighty (180) days, provided that the process above is followed and all requirements are met. However regular adjudication by the screening committee is often delayed by among others:

• Non-availability of clients for scheduling of interviews as clients change contact details;

• Insufficient supporting documents on the application and
• Delays with fingerprint verification due to poor quality of fingerprints taken.

END

Reply:

(a) 22

(a)(i) 12

(a)(ii) 10

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

(b)(ii) The annual remuneration of all staff is tabulated hereunder:

END

Reply:

(a)(i) For the year 2022 the Department received 1 application through the Desmond Tutu Refugee Reception Centre.

(a)(ii) Approved - 0

(a)(iii) Rejected - 0

(b) The 1 application is still in process as the applicant must attend a second interview with the Refugee Status Determination Officer(RSDO)

END

Reply:

a) The current backlog across all visa categories is 56543.

b The average response time varies for different visa categories; there are different turnaround times for applications listed in the departments APP and those that are not listed in the APP.

• The turnaround time for applications for critical skills visas is 4 weeks, as indicated in the APP. Currently the average response time is 4 to 10 weeks.
• The turnaround time for business and general work visas is 8 weeks, as indicated in the APP. Currently the average response time is 8 to 14 weeks.

c) The department envisages to have cleared the current backlog by June 2024 for all categories of visas.

END

Reply:

1. With regards to the entry of non-citizens into the Republic at ports of entry, both categories of travellers (visa exempt and visa required) are provided with a specified period of stay when they comply with admission requirements as stated in the Immigration Act.

The preventative measures include applying a risk based approach with visa adjudication if the person is from a visa required country. At the port of entry, the immigration officer will conduct an examination and if required, a secondary immigration inspection will be conducted before endorsing the passport and recording the movement on the system.

Additional measures to ensure non-citizens do not exceed the period of their visa entry includes compliance inspections and immigration stop and search operations that can detect such persons.

(2)(a) It would be difficult to track and/or monitor every person that enters the Republic. It is the responsibility of the traveller to respect and adhere to the laws of the country.

In terms of the Immigration Act, a person must comply with the permitted period of stay and depart on or before the expiry date of their visa, failing which he/she will be declared undesirable upon departure or become an illegal foreigner liable for deportation.

This is also tracked and monitored through immigration inspections and immigration led operations as well as by monitoring the departmental systems.

(2)(b) The total number of non-citizens that overstayed:

Year Visa Exempted Visa Required Grand Total

2022 19 589 1 085 20 674

END

Reply:

(a)&(b)(i) The Department has not yet decided on the total number and the names of countries that will qualify for eVisas in the next three months. The Department has rolled out the eVisa system to the following 14 countries: - China, India, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Uganda, Mexico, Kenya, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Cameroon and Saudi Arabia.

(b)(ii) There are 135 country nationals that do not require a port of entry visa to South Africa. The names of the countries are listed on the attached annexure.

END

Reply:

The Departments of Home Affairs and Basic Education entered into a Memorandum of understanding in 2010 regarding the mutual cooperation, support and sharing of information. This agreement assisted in facilitating access and visits to schools. Each and every year, the Department of Basic education provides list of learners without Identity documents to Home Affairs and the list is shared with the provinces.

Upon the receipt of the above list, provinces prepare schedules to visit schools using Mobile units, where learners who are 16 years and above including matriculants are assisted in applying and in obtaining their Identity documents as a result.

END

Reply:

a) Honourable member, firstly I want to iterate that the department does not believe that figure is accurate as we have not been provided scientific evidence that it is so. The most credible source the department is aware of is the figures given by the Statistician General Risenga Maluleke where a figure of 3.95 million foreign nationals are said to be in South Africa according to their mid-year population estimates in 2021.

Secondly, the Department is not failing to implement its own immigration laws as indicated in its annual reports, through various programmes, including the law enforcement operations in the security cluster to detect unlawful immigrants, prosecute and deport them or issue orders to leave.

To prevent re-offending, their details are captured on the Visa Entry and Stop List and the entry as well as departure of all travellers are recorded on the Movement Control System. This is one of the tools that Port Control utilises to prevent undesirable or prohibited persons from entering into the country.

The review of the systems of managing the issuing and extension of temporary residence visas and conferring of permanent residence permits is underway to improve the effectiveness of the policy, infrastructure and implementation.

b) The porousness of the country’s borders is well-documented, hence the establishment of the Border Management Authority to respond and manage the borderline under one strategic and implementation structure. The performance in the target areas will be reviewable within the 2023/24 financial year, with effect from 1 April 2023.

