Questions & Replies: Home Affairs
2012-06-30
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Reply received: August 2012
QUESTION 964 / NW1140E
DATE OF PUBLICATION: Thursday, 26 April 2012
INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 10 of 2012Mr M S F De Freitas (DA) to ask the Minister of Home Affairs:
(1) Whether voter training has been undertaken by the Electoral Commission (a) in the
(i) 2009/10, (ii) 2010/11 and (iii) 2011/12 financial years and (b) during the period
1 April 2012 up to the latest specified date for which information is available; if not, why not; if so, (aa) what was the content of the training and (bb) how many people were reached in each financial year in each (aaa) province and (bbb) local authority;
(2) what (a) processes, (b) procedures and (c) mechanisms are in place to ensure the effectiveness of voter training;
(3) whether she has found the training to be effective; if not, (a) why not and (b) what steps were taken to ensure effective training in future; if so, what are the relevant details?
NW1140E
REPLY:
The Question was referred to the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) and it advised as follows:
(1)(a)(i) to (iii) Yes. Voter training was conducted in the 2009/10, 2010/11 and 2011/12 financial years.
(1)(b) Yes. Voter training is a continuous process.
(1)(aa) The content of the voter training constituted of the following:
· The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa
· The role of the IEC
· The climate for free and fair elections
· The roles, rights, and responsibilities of voters
· The secrecy of the vote
· Why voting is important
(1)(bb)(aaa)&(bbb)The information for the 2009/10 and 2010/11 financial years per Province is specified in the tables below. In respect of the 2011/12 financial year, the IEC is in the process of collation as part of the Annual Performance Reporting to be embodied in the IEC's Annual Report for the 2011/12 financial year:
| 2009/10 Financial Year | Province (Information is only collated per Province and not per local authority) | Target Reached 2010 |
| Eastern Cape | 543 702 | |
| Free State | 35 137 | |
| Gauteng | 118 862 | |
| KwaZulu-Natal | 66 269 | |
| Limpopo | 69 027 | |
| Mpumalanga | 131 906 | |
| North West | 39 970 | |
| Northern Cape | 22 727 | |
| Western Cape | 302 626 | |
| Total | 1 330 226 |
| 2010/11 Financial Year | Province (Information is only collated per Province and not per local authority) | Target Reached 2011 |
| Eastern Cape | 712 537 | |
| Free State | 195 910 | |
| Gauteng | 467 528 | |
| KwaZulu-Natal | 547 970 | |
| Limpopo | 404 245 | |
| Mpumalanga | 172 588 | |
| North West | 128 289 | |
| Northern Cape | 174 925 | |
| Western Cape | 599 842 | |
| Total | 3 403 834 | |
| National Office | 797 | |
| Grand Total | 3 404 631 |
(2)(a) to (c)The IEC sets Annual Performance Plans and targets for amongst others civic and democracy education and reports thereon in its Annual Report submitted in the National Assembly in Parliament. The annual performance information is audited by the Auditor-General and reported upon in the Annual Report. Furthermore, an impact assessment study and voter satisfaction surveys are undertaken to establish the effectiveness of civic, democracy and voter education.
(3) The effectiveness of civic and democracy education has been satisfactory. An independent survey by the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) revealed that about 58% of its representative sample was aware of voter education programmes undertaken by the IEC. Of those who participated in the voter education programmes, the satisfaction levels ranged from 84% to 96%.
The IEC has established civic and democracy education as one of its strategic priorities for its term of office. The new vision of the IEC is referred to as VISION 2018. Project details to give effect to this strategic priority are still to be fully elaborated on and incorporated into the Medium Term Expenditure Framework.
Reply received: September 2012
QUESTION 961 / NW1137EDATE OF PUBLICATION: Thursday, 26 April 2012
INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 10 of 2012Mr M S F De Freitas (DA) to ask the Minister of Home Affairs:
(1) Whether all Refugee Reception Centres have Status Determination Committees; if not, why not; if so, for each Refugee Centre (a) what are the (i) names and (ii) designations of these persons and (b) what qualifies these persons to serve on these Committees;
(2) how many applications have been (a) considered, (b) approved and (c) rejected for each Centre since the inception of these Committees;
(3) (a) what are the categories that qualify a person for refugee status and (b) on what grounds are applications rejected?
NW1137E
REPLY:
(1) (a) & (b) No. The Refugee Reception Centres do not currently have Status Determination Committees.
(2)(a) to (c) Not Applicable.
(3)(a) The criteria utilised to determine refugee status is stipulated in the Refugees Act, 1998 (Act No 130 of 1998). The following is quoted in particular:
"Subject to Chapter 3 of the Refugees Act, a person qualifies for refugee status for the purposes of this Act if that person –
(a) owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted by reason of his or her race, tribe, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership of a particular social group, is outside the country of his or her nationality and is unable or unwilling to avail himself or herself of the protection of that country, or, not having a nationality and being outside the country of his or her former habitual residence is unable or, owing to such fear, unwilling to return to it; or
(b) owing to external aggression, occupation, foreign domination or events seriously disturbing or disrupting public order in either a part or the whole of his or her country of origin or nationality, is compelled to leave his or her place of habitual residence in order to seek refuge elsewhere; or
(c) is a dependent of a person contemplated in paragraph (a) or (b)".
(3)(b) Applications are rejected in cases which do not meet the requirements as stipulated in paragraph (3)(a) above.
Reply received: August 2012
QUESTION 960 / NW1136E
DATE OF PUBLICATION: Thursday, 26 April 2012
INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 10 of 2012Mr M S F De Freitas (DA) to ask the Minister of Home Affairs:
(1) What (a) processes, (b) procedures and (c) mechanisms are in place with regard to the issuing of death certificates where the deceased did not possess any Identity Documents;
(2) whether any records are kept of death certificates issued in this regard; if not, why not; if so, how many such instances have been recorded in each Province in the past three financial years?
NW1136E
REPLY:
(1)(a) to (c) If a person who was not in possession of an Identity Document is reported as deceased, the normal processes and procedures are followed, namely:
· The medical practitioner certifying the death completes the Notice of Death (DHA form 1663). It is then handed over to the informant or Funeral Undertaker
· The informant or the Funeral Undertaker then submits the Notice of Death to the nearest office of the Department of Home Affairs
· Upon receipt of the Notice of Death, the Notice is carefully scrutinised and if found in order in all respects, a handwritten Death Certificate is issued immediately if the deceased was not in possession of an Identity Document / Identity Document number. The personal particulars included in this certificate are the deceased's full names and surname, gender, marital status, place and date of death and cause of death
(2) Yes. Records of all the Notices of Death issued are kept as well as consolidated statistics in respect of the number of handwritten Deaths Certificates issued. It is kept at the Department's Head Office.
The information for the past three financial years (2009/10, 2010/11 and 2011/12) is specified in the table below:
| YEAR | No of Handwritten Death Certificates Issued |
| 01 April 2009 to 31 March 2010 | 41599 |
| 01 April 2010 to 31 March 2011 | 45332 |
| 01 April 2011 to 31 March 2012 | 46293 |
| Total | 133224 |
Reply received: May 2012
QUESTION 917 / NW1099E
DATE OF PUBLICATION: Friday, 20 April 2012
INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 09 of 2012Mr T W Coetzee (DA) to ask the Minister of Home Affairs:
(1) Whether all Departmental offices, in each Province, use fingerprint capturing technology; if not, (a) why not and (b) how many offices use this technology; if so, what are the relevant details;
(2) whether there are any (a) strategies and (b) plans in place to provide fingerprint capturing technologies to all offices; if not, why not; if so, what are the (i) full cost,
(ii) cost incurred to date, (iii) time frames for implementation and (iv) cost that will be incurred for the 2012/13 financial year;
(3) whether tenders have been invited in this regard; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?
NW1099E
REPLY:
(1)(2)(3) We are going to roll out the Live Capture System to, all, the offices, in preparation for
the Smart Card issuing. At present, we capture them, manually, but we do have the
technology for verification, already, but not, yet, for capturing.
Reply received: September 2012
QUESTION 916 / NW1098EDATE OF PUBLICATION: Friday, 20 April 2012
INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 09 of 2012Mr T W Coetzee (DA) to ask the Minister of Home Affairs:
(1) Whether her Department has received any complaints against officials at Refugee Reception Offices in the past three years; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, in respect of each of these offices, (a) how many complaints were received and
(b) what was the nature of each complaint;
(2) what (a) processes, (b) procedures and (c) mechanisms (i) were used to resolve complaints and (ii) are in place to reduce the number of complaints?
NW1098E
REPLY:
(1) The Department has received complaints against officials of Refugee Reception.
(a) Complaints are received via different mechanisms (such as telephone; in person reporting, through stakeholder fora) and are not consolidated into a single register.
(b) The nature of complaints vary but are largely related to staff allegedly pushing applicants; security guards allegedly assaulting persons outside reception centres; long queues
(2) The Department of Home Affairs responds immediately when written or verbal complaints are received or directed at Refugee Reception Offices. The complaints are investigated and if the allegations made are found to have substance, remedial action is taken by the Centre Manager with the officials concerned or implicated. A written response is then forwarded to the complainant in respect of the outcome of the investigation. The conduct of the officials is then monitored by the Centre Manager and disciplinary action is taken against the officials concerned if and where necessary.
Further, Stakeholder Forums were established in each Province where there is a Refugee Reception Office. These forums are aligned with the Department's Call Centre as well as an integrated programme aligned to the Batho Pele principles to effectively handle complaints. The stakeholder sessions are also utilised to foster partnerships with Non-Governmental Organisations and bodies such as the Bangladesh Community Leaders and the Ethiopian Elders. The Department's Call Centre adds to the internal mechanisms and processes to deal with complaints from clients and stakeholders. When a complaint is received, the relevant manager will address the complaint with his or her officials in their morning meetings in order to find ways of improving. The Management of Refugee Reception Office is always hands-on by being accessible and addressing clients especially in the morning in the waiting areas.
Reply received: May 2012
QUESTION 912 / NW1092E
DATE OF PUBLICATION: Friday, 20 April 2012
INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 09 of 2012Mr T W Coetzee (DA) to ask the Minister of Home Affairs:
(a) Why did her Department request a once-off funding from the National Treasury to cover the shortfall in passport production costs, (b) what (i) was the total amount received and (ii) is the breakdown of how these funds will be spent, (c) when were the funds transferred and (d) over what time frame was it spent?
NW1092E
REPLY:
(a) In the 2011 MTEF process, National Treasury recommended that a Trading Account should be established to cover the printing costs of passports. Whilst putting policies and procedures in place for the functioning of the Trading Account, it was established that three (3) months would not be adequate for the operationalization of the Trading Account. Due to this, an additional funding request was forwarded to National Treasury who in turn appropriated an amount of R327 million in July 2011 for the printing of passports.
(b)(i) The total amount received was R327 million.
