ATC131023: Budgetary Review and Recommendation Report of the Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs on the Performance of the Department of Home Affairs for the 2012/13 Financial Year, dated 22 October 2013
Home Affairs
Budgetary Review and Recommendation Report of the Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs on the Performance of the Department of Home Affairs for the 2012/13 Financial Year, dated 22 October 2013
As specified by section 5 of the Money Bills Amendment Procedures and Related Matters Act (MBAP) of 2009, the National Assembly, through its Committees, must annually asses the performance of each national department with reference to the following:
· The medium term estimates of expenditure of each national department, its strategic priorities and measurable objectives, as tabled in the National Assembly with the national budget.
· The expenditure reports relating to such departments published by the National Treasury in terms of section 32 reports of the Public Financial Management Act (PFMA.)
· The financial statements and annual report of such departments.
· The report of the Committee on Public Accounts relating to the department.
· Any other information requested by or presented to a House or Parliament.
A Committee must submit the Budgetary Review and Recommendation Report (BRRR) annually to the National Assembly which assesses the effectiveness and efficiency of the department’s use and forward allocation of available resources and may include the recommendations on the use of resources in the medium term.
The Committee must submit the BRRR after the adoption of the budget and before the adoption of the reports on the Medium Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) by the respective Houses in November of each year.
The Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs (the Committee) considered its Budget Review and Recommendation Report which was adopted by Members of the Committee on 22 October 2013.
1.1 The Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs
In line with the core objectives of Parliament the mandate of the Committee is to-
· pass legislation;
· oversee and scrutinise executive action;
· facilitate international participation;
· facilitate co-operative government; and
· facilitate public participation and involvement.
On the basis of challenges and problems encountered by the Committee in its oversight; key issues were put forward by the Committee in its Strategic Plan for 2013/14 covering the following entities: Department of Home Affairs (DHA), Government Printing Works (GPW), Electoral Commission (IEC), and Film and Publication Board (FPB).
Legislation of relevance to committee in 2013/14:
Private Members Electoral Amendment Bill [PMB 2 of 2013].
· Electoral Amendment Bill 2013.
· Draft Immigration Policy.
· Border Management Agency Draft Legislation.
The Report of the Committee is based primarily on the following activities:
· Briefings by Departments and Committee deliberations.
· Conducting public hearings on proposed legislation.
· Conducting Research.
· Formal consideration and voting on reports.
· Scrutinising Strategic Plans, Presidents speech, Ministers speeches and Policy documents.
· Assessing Estimates of National Expenditure, Medium Term Expenditure and budget allocations.
· Scrutinising briefings and reports.
· Conducting oversight visits.
· Public participation during constituency periods and committee meetings.
1.2 The Department
The mission of the DHA is the efficient determination and safeguarding of the identity and status of citizens and regulation of migration to ensure security as well as promote and fulfil South Africa’s international obligations. This mandate is administered in three overarching budget programmes:
Programme 1. Administration: Provide overall management of the DHA and centralised support services.
Programme 2. Services to Citizens: Secure, efficient and accessible services and documents for citizens and lawful residents. This programme now also includes the transfers to the three entities namely IEC, GPW and FPB, which were part of a separate budget programme in previous years.
Programme 3. Immigration Services : Facilitate and regulate the secure movement of people into and out of the Republic of South Africa through ports of entry, determine the status of asylum seekers, and regulate refugee affairs.
2. THE DEPARTMENT’S STRATEGIC PRIORITIES AND MEASURABLE OBJECTIVES
National government has twelve outcomes and the DHA contributes to three of these outcomes, which comprise 11 strategic objectives for 2013/14-2014/15:
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Strategic Objective |
Outcome 1: Secure South African citizenship & identity. |
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1.1 |
To ensure that registration at birth is the only entry point for South Africans to the National Population Register (NPR). |
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1.2 |
To issue Identity Documents (IDs) to citizens turning 16 years of age & above. |
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1.3 |
To ensure the registration & identification of all South African citizens, foreign residents, refugees & asylum seekers to enhance the integrity & security of identity. |
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Outcome 2: Immigration managed effectively & securely in the national interest including economic, social & cultural development. |
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2.1 |
To ensure a secure, responsive & flexible immigration regime in support of national security, priorities & interests. |
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2.2 |
To implement effective & efficient asylum seeker & refugee management strategies & systems. |
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2.3 |
To facilitate the efficient movement of bona fide travellers to support national interests & priorities, & to prevent & prohibit the movement of undesirable persons in the interest of national security. |
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2.4 |
To contribute towards realising a positive skills migration trend of around 50 000 migrants annually. |
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Outcome 3: A service that is secure, efficient, and accessible corruption free. |
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3.1
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To transform the culture of the organization in support of securing identity, citizenship & international migration. |
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3.2 |
To ensure ethical conduct & a zero tolerance approach to corruption. |
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3.3 |
To obtain a clean audit report. |
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3.4 |
To ensure secure, effective, efficient & accessible service delivery to clients. |
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· rolling out the national population registration campaign with the focus on birth, marriage and death registrations as well as the issuance of secure identity documents to eligible citizens and residents; · providing travel and citizenship documents; · providing for the development and facilitation of a strategic channel to enhance access to services by expanding the DHA’s footprint; and · a functional customer service centre. This will contribute to ensuring that births are registered within 30 days and, ultimately, more secure and reliable identity systems. The increase in expenditure in 2013/14 is mainly driven by additional allocations made to the IEC to prepare for the 2014 national general elections.