The department will continue with its enforcement activities within the country as well as the deployment of the newly formed Border Guard of the Border Management Authority.

END

Reply:

The Department of Home Affairs’ Access Model has identified 778 mobile service points and the majority of them are in rural areas to service citizens; hence in the next financial year we will be buying additional mobile units to add to the current fleet and expand the footprint to ensure that citizens receive the services in their localities.

Secondly, all offices with BABS have been given tablets to assist citizens with booking and the State Information Technology Agency (SITA) is working on zero rating data requirements for government websites to enable citizens to access BABS on our website for free.

END

Reply:

Border Management have identified the management of trucks along the highways, national roads and corridors towards the ports of entry as one of the factors affecting the operational dynamics in the legitimate facilitation of persons and goods.

The following planned responses as contingences were developed:

1. The establishment of the integrated traffic management plan with all transport and traffic authorities in the respective corridors to ease traffic movements;
2. Collaborating with stakeholders in the freight industry regarding the utilisation of truck holding areas and the diversion of trucks to these areas;
3. The utilization of single lane processes towards the weighbridges for some controlled movements; and
4. The deployment of dedicated traffic officers along the routes and corridors by Provincial and Local traffic authorities to ensure compliance and enforcement of traffic laws.

END

Reply:

(1) The department’s inspectorate is fully engaged in immigration operations and inspections. Areas such as Hillbrow and other communities are regularly visited by immigration officials who conduct compliance. The Inspectorate unit deployed a dedicated team to Diepsloot from 6th April 2022 to 8th July 2022 where 1910 arrests were made for illegal migration. The department also conducts its own multi-stakeholder operation called “Operation Siyasibenta” on a monthly basis. On 11 November 2022 Siyasibenta operations were focused on farming areas around country with a total of 111 foreign nationals arrested for being undocumented.

(2) The department does not believe that figure is accurate as we have not been provided scientific evidence that it is so. The most credible source the department is aware of is the figures given by the Statistician General Risenga Maluleke where a figure of 3.95 million foreign nationals are said to be in South Africa according to their mid-year population estimates in 2021.

(3) The department will continue with its enforcement activities within the country as well as the deployment of the newly formed Border Guard of the Border Management Authority to the borders.

(4) The prevalence of undocumented migrants is a global due to push factors relating to either economic and environmental. The department is able to implement its legislation and has been doing so. In addition to this the department co-operates with other departments and foreign governments to tackle the problem.

END

Reply:

• The current visa categories are legislated by the Immigration Act No. 13 of 2002. In its current form the Immigration Act does not make provision for digital nomad e-Visa. Therefore, there are no plans to implement a digital nomad e-visa.

• The department has to date launched and piloted e-Visa System in 14 countries in line with the Government’s plans to streamline and modernize the visa application process to make it easier to travel to South Africa for tourism and short term business and work visits. The e-Visa System enables the prospective visitors to apply for a Visa online, while in their home countries without visiting the Mission.

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Reply:

The promotion of free trade amongst African countries does not require the abolishment of all borders but the continued implementation of regional and continental initiatives to manage the flow of goods.

The Department of Finance as the responsible Department can provide relevant information on the current initiatives to improve the facilitation of goods into and from South Africa to give effect to free trade amongst African countries.

The Border Management Agency is working closely with the South African Revenue Services to ensure the efficient facilitation of people and goods through our ports of entry.

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Reply:

The yacht referred to has not docked at any of South Africa’s harbours. No pre-clearance application was received for such a yacht to dock at Cape Town harbour.

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Reply:

a) The Department has not awarded any tender to assist with the recruitment process for the 10 000 unemployed youth graduates. However, the recruitment was facilitated by the Department of Employment and Labour (DEL) through the Employment Services of South Africa (ESSA) Programme. The service was provided at no cost to the Department of Home Affairs (DHA).

b) Interview panels were set up by the DHA nationwide to interview candidates. Interview panels make recommendations for appointments.

c) The DHA adopted a phased approach for the recruitment of young unemployed graduates and as demonstrated in the table below, the allocation recruits will be per province rather than offices and is aligned to the volume of documents that require digitisation.

d) The procurement of equipment and software for the digitisation process was advertised via an open Request for Bid, which closed on 23 September 2022. The evaluation process to select a preferred provider for the duration of the project is in an advanced stage. Workstation procurement is being done through a SITA transversal contract for the 1st cohort and is due for delivery in December 2022.