(b)(ii) The amount of R327 million was calculated based on a projected monthly printing cost of R36,3 million.
(c) The funds were appropriated during the adjustment budget. The funds were transferred to the Department as part of the Request for Funds (monthly).
(d) The funds were utilised to cover printing costs from July 2011 to March 2012.
Reply received: May 2012
QUESTION 911 / NW1091EDATE OF PUBLICATION: Friday, 20 April 2012
INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 09 of 2012Mr M S F de Freitas (DA) to ask the Minister of Home Affairs:
(1) (a) Who was awarded the contract for Visa applications, (b) what are the details of the (i) criteria used and (ii) process followed to appoint the service provider and (c) when was the provider appointed;
(2) what is the total annual value of the contract;
(3) how will the performance of this service provider be monitored?
NW1091E
REPLY:
(1)(a) V F S Worldwide Holding was awarded the contract for Visa facilitation / application services.
(1)(b)(i) A Tender was advertised, nationally, and it contained the stipulated requirements and specifications, as per bid number 07/2009.
(1)(b)(ii) A tender process was followed through the publishing of a Reason for Qualification (RFQ) on 18 November 2009. The evaluation of the bidders' responses to the RFQ was considered and in reliance with the representation made by V F S in its bid, an announcement was made on 9 April 2010 that V F S was the successful bidder.
(1)(c) The Service Provider was appointed on 27 October 2010.
(2) The service charges are derived from applicants by the Service Provider and therefore the Department does not incur any costs.
(3) The Service Provider's performance is monitored through the process flow as per the terms and conditions of the agreement. Reports from Missions which utilise
V F S are compared to and analysed in conjunction with reports from V F S.
Reply received: August 2012
QUESTION 909 / NW1089EDATE OF PUBLICATION: Friday, 20 April 2012
INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 09 of 2012Mr M S F de Freitas (DA) to ask the Minister of Home Affairs:
Whether the objectives of centralising permit applications have been achieved; if not, (a) why not and (b) what steps is she taking in this regard; if so, (i) how has this been measured and
(ii) how does it compare to the process prior to the centralisation?
NW1089E
REPLY:
Yes. The objectives of centralising Permit applications have been achieved.
(a) Not applicable.
(b) The following steps have been taken:
· Officials stationed in the adjudication process have been provided with comprehensive training in their field of work
· To provide additional training to these officials in this financial year (2012/13) in consultation with the Department'sLearning Academy
· Continued efforts to empower these officials to ensure the quality of adjudication is in the best interest of the country
(b)(i)&(ii) The centralisation process has provided the following benefits and compares as follows against the process prior to centralisation:
· Ensuring that processes are streamlined
· Ensuring a consistent adjudication process
· An established dedicated team of adjudicators who process all day to day applications received to ensure that a backlog is not accumulated. This provides the Department the opportunity to process all new applications received as well as to clear the backlog which accumulated during the initial stages of centralisation
· Decisions are now taken in a manner which promotes the national interest, taking into account the security of the Republic of South Africa (RSA)
· It positively contributed to the reduction of corruption within the Permitting Regime
· The decentralised adjudication process was also plagued with the following:
- Inconsistent decisions
- High levels of corruption
- A lack of uniformity
- A lack of monitoring and evaluation of processes
- Backlogs
- Lack of capacity and dedicated Permitting staff at Regional Offices
· As a result of the centralisation of the Permit application process, all processes are now standardised, a Track & Trace System was introduced and it is fully functional and all processes can now be monitored easily and capacity was also increased
Reply received: September 2012
QUESTION 908 / NW1088E
DATE OF PUBLICATION: Friday, 20 April 2012
INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 09 of 2012Mr M S F de Freitas (DA) to ask the Minister of Home Affairs:
(1) Whether (a) asylum seekers and (b) refugees must make applications at mobile units; if not, (i) why not and (ii) where should the applications be made; if so, how are these applications processed compared to applications made at permanent offices;
(2) (a) how are such mobile units monitored and (b) what (i) processes, (ii) procedures and (iii) mechanisms are used in this regard;
(3) whether targets and performance measures are set for each mobile unit; if not, why not; if so, how are targets and performance measures set in this regard;
(4) whether statistics for mobile units are recorded; if not, why not; if so, what are the statistics for each Province for the (a) 2009/10, (b) 2010/11 and (c) 2011/12 financial years?
NW1088E
REPLY:
(1) No. Asylum Seekers and/or Refugees should only use the Refugee Reception Offices and not at Mobile Units.
The Mobile Units are not equipped to process applications in accordance with current processing methodology.
(2) Not applicable
(3) Not applicable
(4) Not applicable
Reply received: August 2012
QUESTION 885 / NW1063E
DATE OF PUBLICATION: Friday, 20 April 2012
INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 09 of 2012Mr E H Eloff (DA) to ask the Minister of Home Affairs:
(1) Whether the Yellow-Fever vaccination certificates presented by the 125 Nigerians who were deported from the OR Tambo International Airport on 2 March 2012 were falsified; if not, why was the decision taken to deport the Nigerian citizens; if so,
(2) whether the appropriate measures were taken to deport the Nigerians; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?
NW1063E
REPLY:
(1) No. Not all of the 123 Nigerian nationals (not 125) were found to be in possession of falsified Yellow Fever vaccination certificates. Only the Yellow Fever certificates which were presented by 48 Nigerian nationals and 3 Ghanaian nationals were found not to be conforming to World Health Organisation requirements. These 51 passengers were subsequently found to be inadmissible on 02 March 2012 as the following information on the certificates were questionable:
· No manufacture details
· No batch numbers
· Incorrect batch numbers
· No signature of the vaccinator
(2) Yes..
Reply received: August 2012
QUESTION 838 / NW1015EDATE OF PUBLICATION: Friday, 20 April 2012
INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 09 of 2012Mr M Mnqasela (DA) to ask the Minister of Home Affairs:
(1) How many Temporary Identity Certificates were issued by her Department on the day of the recent Local Government Elections on 18 May 2011;
(2) whether any expired Temporary Identity Certificates were stamped to allow voters to vote on the said election day; if not, why not; if so, (a) how many were stamped and
(b) what is the breakdown of this figure regarding (i) age, (ii) gender and (iii) people with disabilities in each Province?
NW1015E
REPLY:
(1) The information in respect of the number of Temporary Identity Certificates (TICs) issued on 18 May 2010 – the day of the Local Government Elections – is specified in the table below:
| Province | Number of TICs issued on 18 May 2010 |
| Gauteng | 1323 |
| Mpumalanga | 155 |
| Limpopo | 143 |
| North West | 142 |
| Free State | 114 |
| KwaZulu-Natal | 406 |
| Eastern Cape | 189 |
| Northern Cape | 91 |
| Western Cape | 755 |
| TOTAL | 3318 |
(2)(a) & (b) A total of 161 (one hundred sixty one) TICs were extended on 18 May 2010. The Department did not keep separate statistics per Province to indicate age group, gender or people with disabilities.
Reply received: August 2012
QUESTION 837 / NW1013EDATE OF PUBLICATION: Friday, 20 April 2012
INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 09 of 2012Mr M Mnqasela (DA) to ask the Minister of Home Affairs:
(a) How many births of children born to parents of foreign nationality have been registered since 1994 and (b) in what way does her Department ensure that such children can exercise their rights in terms of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, and the Births and Deaths Registration Act, Act 51 of 1992?
NW1013E
REPLY:
(a) The Department of Home Affairs does not keep separate statistics / records for birth registrations of children born to parents of foreign nationality.
(b) The Department of Home Affairs acknowledges such children's births in the Republic of South Africa (RSA) by issuing hand written Birth Certificates without registering the births on the National Population Register (NPR). The children born to foreign parents in the RSA are protected by the legislation which governs their stay in the RSA (permits issued in terms of the Immigration Act and Refugees Act) and in terms of the conditions of these permits can exercise their rights in terms of the Constitution.
Reply received: May 2012
QUESTION 825 / NW998E
DATE OF PUBLICATION: Friday, 20 April 2012
INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 09 of 2012Mr N J J van R Koornhof (Cope) to ask the Minister of Home Affairs:
(1) Whether her Department has been informed of the insufficient facilities for the Cruise Liner industry in the Cape Town Harbour; if so,
(2) whether her Department has been approached to assist to improve the facilities; if so, (a) when does she expect it to be functional and (b) what are the further relevant details?
NW998E
REPLY:
(1) Yes. It is, however, suggested that the Honourable Member refer this Question to the Minister of Public Enterprises, Mr M K N Giqaba, MP, as the provision of facilities in the Cruise Liner industry or any other aspect of shipping facilities in a harbour does not fall within the mandate of the Department of Home Affairs. It is the responsibility of the Transnet National Port Authority (TNPA) and as such within the mandate of the Ministry of Public Enterprises. The Department of Home Affairs is only mandated to declare which harbours or sections of a harbour are designated International Ports of Entry and to ensure the clearance of persons and conveyances into the Republic of South Africa in the prescribed manner and that this is done only at a designated Port of Entry.
(2) Yes. The Department of Home Affairs has been approached to assist to improve the facilities.
(2)(a)&(b) It is suggested that the Honourable Member refer this Question to the Minister of Public Enterprises, Mr M K N Giqaba, MP, as the provision of facilities in a harbour does not fall within the mandate of the Department of Home Affairs.
Reply received: August 2012
QUESTION 792 / NW963EDATE OF PUBLICATION: Friday, 16 March 2012
INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 08 of 2012Ms M R Shinn (DA) to ask the Minister of Home Affairs:
Whether any officials from (a) her Department and (b) any Entities reporting to her were on an official visit to Bloemfontein in (i) December 2011 and (ii) January 2012; if so, in each case, what (aa) is the (aaa) name and (bbb) position of the specified official, (bb) was the
(aaa) purpose and (bbb) date of such visit and (cc) was the cost of (aaa) transport,
(bbb) accommodation and (ccc) other expenses?
NW963E
REPLY:
THE DEPARTMENT OF HOME AFFAIRS:
(a) The information is specified in the table attached:
THE INDEPENDENT ELECTRORAL COMMISSION (IEC):
The Question was referred to the IEC who advised as follows:
The information is specified in the table attached:
THE GOVERNMENT PRINTING WORKS (GPW):
The Question was referred to the GPW who advised as follows:
(b)(i) The GPW did not send any employee on an official visit to Bloemfontein in December 2011.
(b)(ii) The GPW did not send any employee on an official visit to Bloemfontein in January 2012.
THE FILM AND PUBLICATION BOARD (FPB):
The Question was referred to the FPB who advised as follows:
(b)(i) The FPB did not send any employee on an official visit to Bloemfontein in December 2011.
(b)(ii) The FPB did not send any employee on an official visit to Bloemfontein in December 2011.
Reply received: August 2012
QUESTION 751 / NW919E
DATE OF PUBLICATION: Friday, 16 March 2012
INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 08 of 2012Mr M S F de Freitas (DA) to ask the Minister of Home Affairs:
(1) (a) How are complaints received at Refugee Reception Offices, (b) how many complaints were received at each office in (i) 2009, (ii) 2010 and (iii) 2011 and (c) what (i) was the nature of such complaints and (ii) steps are being taken to deal with these complaints ;
(2) whether there are any (a) processes, (b) procedures, (c) mechanisms and
(d) programmes in place at each office to reduce the number of complaints; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?
NW919E
REPLY:
(1)(a)&(b) Separate registers / files are not kept at Refugee Reception Offices to maintain the number of specific complaints received. Therefore, the exact number of complaints received per financial year is not available. However, the compulsory use of a complaints register by all Refugee Reception Offices will be implemented soon.
All the Refugee Reception Offices deal with similar types of complaints. Complaints are lodged via the following manners:
· Letters submitted at the offices
· Faxes and / or e-mail messages sent to the Office Managers
· Telephonically
· Clients approaching the office in person
· Suggestion boxes in front of the offices
· The National Call Centre of the Department
(1)(c)(i) The nature of the complaints ranges from:
· Accessibility / location of Refugee Reception Offices
· Lack of access to offices for new arrivals (applicants reporting for the first time) without any documentation
· Misinterpretation of asylum claims by interpreters where cases have been rejected
· Service delivery
· Long queues
(1)(c)(ii) The following steps have been taken to deal with complaints:
· Refugee Reception Centres attempt to attend to all complaints received and to address the complaints there and then. Intervention from the Department's Head Office is requested where complaints cannot be resolved immediately
· New arrivals are screened thoroughly and if their identities cannot be proven, the application for asylum is fast-tracked. This is done on a case to case basis
· All new arrivals are given the opportunity to lodge their claims in their own ethnic language
· In respect of office space, Centres in conjunction with the Department's Head Office and the Department of Public Works are attempting to acquire better and more suitable office accommodation
(2)(a) to (d) Stakeholder Forums were established in each Province where there is a Refugee Reception Office. These forums are aligned with the Department's Call Centre as well as an integrated programme aligned to the Batho Pele principles to effectively handle complaints. The stakeholder sessions are also utilised to foster partnerships with Non-Governmental Organisations and bodies such as the Bangladesh Community Leaders and the Ethiopian Elders. The utilisation of the Department's Call Centre adds up to internal ad hoc mechanisms, procedures and processes to deal with complaints from clients and stakeholders, thus, depending very much on the specific dynamics of the different Refugee Reception Offices. When a complaint is received, the relevant manager will address the complaint with his / her officials in their morning meetings in order to find ways of improving. The Management of Refugee Reception Offices is always hands-on by being accessible and addressing clients in the morning in the waiting areas.
Reply received: September 2012
QUESTION 750 / NW918E
DATE OF PUBLICATION: Friday, 16 March 2012
INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 08 of 2012Mr M S F de Freitas (DA) to ask the Minister of Home Affairs:
(1) How many applications for (a) refugees and (b) asylum seekers have been (i) received, (ii) approved and (iii) declined in (aa) 2009, (bb) 2010 and (cc) 2011;
(2) What was the average time between the (a) application and (b) resolution in respect of (i) 2009, (ii) 2010, and (iii) 2011;
(3) What (a) processes, (b) procedures, (c) mechanisms or (d) programmes are in place to improve on the resolution of applications for (i) refugees and (ii) asylum seekers;
(4) Whether there are any (a) processes, (b) procedures, (c) mechanisms and
(d) programmes in place to educate officials with regard to such applications; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?
NW918E
REPLY:
(1)(a) & (b) The information is specified in the table below:
NB: Please note that applications lodged prior to 2009 were considered and finalised in 2009, 2010 and 2011 hence the totals considered and finalised not adding up to 323 324 (2009), 180 637 (2010) and 106 904 (2011).
| Year | Applications received - asylum seekers (Section 22) | Applications approved (asylum granted) -refugees (Section 24) | Applications declined as manifestly unfounded | Applications declined as unfounded | Data Source National Immigration Information System (NIIS) |
| 2009 | 323 324 | 4 567 | 27 199 | 18 856 | NIIS 2009 Stats Report |
| 2010 | 180 637 | 10 083 | 42 161 | 24 827 | NIIS 2010 Stats Report |
| 2011 | 106 904 | 6 803 | 20 275 | 16 875 | NIIS 2011 Stats Report |
(2)(a) & (b) Turnaround times will vary from application to application depending inter alia on the complexity of each case.
(3)(a) to (d) The Department has appointed SCRA & RAB members to fast track the adjudication process.
The Department is reviewing the B1590 application form to improve the efficiency processing of applications
A track and trace system is being designed to improve the processing of applicants and adjudication.
(4)(a) to (d) Yes. A needs analysis is currently being done by the Learning Academy Branch within the Department. Areas for capacity strengthening and improvements are also identified by the Refugee Reception Offices and submitted to the Learning Academy for planning and execution.
Reply received: April 2012
QUESTION 749 / NW917E
DATE OF PUBLICATION: Friday, 16 March 2012
INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 08 of 2012Mr M S F de Freitas (DA) to ask the Minister of Home Affairs:
(1) How many applications for same sex unions have been (a) received, (b) approved and (c) declined in each Province in (i) 2009, (ii) 2010 and (iii) 2011;
(2) what are the reasons why the applications were declined in (a) 2009, (b) 2010 and
(c) 2011 in respect of each case;
(3) what was the average time between the (a) application and (b) resolution in respect of (i) 2009, (ii) 2010 and (iii) 2011;
(4) whether there are any (a) processes, (b) procedures, (c) mechanisms and
(d) programmes in place to educate officials with regard to such applications; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?
NW917E
REPLY:
(1)(a) to (c) The information is specified in the table below:
| Province | (a) No of applications received | (b) No of applications approved | (c) No of applications declined | ||||||
| (i) 2009 | (ii) 2010 | (iii) 2011 | (i) 2009 | (ii) 2010 | (iii) 2011 | (i) 2009 | (ii) 2010 | (iii) 2011 | |
| Gauteng | 284 | 291 | 342 | 284 | 291 | 342 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mpumalanga | 11 | 7 | 6 | 11 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Limpopo | 9 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| North West | 5 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Free State | 20 | 23 | 26 | 20 | 23 | 26 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| KwaZulu-Natal | 79 | 54 | 45 | 79 | 54 | 45 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Eastern Cape | 30 | 22 | 27 | 30 | 22 | 27 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Northern Cape | 43 | 68 | 90 | 43 | 68 | 90 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Province | (a) No. of applications received | (b) No. of applications approved | (c) No. of applications declined | ||||||
| (i) 2009 | (ii) 2010 | (iii) 2011 | (i) 2009 | (ii) 2010 | (iii) 2011 | (i) 2009 | (ii) 2010 | (iii) 2011 | |
| Western Cape | 196 | 220 | 216 | 196 | 220 | 216 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 677 | 699 | 761 | 677 | 699 | 761 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
(2)(a) to (c) No applications were declined in 2009, 2010, and 2011, respectively.
(3)(a) to (c) Applicants make appointments at local offices of the Department, where they wish to solemnize their marriage. Upon setting up the appointment, with full verification of their status, and particulars, their marriage is solemnized, registered on the National Population Register, and they are issued with an abridged Marriage Certificate on the same day. It should, however, be noted that the turnaround time may, in certain instances, be affected by the scheduling of appointments. Once an appointment is secured, and all the legal documents have been submitted, and checked, the same day resolution is consistent.
(4)(a) Prior to the implementation of Civil Union Act, 2006 (Act No 17 of 2006), training was provided and conducted in 2009 at the Department's Head Office to representatives from all nine the Provinces. This was followed up by individual training at Provincial level where the staff of the Department's Head Office and External Marriage (Religious) officers were, also, trained. A Process Implementation Team was, also, established in 2010, and it focuses on areas of need.
(4)(b) Officials are trained to ensure that the following procedures take place when concluding a same sex union in term of the Civil Union Act:
· That applicants make appointments at local offices, or with the designated external Marriage Officer(s) of Civil Union, where they wish to solemnize their marriage
· The following documents must, also, be submitted:
- Identity Documents of the marital couple
- Identity Documents of the two competent witnesses
- A valid passport, if one of the partners is a foreigner
- A copy of a decree of divorce, if one the partners is divorced
- Two ID size photographs for each prospective spouse for verification of their marital status on the National Population Register
· Upon verification, a date must be selected on which the marriage will be solemnized
· To ensure that, on the day of solemnization, the following requirements are fulfilled:
- A designated Civil Union Marriage Officer is present to solemnize the marriage
- The couple is present
- Two competent witnesses are present
- Registration of a Civil Union application form is completed
- Upon solemnization of the marriage, the marriage is registered on the National Population Register and the couple is issued with an Abridged Marriage Certificate on the same day
(4)(c) The following mechanisms are in place, and utilised to educate officials with regards to Civil Unions:
· An established Learning Academy with the purpose of providing training to all officials in the Department in every aspect of services delivered and rendered by the Department
· Training officers / officials were appointed in each Province to assist officials in Civic Services related matters
(4)(d) Each of the nine (9) Provinces have special programmes with the Media, wherein the Provinces are provided slots on National and Local Broadcasting Stations on Home Affairs related matters, including Civil Union Marriages. Training officials/officers, also, arrange training sessions, per office with the assistance of the Learning Academy at the Department's Head Office.
Reply received: April 2012
QUESTION 740 / NW908EDATE OF PUBLICATION: Friday, 16 March 2012
INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 08 of 2012Mr S B Farrow (DA) to ask the Minister of Home Affairs:
(1) Whether she has conducted a study on the feasibility of moving the Film and Publication Board to another Ministry; if not, why not; if so, what were the findings;
(2) whether she is currently taking steps to transfer the Film and Publication Board to another Ministry; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?
NW908E
REPLY:
(1) No.
(2) No.
Reply received: April 2012
QUESTION 739 / NW907EDATE OF PUBLICATION: Friday, 16 March 2012
INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 08 of 2012Mr S B Farrow (DA) to ask the Minister of Home Affairs:
Whether, with reference to her reply to question 2311 on 4 October 2011, she has found that the Electoral Commission has made any progress with reviewing electoral legislation pertaining to special voting arrangements for South African citizens living outside the country; if not,
(a) why not and (b) what steps are being taken in this regard; if so, what are the (i)(aa) latest developments, (bb) time frames, (cc) milestones and (dd) deadlines in this regard and
(ii) further relevant details?
NW907E
REPLY:
The Electoral Commission (IEC) advised as follows:
(a)&(b) The Electoral Commission is, still, busy with the legislative review process, concerning special voting arrangements, and will conclude this process, before the National and Provincial Elections in 2014. The timeframes, milestones and deadlines will be advised upon the conclusion of the review process. It is, further, submitted that while the Electoral Commission is reviewing special voting arrangements, the change in national policy, and the concomitant legislative amendments that may be necessary is the competence of Parliament.