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Reply:

1. There is no statistical summary of rejected applications in terms of section 2(3) of the Act.
2. Four (4) Officials
3. The standard operating procedure (SOP) for the Alteration of Sex Description and Sex Status was signed in October 2020 and is applied by officials that process the applications. The Department is unable to provide a copy of the SOP due to the sensitivity of the procedures to be followed in this category of applications that involves the amendment of personal information. The documents required by the Department from applicants in this category are indicated under “Amendments” on the DHA website.
4. The average turnaround time is 4-12 weeks

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Reply:

1. The Department of Home Affairs has two offices in the municipal area and they are Aliwal North, Local Office Medium situated at number 18 Hunt Street Aliwal North 9750 and Burgersdorp Local Office Small, No.31 Van Der Walt Street, Burgersdorp 9744,

2. Offices are not fully staffed and there is a capacitation programme currently underway to fund vacancies but all posts for office managers have been allocated funds. The Aliwal North office has appointed one Civic Service Supervisor who assumed duties as from the 1st September 2022. There is one vacant funded post of Civic Service Supervisor for Burgersdorp which emanated from the current recruitment process and will be filled soon.

3. The State Information Technology Agency (SITA) is making an investment to improve internet connectivity at DHA offices and both offices have generators that are used during load-shedding to ensure that services are not interrupted.

4. There are temporary telephone lines for Aliwal North Local Office Medium with the following numbers: 051 633 3317, 051 633 2118, 051 633 2883,051 633 2281 and they are functional. Permanent lines will be installed once Telkom is done with the migration to fibre-lines.

5. Inspectorate Services are not done at the Burgersdorp Local Office Small, due to the size of the office. At the Aliwal North Local Office Medium, recruitment for Immigration officials has started in phases. (a) The Immigration Officials of the Sterkspruit Local Office Medium, have an Itinerary that covers Senqu Local Municipality, and Walter Sisulu Local Municipality. (b)A monthly itinerary for the mobile units is drawn to service towns with no DHA footprint.

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Reply:

(1) (a) A total number of 476 applications were received.

(b) A total number of 7 orders were granted for alteration of sex description.

(c) No rejections were made in terms of section 2(3) of the Act.

(2) None.

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Reply:

The Honourable Member is herewith informed that Diplomatic passports are issued according to the South African Diplomatic Passport Policy and that the Department of Home Affairs is not the custodian of this policy, and similarly not responsible for the application(s) as well as the issuance of this category of passports whatsoever. Hence it is requested that any information relating to Diplomatic Passports should be addressed to the Department of International Relations and Co-operation (DIRCO).

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Reply:

(a) Six (6)

(b) R4 555 841 per annum.

(c) The Senior Legal Administration Officers have the requisite qualifications, as well as experience, to be appointed within the Unit. There is however a distinction between these competencies and that of a Specialist Legislative Drafter, who, has advanced knowledge and expertise required for the formulation of Draft Bill into a legislative framework for submission to Cabinet and Parliament, and ultimately, tabling as an Act.

(d) Currently, the Unit is developing the draft Bills relating to;

1. Electoral Amendment Bill;
2. Marriage Bill;
3. National Identification and Registration Bill;
4. One Stop Border Post Bill;
5. Public Holidays Bill. This Bill is initiated as a result of request to determine whether or not certain public holidays should be declared as non-trading days;
6. Security Printer’s Bill;
7. Section 34 of the Immigration Act, 2002.

(e) Legal officials within the Legal Services Drafting Unit possess the requisite drafting skills and experience, and have been instrumental with the development of the Draft (foundation) Bill’s as detailed in (d) above. However, the process does not end within the Department and as an outcome of consultations across government Clusters and concerned entities, an integrated legislative formulation of the Draft Bill becomes possible, but prior to it being advanced to Cabinet and then Parliament for approval, it must conform to a specific framework and drafting language, and this is where the skills of a Specialist Legislative Drafter is required.

(f) The erstwhile Director: Drafting left the employment of the Department in November 2021. The Department proceeded to advertise the vacant position and is in the process of finalising the appointment of the Director: Drafting.

(g) Refer to the reasons alluded to in (e) supra above.