Reply received: April 2012
QUESTION 708 / NW872E
DATE OF PUBLICATION: Friday, 16 March 2012
INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 08 of 2012Mr M Mnqasela (DA) to ask the Minister of Home Affairs:
(1) Whether her Department has any agreements with a certain company (name furnished) to appear alongside their products on television advertisements with respect to (a) life insurance cover and (b) the issuing of death certificates; if not, why do television advertisements of the said company include Departmental officials; if so, what are the relevant details;
(2) whether her Department has similar agreements with other life insurance service providers; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details;
(3) whether her Department has paid any fees to (a) the said company or (b) any advertising and marketing company for air time during their television advertorials; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, in each case, (i) what amount and (ii) to which companies;
(4) whether her Department has received payment from (a) the said company or (b) any advertising and marketing company as payment for appearing in television advertorials; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, in each case, (i) what amount and (ii) from which companies?
NW872E
REPLY:
(1)(a) No. The Department of Home Affairs has no agreement with the mentioned company to feature in any of its advertisements regarding life insurance cover.
(1)(b) Yes. The Department has entered into an agreement with the mentioned company, in respect of the issuance of Death Certificates. The purpose of this agreement is to encourage South African citizens to register, and to advise the Department of Home Affairs, in respect of any occurrence of death. This enables the Department to, timeously, issue Death Certificates to bereaved families. Similarly, the registrations of deaths, also, enable the Department to update such details on the National Population Register.
The Departmental official, utilised in the advert, is the Head of Communication and Spokesperson of the Ministry of Home Affairs. Part of his responsibility is to promote the policies, vision, mission, programmes, and priorities of the Ministry, through all available communication platforms.
(2) No. The Department has, at this stage, no similar agreements with other Life Insurance Service Providers, but does not preclude, any, such agreements in the future. This, largely, depends on building more strategic partnerships with like-minded companies.
(3)(a) No. The Department has not paid any fees to the said company. A decision was taken by the management of the mentioned company to support programmes of the Department, free of charge, including the promotion of the National Population Registration Campaign.
(3)(b) No. The Department has not paid any advertising, and marketing company, in respect of the said advertisement.
(4)(a)&(b) No. The Department has not received any payment from the mentioned company, or any advertising, and marketing company to feature in the advertisement. Any payment to the Department from external sources in, any, other circumstance is deposited into the National Treasury, as per Government prescripts. Also, no official can receive payment for work performed outside the Public Service without the express permission of the Executing Authority.
Reply received: May 2012
QUESTION 707 / NW870EDATE OF PUBLICATION: Friday, 16 March 2012
INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 08 of 2012Mr M Mnqasela (DA) to ask the Minister of Home Affairs:
Whether the Department has measures in place to manage (a) Maritime Border Ports and
(b) a clear safety strategy to (i) detect and (ii) prevent organised crime syndicates that exploit these important Ports of Entry; if not, why not; if so, (aa) what are the details in terms of the
(i) strategy and (ii) action plan and (bb) what are the timeframes for implementation?
NW870E
REPLY:
(a) Yes. The Department of Home Affairs has clear measures in place as stipulated in the provisions of the Immigration Act, 2002 (Act No 13 of 2002), the Immigration Regulations and the relevant Standard Operating Procedures to manage the movement of people at the nine (9) Maritime Border Posts recognised as International Ports of Entry. These measures are supported by the Enhanced Movement Control System.
(b)(i)&(ii) Yes. Department has measures in place to detect and prevent organised crime syndicates. The Inter-Agency Clearing Forum is led by the Department of Home Affairs and the Department is also a member to the Maritime Security Advisory Committee (MSAC) and Border Control Operational Coordinating Committee (BCOCC). These committeesare the Integrated Border Management Committees responsible to maintain territorial integrity, expedite legitimate movement and trade, whilst deterring, detecting, identifying, preventing and, where necessary, intercepting organised cross-border and trans-national crime and other security threats. The safety strategy is based on Inter-Departmental sharing of information, coordination of efforts and regularly employing joint-operations. The Department's strategy is to strengthen the security and management of the Ports of Entry aligned to the integrated national strategy.
(b)(ii)(aa)(i) As part of the strategy to strengthen the security and management of the Maritime Ports of Entry, the Department embarked on the South Africa / Cuba Cooperation Programme which will also focus on the Maritime Border Ports.
(b)(ii)(aa)(ii) The action plan includes building capacity through the appointment / deployment of additional staff at Ports of Entry with the focus on specific training in new immigration methods and techniques. To further enhance the facilitation and management of the movement of people, the Department will also improve infrastructure in cooperation with the Department of Public Works and the Transnet National Port Authority to establish an Inter-Agency base for cooperative security operations in each of the Ports. Plans also include improvement of ICT infrastructure (e.g. portable devices to ensure the adequate clearance of travellers). Through the integration of systems and extend security operations, the Department can then make a contribution within the Security Cluster to detect and prevent organised crime syndicates which exploit all Ports of Entry.
(b)(ii)(bb) The Department of Home Affairs and the Inter-Agency Clearing Forum started a strict compliance enforcement process and a security transformation in the Maritime Port environment in September 2011. Much progress has been made. Pilot projects are being rolled out in Cape Town and Durban in 2012/13 and in the smaller Ports in 2013/14. It will cover a human resource deployment component, a training component, infrastructure development component, a technology component and an inter-agency cooperation component.
Reply received: May 2012
QUESTION 623 / NW670EDATE OF PUBLICATION: Friday, 09 March 2012
INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 07 of 2012Mrs C Dudley (ACDP) to ask the Minister of Home Affairs:
(1) Whether the deportation of Zimbabweans have resumed since 1 October 2011; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so,
(2) whether (a) the Zimbabwean Documentation Project (ZDP) has been completed,
(b)(i) appeals and (ii) reviews have been finalised and (c) the deportations have been ministerially approved; if not, why not, if so, what are the relevant details in each case?
NW670E
REPLY:
(1) Yes. The deportation of undocumented Zimbabweans has resumed on
01 August 2011 and the Department of Home Affairs has deported over ten thousand (10 000) undocumented Zimbabweans thus far.
(2)(a) & (b) The deadline of 31 December 2010 for submissions of applications for the Zimbabwean Documentation Project (ZDP) was successfully met. The Project is, however, not yet completed. The Department is currently in the process of validating and confirming all pending applications per Province. As such, the Department has also not yet started with the consideration of appeal applications where the applications were rejected.
(2)(c) Yes. I have approved the deportation of undocumented Zimbabweans who failed to utilise the ZDP opportunity to legalise their stay in the Republic of South Africa. The operational stakeholder meetings between the Zimbabwean and South African Government have resumed in August 2011 on a bi-monthly basis to discuss operational challenges related to the deportations.
Reply received: August 2012
QUESTION 572 / NW737EDATE OF PUBLICATION: Friday, 09 March 2012
INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 07 of 2012Mr S C Motau (DA) to ask the Minister of Home Affairs:
(1) Whether her Department has an Internal Audit unit; if not, why not; if so, (a) how many staff members are employed in the unit and (b) what (i) is the structure and (ii) are the functions of the unit;
(2) whether the Audit Committee considers the Internal Audit reports; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details;
(3) whether she holds meetings to discuss (a) the Internal Reports and (b) their findings with the Audit Unit; if not, why not, in each case; if so, (i) on what dates since 1 April 2010 has each specified meeting taken place and (ii) what are the further relevant details?
NW737E
REPLY:
(1)(a) Yes. The Department of Home Affairs has an Internal Audit Unit. The Unit has 17 professional internal auditors and 4 administrative support personnel.
(1)(b)(i) The Internal Audit Unit consists out of the following Directorates:
· The Directorate: Support, Performance and Special Audits:
- Focuses on the audit of support functions, investigations and performance audits
· The Directorate: Core Business and Change Audit:
- Responsible for auditing the core businesses of Civic Services and Immigration Services as well as Change Management
· The Directorate: Audit Operations:
- Responsible for the administration of the Internal Audit Unit and thereby fulfilling the function of the Secretariat to the Audit Committee
- The following up with line management on their progress in addressing the audit findings
- Quality assurance of internal audit work
(2) Yes. The Audit Committee meets quarterly to consider reports compiled and prepared by the Internal Audit Unit. At these meetings, the Audit Committee seeks the assurance of the Department's management that the audit findings highlighting significant risks are being addressed. The Audit Committee also monitors the Department's progress in implementing the agreed remediation on an on-going basis through additional reports from the Internal Audit Unit (and the Auditor-General if necessary), offering advice and counsel to both Internal Audit and management throughout the process.
(3)(a) & (b) Yes. I have met with the Chief Audit Executive together with the Audit Committee to discuss various matters surrounding controls, governance and risk management. The last meeting took place on 26 March 2010 where deliberations took place on high level internal audit findings emanating from the quarterly Internal Audit Reports presented at Audit Committee meetings. We do discuss relevant issues emanating from their work in our Executive Management Committee which meets regularly.
Reply received: April 2012
QUESTION 525 / NW676E
DATE OF PUBLICATION: Friday, 09 March 2012
INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 07 of 2012Mr G B D Mc Intosh (Cope) to ask the Minister of Home Affairs:
(1) Whether her Department is moving into new premises in the Pretoria Central Business District; if so, (a) where are their offices currently situated, (b) when do they expect to (i) start to move to the new offices and (ii) complete the move, (c) what is the name of the building they will be occupying, (d) how many staff does the Department expect to house in the building and (e) for how long is the lease;
(2) whether she has found that the building meets the requirements of her Department with regard to ICT infrastructure and security; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are the relevant details?
NW676E
REPLY:
(1) Yes. The Department of Home Affairs' Head Office, already, moved into new premises in the Pretoria Central Business District.
(1)(a)&(c) The Department's Head Office is, now, located in the Hallmark Building, 266 Vermeulen Street, Pretoria.
(1)(b)(i) The Department's Head Office, already, moved in December 2011.
(1)(b)(ii) The move was completed in December 2011.
(1)(d) The building is, currently, housing 1500 staff members.
(1)(e) The lease was signed for 8 years.
(2) Yes. The building has met, all, the requirements in respect of:
· ICT infrastructure:
- The Department's Branch: Information Technology has set up and configured, all, the Information Technology Infrastructure appropriate to the new building
- It utilised the Infrastructure equipment from the previous premises, and, also, installed new, and additional equipment in order to meet the ICT capacity requirements
- These include, amongst others, uninterrupted power supply, computers, servers, storages, switches, routers, security firewalls, and air conditioning
- Therefore, the actual building structure is suitable to accommodate the ICT Infrastructure Security requirements provided by the Department
· Security:
- The building meets basic physical security requirements
- It has a secured parking area, where access is, appropriately, monitored, and controlled
- It has lockable doors, and palisade fencing
- The Department, also, further improved security by installing integrated electronic systems (i.e. electronic access control; CCTV cameras; metal detectors and a Network Video Recording System)
- A public announcement system was, also, installed to adhere to the Occupational Health and Safety Act requirements
Reply received: August 2012
QUESTION 486 / NW635EDATE OF PUBLICATION: Friday, 02 March 2012
INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 06 of 2012Mr N J Van Den Berg (DA) to ask the Minister of Home Affairs:
Whether she met with the Internal Audit Committee in the (a) 2010/11 and (b) 2011/12 financial years; if not, why not; if so, (i) on which dates did they meet and (ii) what are the further relevant details?
NW635E
REPLY:
(a)(i) Yes. I met with the Internal Audit Committee on 26 March 2010.
(a)(ii) The Internal Audit Committee and I deliberated on pertinent issues concerning Internal Control, Governance, Risk Management, Financial Management, Financial Reporting and General Management issues in the Department of Home Affairs.
(b)(i) Yes. I met with the Internal Audit Committee in April 2011 during the Department's Budget Vote Speech in Parliament.
I also met them on the 3rd of July 2012.
(b)(ii) Fruitful discussions were held relating to management and control issues in the Department.
Reply received: May 2012
QUESTION 435 / NW581E
DATE OF PUBLICATION: Friday, 02 March 2012
INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 06 of 2012Mr M S F de Freitas (DA) to ask the Minister of Home Affairs:
(1) Whether there are any plans in place to improve staff (a) capacity, (b) accommodation and (c) shortages at Border Posts;
(2) whether all Border Posts are operational for 24 hours a day; if not, what steps will be taken to ensure that all posts are operational for 24 hours a day?
NW581E
REPLY:
(1) Yes. The following plans are in place:
(1)(a) The Department acknowledges the need to provide continuous training for its officials. In the 2011/12 financial year, the Department embarked on an intensive training programme, as part of the SA (DHA) – Cuba Cooperation Programme, where new techniques, and methods of training were utilised to capacitate 350 newly appointed immigration officials as part of a Pilot Project at Oliver Tambo International Airport. This Pilot Project will be rolled out to other Ports of Entry with the aim of enhancing the capacity of the officers and security at Ports of Entry.
(1)(b) The Department identified infrastructure improvements required at the various Ports of Entry. Over the next three financial years, office and residential accommodation will be improved at the identified Ports of Entry in close collaboration with the Department of Public Works. These improvements will entail renovations and / or new construction as per the identified requirements.
(1)(c) Although it is important to address staff shortages at Ports of Entry, it should go hand in hand with appropriate training before staff can be deployed. As part of the Pilot Project at Oliver Tambo International Airport, a total of 350 new immigration officers were appointed and trained in the 2011/2012 financial year. As indicated in (1)(a) this Pilot Project will be extended to other Ports of Entry aligned to available budget allocations.
(2) No, not all Ports of Entry are 24 hours operational, due to various reasons which includes but are not limited to:
· The size and category of a Port of Entry e.g. a large port and the functions to be performed at a commercial Port of Entry
· The representation and operating times of the other Departments rendering services at a Port of Entry e.g. SAPS, Customs and the Department of Health
· The volumes of travellers who utilises particular Ports of Entry which impacts on appropriate resource allocations
· The normal periods (in a day) when there are travellers utilising the Ports
· Agreements and capacity from neighbouring countries which impacts on the operational hours determined per Port of Entry
To ensure that identified Ports of Entry operate on a 24 hour basis during specified periods, the Department extends the operational hours from time to time to facilitate the high traveller volumes e.g. during the Festive Season, Easter and during National Events.
Reply received: April 2012
QUESTION 434 / NW580EDATE OF PUBLICATION: Friday, 02 March 2012
INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 06 of 2012Mr M S F de Freitas (DA) to ask the Minister of Home Affairs:
(1) How many visa applications for professionals who would bring technical and specialised expertise to South Africawere (a) processed by her Department in the
(i) 2008/09, (ii) 2009/10 and (iii) 2010/11 financial years, (b) how many of these applications were granted and (c) what is the average time frame to process such applications;
(2) (a) what barriers exist that prevent or delay the granting of such applications and
(b) what plans are in place to eradicate such preventions and delays?
NW580E
REPLY:
(1)(a)(i) The information specified, attached, was compiled, manually, without the assistance of a Track and Trace System. The manual compilation of statistics allowed for the detailed specification of certain categories of professionals,who bring technical, and specialised expertise to South Africa:
(1)(a)(ii) & (1)(a)(ii) & (1)(b)
The information is specified in the tables, below. The information was retrieved from the Department's Track and Trace System, and it indicates the number of applications for work permits received in accordance with categories per year. The following categories, namely
(i) exceptional skills, (ii) quota and (iii) intra-company transfer work permits are issued to technical skilled foreigners. It includes applications from, but is not limited to, Information and Communication Technology, Manufacturing, Construction, Engineering, Natural and Physical Science, Biomedical, Health, Education, Agricultural Science, Fabrications, Trades Workers, Electro-technology, Telecommunication and Jewellers. The General Work Permit, also, includes, to a certain extent, some of the categories indicated above, although most applications under this category (General Work Permit) are applications for work permits which are general in nature and not specifically technical critical skills.
The Department has, however, implemented an upgraded version of the Track and Trace System, and it will enable the Department to report on permits processed, per category of skills indicated above, and other skills under which permits are processed. The updated version will, also, be utilised to report on employers where these foreigners are employed / based.
| Financial Year: 2009/10 | |||
| Category | Processed | Issued | |
| Exceptional Work Permit Section 19(4) | 380 | 267 | |
| General Work Permit Section 19(2) | 2985 | 1838 | |
| Quota Work Permit Section 19(1) | 588 | 403 | |
| Intra-Company Transfer Work Permit 19(5) | 467 | 207 | |
| Total | 4420 | 2715 | |
| Financial Year: 2010/11 | |||
| Category | Processed | Issued | |
| Corporate Work Permit | 1114 | 779 | |
| Exceptional Work Permit Section 19(4) | 1192 | 902 | |
| General Work Permit Section 19(2) | 11490 | 8508 | |
| Quota Work Permit Section 19(1) | 2506 | 1933 | |
| Intra-Company Transfer Work Permit 19(5) | 3589 | 2607 | |
| Total | 19 891 | 14 729 | |
| Financial Year: 2011/12 | |||
| Category | Processed | Issued | |
| Corporate Work Permit | 1 567 | 1 047 | |
| Exceptional Work Permit Section 19(4) | 1 207 | 704 | |
| General Work Permit Section 19(2) | 1 1700 | 6 073 | |
| Quota Work Permit Section 19(1) | 1 533 | 764 | |
| Intra-Company Transfer Work Permit 19(5) | 4 485 | 2 417 | |
| Total | 20 492 | 11 005 | |
(1)(c) In terms of the Department's Annual Performance Plan, the above permits should be issued within eight weeks.
(2)(a) Most challenges relate to the authenticity of supporting documents which are required from applicants, in terms of the Immigration Regulations. These documents are subjected to intense verification process, which, to a larger extent, takes more time than expected. This exercise is necessary to ensure that permits are issued to deserving applicants in consideration of national security, and national interest.
(2)(b) The following measures have been put in place:
· Implementation of the Permitting Transformation Process in the 2012/13 financial year. This process includes, but not limited to:
- Streamlining of Permit Front Offices
- The implementation of the new Permitting Structure to increase capacity of the Adjudication Unit
- Automation of the Permitting Processes which will ensure that applications are accepted, and captured real time, sent to the Back Office for adjudication online, finalised and feedback provided back to the Front Office online, and the applicant will be informed of developments by Short Message Services (SMS)
Reply received: April 2012
QUESTION 395 / NW435EDATE OF PUBLICATION: Friday, 02 March 2012
INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 06 of 2012Mr S B Farrow (DA) to ask the Minister of Home Affairs:
(1) (a) What properties have been purchased by (i) her Department, (ii) the Independent Electoral Commission, (iii) the Film and Publications Board and (iv) the Government Printing Works in the past three financial years and (b) on what date was each property purchased;
(2) whether any of the properties are being leased to a third party; if so, what are the relevant details?
NW435E
REPLY:
THE DEPARTMENT OF HOME AFFAIRS:
The Department of Public Works is responsible for the accommodation needs of Government Departments. It is suggested that the Honourable Member refer this question to the Minister of Public Works.
THE GOVERNMENT PRINTING WORKS (GPW):
The Question was referred to the GPW and it informed as follows:
(1) The GPW has not purchased any properties in the past three financial years.
(2) Not applicable.
THE FILM AND PUBLICATION BOARD (FPB):
The Question was referred to the FPB and it informed as follows:
(1) The FPB has not purchased any properties in the past three financial years.
(2) Not applicable.
THE INDEPENDENT ELECTORAL COMMISSION (IEC):
The Question was referred to the IEC and it informed as follows:
(1) The IEC has not purchased any properties in the past three financial years.
(2) Not applicable.
Reply received: May 2012
QUESTION 394 / NW434EDATE OF PUBLICATION: Friday, 02 March 2012
INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 06 of 2012Mr S B Farrow (DA) to ask the Minister of Home Affairs:
(1) What lease agreements have been entered into in the past three financial years by
(a) her Department, (b) the Independent Electoral Commission, (c) the Film and Publications Board and (d) the Government Printing Works;
(2) what is the (a)(i) value and (ii) term of each lease agreement and (b) period of the current lease agreements that have already lapsed;
(3) whether an audit has been done to measure and ensure that the correct lease agreements are in place; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?
NW434E
REPLY:
The information in respect of (1) to (3) is specified in the table attached:
Reply received: April 2012
QUESTION 353 / NW439E
DATE OF PUBLICATION: Friday, 24 February 2012
INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 04 of 2012Dr S M van Dyk (DA) to ask the Minister of Home Affairs:
(1) Whether all hospitals are connected to enable the online registration of births; if not,
(a) which hospitals are registered, (b) what plans are in place to ensure that all hospitals are enabled and (c) what is the deadline set for all hospitals to be enabled;
(2) of the enabled hospitals, (a) how many births have been registered online in each hospital since the implementation of the system and (b)(i) what is the allocated budget for the system at each hospital and (ii) the amount spent to date?
NW439E
REPLY:
(1)(a) No. At the end of February 2012, a total of 206 Health facilities were connected to enable the Online Registration of Births and Deaths. An additional 139 Health facilities are serviced, manually, by officials from the nearest Regional, or District Office of the Department to the facilities.
(1)(b) A strategy was devised to connect Health facilities on line, where live Births are more than five hundred (500) births a year. Delivering services at the remainder of the Health facilities, not connected, will follow the strategy, in accordance with the Strategic Plan of the Department.