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Reply:

a)  New passport and travel document tariffs were gazetted in the Government Gazette No. 47256 dated 9 September 2022. In accordance with this Gazette, the tariff for a normal 32-page adult and child passport applied for at a South African mission is R1 200.00 while the tariff for a maxi passport applied for at a South African mission is R2 400.00. These new tariffs became effective 1 November 2022.

The missions were informed of the new tariffs for passports and travel documents under cover Revenue Circular No. 6 of 2022, dated 31 October 2022. In this regard, the missions were informed of the ‘spot rate’ to be used in instances where the tariff needs to be converted into a foreign currency. Using these ‘spot rates’ for Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom, the indicative prices for normal 32-page passports and maxi passports should be as per the table below:

Spot rates are used to ensure consistency in the applicable exchange rate. The Department therefore does not vary tariffs payable at the missions on a daily basis as the exchange rates fluctuate. The prices at the missions are rounded up to eliminate the need for change.

The mission in Canada applied the wrong spot rate and did not immediately update its webpage with the correct amounts for Canadian dollars. This oversight has been rectified and the current rates for passports as per the website is the following:

Adult / child passports (32 pages): CAD91:00 (http:///www.southafrica-canada.ca/regular-south-african-passports-c55-processing-fee/ )

Maxi passport (48 pages): CAD181 (http://www.southafrica-canada.ca/maxi-passports/ )

The mission in New Zealand also applied the wrong spot rate. This mission was requested to update its webpage with the correct amounts, in New Zealand dollars, for South African passports applied for at the mission.

b) The introduction of a passport pilot project in the UK through VFS was as a result of high volumes of applications and over six to nine months turnaround times with limited staffing in the Mission in London. The pilot turnaround time is one month and the service fee charged is to cover the overhead costs of VFS.

(c) The applicants may still apply at the Mission should they opt to do so and avoid paying the VFS service fee.

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Reply:

1. During 2022-2023 financial year the Department was instructed to amend certain sections of the Immigration Act, 13 of 2022 on the matter of Tereza Rayment & 5 others v The Minister of Home Affairs: court case No. 3919/20, as summarised hereunder:

The Applicants sought to declare the Immigration Act, 13 of 2002, unconstitutional based on Sections 10(6), 11(6), 18(2) and 43, and Regulation 17 thereof. The Western Cape High Court held that Sections 10(6), 11(1)(b) and 18(2), read with Regulation 9(5) and 9(9) are inconsistent with the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa. That declaration of invalidity was suspended for 24 months from the date of the order, to enable Parliament to remedy the inconsistency.

The Western Cape High Court ordered that the Department must consider granting the Applicants authorization to remain in the RSA in terms of Section 32(1), pending the outcome of such applications. Costs were ordered to be paid by the Department, including the costs of two Counsel.

Both the Applicants and the Department were not satisfied with the order and therefore appealed, and cross appealed respectively, resulting in the stay of the court order and thus it cannot be implemented.

2. The above-mentioned court application is the only court case during the 2022-23 financial year wherein the Western Cape High Court instructed the Department to amend its regulations and/or legislation. As mentioned above, the court order has been stayed due to the pending appeal processes.

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Reply:

a) The Department does not have any outstanding arbitration award to the amount of R 232 916.67 that is due to Mr Moodley’s family.

The Department received an arbitration award dated 27 July 2010, in respect of Manickum Moodley which ordered that: -

1. Mr Moodley be paid a sum of R232 916.67 in outstanding salary for the period May 2009 to May 2010;
2. The first payment to the amount of R154 028.60 was paid to Mr Moodley on 31 March 2011;
3. The second payment to the amount of R288 061.50 was paid to Mr Moodley on 14 April 2011;
4. Mr Moodley was paid a total amount of R442 090.10 which was outstanding salary payments.

b) The Department applies the Disciplinary Code and Procedures for the Public Service which is premised on the principles of prompt, fair and consistent, amongst others.

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Reply:

a) Hereunder please find a list of argued matters in court and the amount spent on legal costs.

NB: Please note that where amounts are not stated it is because the Department is awaiting invoices of payments from the Department of Justice (State Attorney). The Department of Justice is responsible for payments on behalf of Client-Departments and the Departments in turn, reimburse the offices of the State Attorney.

(b) The Department has incurred R27 071 037.81 in cost orders for the financial year 2021/2022. This composes of settled matters, mandamus applications, costs ordered by the courts, etc.