(1)(c) In terms of the Department's Strategic Plan, a total of 260 Health facilities are planned to be connected within the next three years.
(2)(a) A total of 896 288 Births have been registered on the "Online Birth Registration" project since 2006. The information – per Province – is specified in the table below:
| PROVINCE | BIRTH REGISTRATIONS AT HEALTH FACILITIES SINCE 2006 – JAN 2012 |
| EASTERN CAPE | 80 289 |
| FREE STATE | 40 130 |
| GAUTENG | 299 243 |
| KWAZULU-NATAL | 213 241 |
| LIMPOPO | 96 142 |
| MPUMALANGA | 24 270 |
| NORTHERN CAPE | 16 528 |
| NORTH WEST | 43 046 |
| WESTERN CAPE | 83 399 |
| TOTAL | 896 288 |
(2)(b)(i) & (ii) The allocated budget for the Hospital Connectivity programme is R850,000.00 and the estimated total expenditure will be R1.2 million.
Reply received: May 2012
QUESTION 352 / NW438EDATE OF PUBLICATION: Friday, 24 February 2012
INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 04 of 2012Dr S M van Dyk (DA) to ask the Minister of Home Affairs:
(1) Whether contract staff fall under her Department's performance monitoring and evaluation programme; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details;
(2) (a) what plans have been put in place to transfer contract staff to permanent posts,
(b) amount has been budgeted towards salaries for contract staff for the 2011/12 financial year and (c) how are these posts being filled currently?
NW438E
REPLY:
(1) Yes. All contract staff who are appointed with a contract tenure of 12 months, or longer are subjected to the same performance management, and development system, or process, as applies to permanent staff. It entails normal performance contracting, review and annual assessment.
(2)(a) The Department, currently, employs 35 contract staff members. All 35 contract staff members are carried against permanent posts.
(2)(b) A total of R42,000,000.00 was budgeted for contract workers in the 2011/12 financial year.
(2)(c) The posts are being filled in a permanent capacity.
Reply received: March 2012
QUESTION 352/ NW438E
DATE OF PUBLICATION: Friday. 24 February 2012
INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 04 of 2012
Dr SM van Dyk (DA) to ask the Minister of Home Affairs:
(1) Whether contract staff fall under her Department's performance monitoring and evaluation programme; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details; (2) (a) what plans have been put in place to transfer contract staff to permanent posts, (b) amount has been budgeted towards salaries for contract staff for the 2011/12 financial year and (c) how are these posts being filled currently?
REPLY:
(1) Yes. All contract staff who are appointed with a contract tenure of twelve (12) months, or longer are subjected to the same performance management, and development system, or process, as applies to permanent staff. It entails normal performance contracting, review, and annual assessment. (2)(a) The Department, currently, employs thirty five (35) contract staff members. All thirty (35) contract staff members are carried against permanent posts. (2)(b) A total of R42,000,000.00 was budgeted for contract workers in the 2011112 financial year.
(2)(c) The posts are being filled in a permanent capacity.
Reply received: May 2012
QUESTION 350 / NW436EDATE OF PUBLICATION: Friday, 24 February 2012
INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 04 of 2012Mr S B Farrow (DA) to ask the Minister of Home Affairs:
(1) What is the current vacancy rate within her Department;
(2) whether any plans have been formulated to fill all vacant positions, if not, why not; if so, what (a)(i) timeframes and (ii) deadlines have been set in this regard and (b) are the further relevant details;
(3) how are the posts currently being filled?
NW436E
REPLY:
(1) The current vacancy rate in the Department of Home Affairs, as at 31 December 2011, was 13.5%.
(2) Yes. The Department has formulated plans to fill vacant funded posts.
(2)(a)(i) The Department aspires to fill vacant posts in an average turn-around time of 6 months.
(2)(a)(ii) The deadline has been set for 31 March 2012 – the end of the current financial year.
(2)(b) Vacant funded posts are identified and actioned for filling on an annual basis. Emanating from the Department's Human Resource Planning process, a recruitment plan was developed in conjunction with line managers and the plan includes:
· The identification of priority posts for filling in support of organisational objectives aligned to the Strategic Plan / other plans of the Department
· The identification / confirmation of natural attrition posts to inform time frames for the filling of these posts and record progress
· Monitoring of this process on a weekly basis
(3) Posts are currently filled in a permanent capacity. This is done through the advertising of vacant posts and thereafter following the prescribed selection processes in accordance with Chapter 1, Part VII of the Public Service Regulations.
Reply received: March 2012
QUESTION 350 I NW436E
DATE OF PUBLICATION: Friday, 24 February 2012
INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 04 of 2012
Mr SB Farrow (DA) to ask the Minister of Home Affairs:
(1) What is the current vacancy rate within her Department, (2) Whether any plans have been formulated to fill all vacant positions, if not, why not; if so, what (a)(i) timeframes and (II) deadlines have been set in this regard and (b) are the further relevant details; (3) How are the posts currently being filled?
REPLY:
(1) The current vacancy rate in the Department of Home Affairs, as at 31 December 2011, was 13.5%. (2) Yes. The Department has formulated plans to fill vacant funded posts. (2)(a)(i) The Department aspires to fill vacant posts in an average turn-around time of 6 months. (2)(a)(II) The deadline has been set for 31 March 2012 - the end of the current financial year. (2)(b) Vacant funded posts are identified, and actioned for filling on an annual basis. Emanating from the Department's Human Resource Planning process, a recruitment plan was developed, in conjunction with line managers, and the plan includes: • The identification of priority posts for filling in support of organizational objectives aligned to the Strategic Plan lather plans of the Department • The identification, or confirmation of natural attrition posts to inform time frames for the filling of these posts, and record progress 2 • Monitoring of this process on a weekly basis (3) Posts are, currently, filled in a permanent capacity. This is done through the advertising of vacant posts, and, thereafter, following the prescribed selection processes in accordance with Chapter 1, Part VII of the Public Service Regulations.
Reply received: March 2012
QUESTION 349/ NW433E
DATE OF PUBLICATION: Friday, 24 February 2012
INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 04 of 2012
Mr. TW Coetzee (DA) to ask the Minister of Home Affairs:
(1) Whether any plans exist to ensure that her Department is environmentally friendly; if
not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details; (2) whether environmentally friendly information is provided to staff; if not, why not; if so, what are the further relevant details?
REPLY:
(1) Yes. Plans exist to ensure that the Department of Home Affairs is, environmentally, friendly. In the 2012/13 financial year, a Systems Modernisation Programme will be launched which will use digitisation, and automation to achieve a largely paperless environment, due to the large volume of paper records that are generated. One of the elements of the new system will be the capacity to apply for services online, and, thereby, further reducing the use of paper. Systems are, already, in place to provide information to citizens which is, drastically, reducing the need to make trips to offices. Further, most of the offices of the Department are rented, but the intention is to build up the stock of Government owned buildings, as funds become available. Standard designs for different kinds of offices will be used, which will take account of environmental concerns. (2) Yes. When the Department, recently, moved to a new Head Office, in Pretoria, care has been taken to enable staff to control lights and air-conditioners. Instructions have been communicated to officials, via the Department's Internal Communication unit to switch these off, when not in use.
DATE OF PUBLICATION: Friday, 24 February 2012
INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 04 of 2012Mr T W Coetzee (DA) to ask the Minister of Home Affairs:
(1) What (a)(i) mechanisms, (ii) processes and (iii) procedures exist to facilitate an
(aa) improved immigration permitting and (bb) legislative enforcement at Sea Ports and (b) progress have been achieved to date;
(2) Whether any monitoring mechanisms are in place in this regard; if not, why not, if so, what are the relevant details?
NW432E
REPLY:
(1)(a) & (b) The following is in place for improved immigration permitting:
· Implementation of the Permitting Transformation Process in the 2012/13 financial year. This process includes but is not limited to:
- Streamlining Permit Front Offices
- The implementation of the new Permitting Structure to increase capacity of the Adjudication Unit
- Automation of the Permitting Processes which will ensure that applications are accepted and captured real time, sent to the Back Office for adjudication online, finalised and feedback provided back to the Front Office online and the applicant will be informed of developments by Short Message Services (SMS).
The following is in place for legislative enforcement at Sea Ports:
· Immigration Officers utilise form BI-65 (Arrival and Departure form) to clear ships and vessels hence ships and vessels cannot depart from port without showing Customs clearing documents from Immigration.
· Every person entering or leaving the country through sea port must produce a valid passport or valid seaman's passport for recording of movement and endorsement of permit.
· Immigration officers receive notification of expected time of arrival from the Port Master and shipping Agents.
· Immigration Officers then on a daily basis visit the vessels for inspection and verification of crew or persons on board including stowaways.
· Rummages are also conducted by different security agencies at ports where Immigration Officers take part and verify documents including permits.
2. Yes. There are various key forums such as the Maritime Security Advisory Committee (MSAC), the South African Maritime Security Authority (SAMSA) and the Border Control Operational Coordinating Committee (BCOCC) amongst others which have been established to ensure monitoring and compliance with maritime legislation takes place at the port. Matters are also sent and finalised at National forums like the National Joint Operations Committee (NATJOC) and Inter Agency Clearing Forum (IACF). The meetings are held at different times – MSAC meetings being quarterly, BCOCC Provincial and National meetings at different times, NATJOC daily meetings and IACF monthly meetings.
Reply received: May 2012
QUESTION 347 / NW431EDATE OF PUBLICATION: Friday, 24 February 2012
INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 04 of 2012Mr T W Coetzee (DA) to ask the Minister of Home Affairs:
(1) What (a) mechanisms, (b) processes and (c) procedures exist to ensure effective communication, coordination and planning between (i) Border Agencies and
(ii) Departments;
(2) Whether she has implemented any monitoring mechanisms in this regard; if not, why not, if so, what are the relevant details?
NW431E
REPLY:
(1) There are mechanisms, processes and procedures which exist to ensure effective communication, coordination and planning between Border Agencies and Departments which are being implemented.
(1)(a) Mechanisms:
· The Department of Home Affairs is represented and plays an active role in the Local, Provincial and National Border Control Operational Coordinating Committee (BCOCC). All stakeholder Departments in the border environment are represented at the BCOCC to ensure effective communication, co-ordination and planning between Border Agencies and Departments
(1)(b) Processes:
· Matters are discussed and escalated from the Local to the Provincial and from Provincial to the National structures of the BCOCC and decisions and resolutions are communicated from National to Provincial and to Local BCOCC structures
(1)(c) Procedures:
· Stakeholder Departments retain responsibility over Departmental specific issues which are dealt with internally but communication, co-ordination and planning at Local, Provincial and National levels ensures synergy between Border Agencies and Departments
(2) The Department of Home Affairs did not implement additional monitoring mechanisms as it forms part of the Justice Crime Prevention and Security (JCPS) Cluster to which the BCOCC reports. The Director-General of the Department of Home Affairs is also the chairperson of the Inter-Agency Clearance Forum which provides for further co-ordination and planning in the border environment.
Reply received: April 2012
QUESTION 346 / NW430E
DATE OF PUBLICATION: Friday, 24 February 2012
INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 04 of 2012Mr M S F de Freitas (DA) to ask the Minister of Home Affairs:
Whether her Department intends implementing (a) a biometric measurement and (b) fingerprint verification systems; if not, why not; if so, what are (i) (aa) the total costs, (bb) the implementation timeframes, (cc) cost incurred to date and (ii) the further relevant details?
NW430E
REPLY:
(a)&(b) All the core systems of the Department of Home Affairs, such as the Home Affairs National Identification System (HANIS), the National Immigration Information System (NIIS), the Passport System, and the National Population Register (NPR) have biometric, and fingerprint verification systems implemented, already. Therefore, these are not new systems in the Department, and have been in operation for more than three years, now (Biometric Access Control Management System for National Population Register, Online Fingerprint Verification and Automated Fingerprint Identification System) and these are now part of the overall operations management of the Department. All Information Technology Systems in the Department will continue to have inherent biometrics security features.
Reply received: May 2012
QUESTION 345 / NW429EDATE OF PUBLICATION: Friday, 24 February 2012
INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 04 of 2012Mr M S F de Freitas (DA) to ask the Minister of Home Affairs:
(1) Whether there are any plans in place to improve her Department's infrastructure, if so, (a) what plans, (b) by which date, (c) what is the deadline for all infrastructure improvements to be completed, (d) what budget has been allocated in this regard and (e) what is the amount that has been spent to date; if not,
(2) whether such plans will be developed; if not, why not; if so, by which date?
NW429E
REPLY:
(1) Yes. The Department of Home Affairs has plans, in place, to improve its infrastructure.
(1)(a) The following projects are, currently, in different stages of completion:
· "Look and Feel" projects. These projects entails the refurbishment, and modernisation of offices of the Department
· The Development of new offices for the Department
· Residential and office accommodation at Ports of Entry
(1)(b) Four (4) offices have been completed in the 2011/12 financial year. A further twelve (12) offices are nearing completion. Due to budgetary constraints, no additional offices have been identified for refurbishment in the 2011/12 financial year. The Department has, however, identified five (5) new offices to be completed in the 2012/13 financial year.
(1)(c) The completion of the infrastructure improvements will be in line with the Department's Strategic Plan and within the current financial year. The improvement of the Department's infrastructure is also an on-going process.
(1)(d) For the 2012/13 financial year, the following amounts have been budgeted for:
· Look and Feel projects: R12 million
· Development of new offices: R11 million
· Ports of Entry: R110 million
However for implementation, these projects will be carried through DPW.
(1)(e) The total amount spent on infrastructure improvements in the 2011/12 financial year was R22 million.
(2)(a) As per (1)(a) to (1)(e) above.
Reply received: April 2012
QUESTION 344 / NW428E
DATE OF PUBLICATION: Friday, 24 February 2012
INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 04 of 2012Mr M S F de Freitas (DA) to ask the Minister of Home Affairs:
(1) Whether, with regard to regional trade corridors, any plans are in place to improve
(a) Border Crossings, (b) capacity at Ports and (c)(i) Information and
(ii) Communication Technologies; if not, why not; if so, (aa) what plans and (bb) at what stage of implementations are each plan;
(2) in respect of the (a) 2008/09, (b) 2009/10 and (c) 2010/11 financial years, (i) what were the budget allocation in this regard, (ii) what amounts have been spent and (iii) for what purpose was it used in each case?
NW428E
REPLY:
(1) Yes. The following plans are in place, in respect of:
(1)(a) Border Crossings: The Department of Home Affairs is planning to improve infrastructure at identified Border Crossings (Ports of Entry), over the next three (3) years, in collaboration with the Department of Public Works. For the 2012/13 financial year, six (6) Ports of Entry were identified for improvements of office, and residential infrastructure. The Ports are Maseru Bridge, Beit Bridge, Oshoek, Lebombo, Cape Town Harbour, and Durban Harbour.
(1)(b) Capacity: The capacity improvements at Ports of Entry entail the appointment of additional staff at Ports of Entry, and training of Immigration Officers in new immigration methods, and techniques. The Department of Home Affairs is collaborating with the Government of Cuba in focussing on capacity building in Immigration. In the 2011/12 financial year, a pilot project was launched at the O. R. Tambo International Airport (ORTIA), and three hundred and fifty (350) Immigration Officers were appointed, trained, and deployed at ORTIA to capacitate this Port of Entry. This programme will be rolled out, systematically, to, all, Ports of Entry with the Cape Town, and Durban Harbours earmarked in the 2012/13 financial year.
(1)(c)(i)&(ii) ICT: - The Department is, currently, engaged in a partnership with the South African Revenue Service (SARS), in respect, of the eMovement Control System (eMCS). The rollout should be finalised in the 2012/13 financial year
- The Department is, also, busy with a Systems Modernization initiative which will enable the enhancement, and integration of key Information Technology systems to improve security, data integrity, and communication
(2)(a) to (c) - The Infrastructure Budget for, all, Ports of Entry resorts with the Department of Public Works, as is the case with, all, accommodation needs of Government Departments. The infrastructure budget for any Port of Entry includes other stakeholder Government Departments, such as the South African Revenue Service (SARS), the South African Police Service, the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Home Affairs, the Department of Health, the National Intelligence Agency, and the Airports Company of South Africa (where applicable). The compilation of the budget – by the Department of Public Works – does not list individual Departments, but takes the holistic needs of the Port of Entry, as a whole, into account
- It can be stated that the specific budget allocations for the 2008/09, 2009/10 and 2010/11 financial years, for the specified items of improvements (infrastructure, capacity and ICT) of Ports of Entry, is unknown. These improvements did not come from a single, separate budget. Improvements to the eMCS was linked to the budget for the 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup, whilst capacity building utilised Provincial budgets which, given the changes in the operational model of the Department, were utilised to fund improvements for, both, Immigration Services and Civic Services
- Going forward, the budget allocation, and expenditure would be clear as an amount of R110 million has been allocated to the Department of Home Affairs for office, and residential infrastructure improvements
Reply received: May 2012
QUESTION 270 / NW301EDATE OF PUBLICATION: Friday, 24 February 2012
INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 04 of 2012Mr S B Farrow (DA) to ask the Minister of Home Affairs:
(1) Whether turnaround timeframes have been set for the production of each type of official document; if not, why not, if so, what are the relevant details;
(2) whether the timeframes are being measured against the actual results; if not, why not; if so, what measures have been put in place in this regard;
(3) what (a) are the comparative results for each document type, (b) are the reasons for the results in each case and (c) plans have been put in place to improve the results in each case?
NW301E
REPLY:
IN RESPECT OF CIVIC SERVICES:
(1) Yes. Turnaround timeframes have been set by the Department of Home Affairs for the production of each type of official document. The turnaround times are specified in the tables, below, as per the Department's Strategic Plan, for the financial years 2011/12 to 2013/14:
| Measurable Outputs | Perfor - mance Indicator / Measure | Baseline (Perfor - mance as at 31 March 2011 | Target (2011/12) | Target 2012/13 | Target 2013/14 |
| Products and services rendered within specified time frames | Percentage of IDs (First issues) issued within 54 days | 54 days on average | 95% of IDs (First issues) issued within 54 days | 95% of IDs (First issues) issued within 54 days | 95% of IDs (First issues) issued within 54 days |
| Percentage of IDs (Re-issues) issued within 47 days | 47 days on average | 95% of IDs (Re- issues) issued within 47 days | 95% of IDs (Re- issues) issued within 47 days | 95% of IDs (Re- issues) issued within 47 days | |
| Percentage of machine readable passports (manual process) issued within 24 days | 24 days (manual process) on average | 95% of machine readable passports issued within 24 days (manual process) | 95% of machine readable passports issued within 24 days (manual process) | 95% of machine readable passports issued within 24 days (manual process) | |
| Percentage of machine readable passports (live capture process) issued within 13 days | 13 days (live capture process) on average | 97% of applications for machine readable passports issued within 13 days (live capture process) | 97% of applications for machine readable passports issued within 13 days (live capture process) | 97% of applications for machine readable passports issued within 13 days (live capture process) |
(2)&(3) Yes. Timeframes are measured against the actual results and are monitored through the National Population Register (NPR) and the Electronic Track and Trace System. These systems enable each individual application to be monitored and traced during all stages of the application and production processes.
| ANNUAL TARGET | ANALYSIS OF PERFORMANCE IN RELATION TO STRATEGY TO ACHIEVE TARGET | REASONS / CHALLENGES FOR ACHIEVEMENT/ NON ACHIEVEMENT | WAY FORWARD / REMEDIAL ACTION |
| 95% of IDs (First issues) issued within 54 days | § 91.5% of IDs (First issues) were issued within 54 days (8.5% above 54 days). | § Tender for lamination strips delayed. § Defective lamination experienced during Q2 also resulted in many IDs being re-processed. § Delays by newly appointed courier services | The lamination solution project is underway in partnership with the Government Printing Works (GPW) and State Security Agency (SSA). |
| 95% of IDs (Re-issues) issued within 47 days | § 99.8% of IDs (Re-issues) were issued within 47 days (0.2% above 47 days). | § Effects of price increase led to fewer applications § Training on various Civic Services processes conducted in Provinces improved compliance, e.g. usage of Online Verification | N/A |
| ANNUAL TARGET | ANALYSIS OF PERFORMANCE IN RELATION TO STRATEGY TO ACHIEVE TARGET | REASONS / CHALLENGES FOR ACHIEVEMENT/ NON ACHIEVEMENT | WAY FORWARD / REMEDIAL ACTION |
| Percentage of machine readable passports (manual process) issued within 24 days | § 95.88 % issued within 24 days. | § Tariff price increase influenced large number of people to apply ahead of its implementation § Non-compliance with passport requirements and photo specification | N/A |
| Percentage of machine readable passports (live capture process) issued within 13 days | § 95.35 % issued within 13 days. | § Fingerprints not registered on the Home Affairs National Identification System (HANIS) for live capture resulted in manual verification which delayed the application process | N/A |
IN RESPECT OF IMMIGRATION SERVICES:
(1) Yes. Turnaround timeframes have been set for the issuing of Permits and Visas in compliance with the Department's Strategic Objectives. The Annual Performance Plan (APP) indicates the following timeframes:
(i) The following applications to be issued within eight weeks:
· Work Permits
· Business Permits
· Corporate Permits
· Study Permits
· Treaty Permits
· Exchange Permits
· Retired Person's Permits
· Medical Treatment Permits
(ii) The following applications to be issued within one day:
· Visitor's Permits
· Asylum Transit Permits
(iii) The following applications to be issued within eight months:
· Permanent Residence Permits
(2) Yes. All applications for Temporary Residence, and Permanent Residence Permits are captured onto the Track and Trace System. The System provides a database of, all, applications captured and categorises it into applications received, applications approved and applications rejected. The system also indicates the lifespan of the application. This is utilised to monitor compliance with the set timeframes.