The Department has incurred R10 951 153.39 in cost orders from 1 April 2022 to date.

(c) The total amount of contingent liabilities for financial year 2021/2022 is R 2 107 068 000.00

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Reply:

1. No internal research has been conducted as the department’s responsibility and mandate as guided by Alteration of Sex Description and Sex Status Act, Act 49 of 2003, is to process applications in this respect.

2. None received.

3. Not applicable as no appeals have been received.

4. No member of the group, identified, has formed part of the drafting team. The Bill will be gazetted for public consultation wherein comments and inputs are expected, inter alia, from the community identified.

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Reply:

(a) No audit data/information was lost on the 31 January 2022. The system disruption that happened on this day was in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) environment, which does not have finance/audit information. GPW used the disk-backup to restore the affected systems in the DMZ environment.

(b) The following organisations were consulted to assist with data recovery:

• Hewlett Packard (OEM)
• CSSI data recovery specialists
• State Security Agency (SSA)

GPW did not raise purchase orders for all the above organisations, therefore no costs were incurred.

(c) The Original Equipment Manufacturer (HP) communicated with GPW that the data which was lost as a result of EVA hardware crash cannot be recovered. There is currently no project underway to recover lost data.

(d) GPW will not incur any costs.

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Reply:

(1)(a) We continue to make efforts to ensure that all communities, including those in rural areas, are accommodated in the new online application system. The Branch Appointment Booking System (BABS) is one of the Home Affairs interventions for improving services, including for our people located in rural areas.

Members of Parliament have been very helpful in the development and rollout of the online application system, particularly on the inclusion of offices in more rural communities in the pilot phase and also in the rollout of the project.

The online application system is only available for smart ID card and passport applications. Citizens are still welcome to visit Home Affairs front offices for other services.

The booking system is run on a hybrid model, with both online bookings and ‘walk-ins’ allowed. The Department allows and encourages walk-ins and also provides tablets to officials in order to help those who do not have data and would prefer to make a booking for another day instead of waiting in a queue. This is to ensure that as we rollout the new system, no one is left out, and all have access to services.

Following the launch, in June 2022, the booking system has been extended and is currently utilised in 163 of the 198 offices that have the ability to process smart ID cards and passports. At end of October 2022, more than 200 000 people have used this system.

(1)(b) I made a public announcement about the online booking system (BABS) during in my Budget Vote Speech, on 24 May 2022. This was followed by numerous radio and television interviews which I handled with the help of the Deputy Minister and delegated officials, to promote awareness on the new booking system. These interviews were in national, regional and community media platforms.

On 13 June 2022, I held a question-and-answer radio phone-in programme with 26 community radio stations.

The Communication Unit has also undertaken activations with Metro FM at Menlyn Mall, on 21 to 24 September 2022. This Unit has also developed videos and digital posters which it regularly runs on social media platforms of the Department and those of other Government departments.

(2) Yes, education programmes were and continue to be conducted, including the booking system’s activations I’ve alluded to. The Department has provided tablets to officials for them to take clients through the system and in this way we trust that those who were assisted will also be able to spread the message to others. Offices have floor walkers, queue marshalls and Office Managers to assist clients in the queues to make bookings.

To support this migration of service delivery platforms, the Communications Unit in collaboration with the BABS Project Management Office, did activations in selected offices in June 2022 where they were explaining to clients and officials how the system works.

The education programme explaining the new system was extended to cover officials in order to empower them to serve clients intending to use the new system. In this regard, information and posters were shared with Provincial and Office Managers to ensure that they assist in preparing their teams for the changes. A leaflet on the booking system was published in the in-house newsletter, Ikhaya, and the Director-General dedicated an issue of the online newsletter – Notes from the DG’s Desk – to the BABS and what it entails.

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Reply:

(1)&(2)

The Department of Home Affairs (DHA) does not owe Walter Sisulu Local Municipality and Senqu Local Municipality any money for rates and services. In this regard, please note that the municipal accounts for rates and services in respect of buildings occupied by the DHA are managed and paid for by the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI). The DHA reimburses the DPWI on a monthly basis for such expenditure.

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Reply:

The Department does not keep statistics of the manually issued notices of birth to migrants as there’s no provision on the National Population Register (NPR) to register such notices.

The Live Capture birth register module has been designed to capture such information in the future once birth registration migrate from NPR to Live Capture.

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