(3)(a) The following applications are issued within the set timeframes:
(i) Eight weeks:
· Treaty Permits
· Exchange Permits
· Retired Person's Permits
· Medical Treatment Permits
(ii) One day:
· Asylum Transit Permits
(3)(b) The following applications are not issued within the set timeframes:
Eight weeks:
· Work Permits
· Business Permits
· Corporate Permits
· Study Permits
The following applications are not issued within the set time frames:
One day:
· Visitor's Permits
The following applications are not issued within the set time frames:
Eight months:
· Permanent Residence Permits
The challenges are:
Most challenges relate to the authenticity of supporting documents which are required from applicants in terms of the Immigration Regulations. These documents are subjected to intense verification process, which, to a larger extent takes more time than expected. This exercise is necessary to ensure that permits are issued to deserving applicants in consideration of national security and national interest.
(3)(c) The following measures have been put in place:
· Implementation of the Permitting Transformation Process in the 2012/13 financial year. This process includes but not limited to:
- Streamlining of Permit Front Offices
- The implementation of the new Permitting Structure to increase capacity of the Adjudication Unit
- Automation of the Permitting Processes which will ensure that applications are accepted and captured real time, sent to the Back Office for adjudication online, finalised and feedback provided back to the Front Office online and the applicant will be informed of developments by Short Message Services (SMS).
Reply received: April 2012
QUESTION 265 / NW288E
DATE OF PUBLICATION: Tuesday, 24 February 2012
INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 04 of 2012Adv A H Gaum (ANC) to ask the Minister of Home Affairs:
Whether there is a protocol or cooperation agreement with the SA Police Service (SAPS) or the Secretariat of Police to enable the SAPS to access fingerprints held by her Department; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?
NO288E
REPLY:
Yes. There is a protocol agreement with the South African Police Service (SAPS) to enable it to access fingerprints held by the Department of Home Affairs. This agreement is in terms of the Criminal Law Amendment Act, Act 6 of 2010, Chapter 5A (Storage and use of fingerprints, body-prints and photographic images), and Section 15B(1) which reads, as follows: "Any fingerprints, or photographic images stored, in terms of this Chapter, may for purposes related to the detection of crime, the investigation of an offence, the identification of missing persons, the identification of unidentified human remains, or the conducting of a prosecution, be checked against the databases of the Department of Home Affairs, the Department of Transport, or any Department of State in the national sphere of Government, irrespective of whether the photographic images, or prints stored on these respective databases were collected, before, or after the coming into operation of this section."
Reply received: February 2012
QUESTION 117 / NW126E
DATE OF PUBLICATION: Friday, 17 February 2012
INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 02 of 2012Mr G B D Mc Intosh (Cope) to ask the Minister of Home Affairs:
Whether there are any plans in place to implement a second phase to regulate the status of Zimbabwean nationals in South Africa; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, when is this second phase envisaged to (a) commence and (b) end?
NW126E
REPLY:
(a) & (b) No. The position of the Department of Home Affairs has been very clear in this regard. A second phase to regulate the status of Zimbabwean nationals will not be implemented.
QUESTION 116/ NW125EDATE OF PUBLICATION: Friday, 17 February 2012
INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 02 of 2012Mr G B D Mc Intosh (Cope) to ask the Minister of Home Affairs:
Whether there are any plans to regulate the status of nationals from Southern African Development Community countries, except Zimbabwe; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are the relevant details?
NW125E
REPLY:
No. Not at the stage.
Reply received: February 2012
QUESTION 89 / NW97EDATE OF PUBLICATION: Thursday, 09 February 2012
INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 01 of 2012Mrs A T Lovemore (DA) to ask the Minister of Home Affairs:
(1) Whether her Department maintains a register of persons who have been deported from South Africa; if not, why not; if so, (a) which Directorate is responsible for maintaining this register and (b) what are the details of the (i) content and (ii) management of the register;
(2) whether the details of such illegal foreigners are available to (a) all offices of her Department, including ports of entry and (b) other Government Departments; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?
NW97E
REPLY:
(1) Yes. The Department of Home Affairs maintains a register of persons who have been deported fromSouth Africa.
(1)(a) The Directorate: Inspectorate maintains this register.
(1)(b)(i) The personal particulars of all deportees are recorded, manually, as well as, electronically on both the Case Management System (CMS), and the Movement Control System (MCS). The following personal particulars are recorded:
· The sequence number of the application
· Name, surname and date of birth of deportee
· Nationality, gender and file reference number of the deportee
· The reason for deportation and placing on the Visa and Entry Stop List
(1)(b)(ii) Only designated officials within the Directorate: Deportation and Directorate: Inspectorate manage the register.
(2)(a) Yes. Details of deportees are electronically available on the MCS to all offices of the Department, including Ports of Entry.
(2)(b) Yes. The following Departments are linked to the Department of Home Affairs' database and have access (read / view) to the Department's Movement Control System, which reflects the details of persons whose names have been placed on the Visa and Entry Stop:
· The South African Police Service (SAPS)
· The South African Revenue Service (SARS)
Reply received: February 2012
QUESTION 88/ NW96E
DATE OF PUBLICATION: Thursday, 09 February 2012
INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 01 of 2012
Mrs. AT Lovemore (DA) to ask the Minister of Home Affairs:
(1) Whether, with reference to her reply to Question 194 on 27 October 2011, her Department utilises its National Identification System (HANIS), to rectify duplications proactively, rather than react once a complaint is received; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details; (2) how many cases of the issuing of duplicate identity numbers to two separate persons were encountered (a) in the (i) 2009/10and (ii) 2010/11financial year and (b) during the period 1April 2011 up to the latest specified date for which information is available; (3) how many cases of the issuing of two identity numbers to one person were encountered (a) in the (i) 2009/10 and (ii) 2010/11financial year and (b) during the period 1April 2011 up to the latest specified date for which information is available; (4) whether her Department has set measures in place, or intends to implement measures, to prevent duplication of identity numbers; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?
REPLY:
(1) Yes. The Department of Home Affairs utilises its National Identification System (HANIS) to, proactively, rectify Duplicate Identity Documents. The Home Affairs National Identification System (HANIS) is able to detect whether an identity number has been allocated to more than one person, or where one person has been allocated with more than one identity number. To reduce the number of duplicates, the Department has implemented a major Initiative, which is aimed at dealing with the most urgent cases, and preventing new cases from arising. The initiative
include: • All fingerprints which were recorded, manually, and stored in the Department's Fingerprint Database, were digitised on the database of the 2 Automated Fingerprint Identifying System (AFIS), during the 2007/08 financial year • As a result, the AFIS identified various duplicate cases, and have, since, been marked, as such, on the National Population Register (NPR) • HANIS has the ability to identify, and prevent occurrence of duplicate cases • There are some cases, where client contact is required, At present, clients are being contacted, in order to resolve their duplicate cases, Correspondence letters are sent out, and telephone calls are made to clients to complete the necessary required forms, in order to finalise the duplicate cases(2)(a)(i) A total of 5 021 cases of duplicate identity numbers to two separate persons were finalised in the 2009/10 financial year, (2)(a)(ii) A total of 9 331 cases of duplicate identity numbers to two separate persons were finalised in the 2010/11 financial year, (2)(b) A total of 5 099 cases of duplicate identity numbers to two separate persons were finalised in the period 1April 2011 to 31 December 2011,(3)(a)(i) Atotal of 36865 cases of duplicate identity numbers to one person were finalised in the 2009/10 financial year. (3)(a)(ii) A total of 75 241 cases of duplicate identity numbers to one person were finalised in the 2010/11 financial year. (3)(b) A total of 35713 cases of duplicate identity numbers to one person were finalised in the period 1April 2011 to 31 December 2011, (4) Yes, The Department has implemented a standard operating procedure, This procedure is subjecting each identity document application to the following procedures, in order to prevent duplication of identity numbers: • To be verified through HANIS, as it enters the ID application workflow process • To be verified again through HANIS, before the issuance of an identity document
DATE OF PUBLICATION: Thursday, 09 February 2012
INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 01 of 2012Mr M Mnqasela (DA) to ask the Minister of Home Affairs:
(1) What is the (a) yearly rental for and (b) floor space of the (i) new and (ii) previous premises used as the Headquarters of her Department;
(2) on what dates did her Department pay the (a) final rental in respect of the previous premises and (b) first installment in respect of the new premises to which the Headquarters relocated;
(3) who is the registered owner on the title deed of the new premises;
(4) whether her Department publicly invited tenders; if not, why not; if so, (a)(i) when and
(ii) where was it published, (b) which company was awarded the tender and (c) which
(i) companies and (ii) properties were shortlisted;
(5) in respect of the specified companies and properties that were shortlisted, what was the (a) floor space and (b) rental of each of these properties?
NW51E
REPLY:
(1)(a)(i) The yearly rental is R33,195,583.80 (VAT inclusive).
(1)(a)(ii) The floor space is 25,388.50 square meters.
(1)(b)(i) The yearly rental was R25,694,247.90 (VAT inclusive).
(1)(b)(ii) The floor space was 30,858.72 square meters.
(2)(a) Date of final rent paid will be once the Department has vacated the premises.
(2)(b) The first instalment will be on the date of occupation of the new premises.
(3) The registered owner of the new premises is Manaka Property Investments (Pty) Ltd.
Reply received: March 2012
QUESTION 44 / NO339EDATE OF PUBLICATION: Tuesday, 21 February 2012
INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 03 of 2012Mr M S F de Freitas (DA) to ask the Minister of Home Affairs:
Whether there are any plans in place to improve the (a) infrastructure and (b) facilities at Border Crossings with regard to (i) Capacity, (ii) Information and Communications Technologies and (iii) Staff; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?
NO339E
REPLY:
Yes. The following plans are in place, in respect of:
(a) Infrastructure: Some additional funding has been secured from National Treasury. Depending on process negotiated with Public Works, the Department hopes to improve its infrastructure at Ports of Entry, in terms of office space, for day to day operations, as well as, accommodation for its officials.
(b)(i) Capacity: A capacity building programme has been developed. This programme will be rolled out, systematically to all Ports of Entry over the next few years. The Program addresses the current challenges encountered in the management of trends in migration, and the facilitation of movement of persons.
(b)(ii) ICT: - The Department is, currently, engaged in a partnership with the South African Revenue Service, in respect of the eMovement Control System (eMCS)
- The Department is, also, busy with a Systems Modernization initiative, which will enable the enhancement, and integration of key Information Technology systems
- The upgrade of Information Technology infrastructure for improved security, data integrity and communication.
(b)(iii) Staff: The Department will place emphasis on reducing the turnaround times, in relation to filling existing vacancies