The Immigration Services spending focus over the medium term will be on the following strategic objectives and policy priorities- · facilitating the importation of critical skills into South Africa; · implementing effective and efficient asylum and refugee management strategies and systems, such as the development of a framework to guide the establishment of strategically located refugee reception centres; and · improving access to and the smooth facilitation of traveller movements at land ports of entry through the implementation of systems such as advance passenger processing, enhanced movement control and national immigration information systems. This will contribute to the development of a risk based approach to immigration, which will maximise benefits and minimise risks for the country. Over the medium term, expenditure in all four sub-programmes of Immigration Services is expected to increase because of additional funding for improved conditions of service. The programme has a funded establishment of 978 posts, and personnel numbers are expected to remain at 963 in each year of the MTEF period.
3. ANALYSIS OF STRATEGIC AND OPERATIONAL PLANS OF THE DEPARTMENT
In line with more focused planning as well as alignment with the 12 National Outcomes from April 2010; the President has also put in place specific performance targets for Ministers of governments departments. The main outputs and targets in the performance agreement of the Minister of Home Affairs are:
· Securing the identity and status of citizens and residents.
· Implementing effective and efficient refugee management strategies and systems.
· Ensuring access to and quality of service delivery with emphasis on the registration of every child birth within 30 days of delivery.
· Issuing identity documents to every South African turning 16 years and older.
· Improving the turnaround times for all services, improving queuing times and unit costs per service.
· Facilitating the recruitment of 50 000 skilled migrants annually.
These targets contributed to a further reduction and refinements of the DHA’s strategic objectives from 16 in 2010/11 to only 11 in 2011/12. The DHA divides these same 11 strategic objectives into a further 24 outputs and 39 targets in 2013/14, compared with 56 targets in 2012/13. Of the 39 targets, 12 are for Civic Affairs, 14 for Immigration Affairs and 13 are for the Administration programme. The DHA’s 11 strategic objectives in 2013/14 are the same as in the two preceding years (though there is a move to fewer specific measureable targets).
4. ANALYSIS OF SECTION 32 EXPENDITURE REPORTS
Second Quarter Expenditure
The DHA received a main appropriation of R5.296 billion, which was adjusted downwards by R52.4 million to R5.2 billion during the adjustment budget process in October 2012. The DHA did not apply for any roll-overs during the adjustment budget process. However, there were virements and shifts, declared savings as well as other adjustments.
The DHA received an additional R15 million for the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations under the Immigration Affairs programme. This allocation was spent under sub-programme 2: Admission Services. Of the R15 million allocation; R5.3 million will be for the strengthening of law enforcement capacity to manage illegal immigrants and to ensure a swift response to emergencies; R2.2 million was for the 24-hour operational centre providing support to airlines, foreign missions, ports of entry, spectators and Confederation of African Football (CAF) members; and R7.4 million was for the facilitation of CAF staff and spectators through the creation of dedicated lanes at airports and key land ports of entry.
In terms of virements and shifts, the following is observed:
Programme 1: Administration
• An amount of R5.5 million was defrayed from the goods and services budget under programme 1: Administration to the capital payments budget of Programme 3: Immigration Affairs. The funds will be reprioritised for Information Technology (IT) related contracts for the National Immigration Information Systems due to the foreign exchange rate deterioration.
• R12 million has been shifted from goods and services in programme 2: Administration and reallocated to the capital payments budget for the purchase of software and other intangible assets related to the Information Systems Modernisation Project.
• R4.75 million has been shifted from the goods and services budget in the Administration programme and reallocated to the capital payments budget for the purchase of machinery and equipment related to the Information Systems Modernisation Project.
Other adjustments
The DHA also received an additional R32.6 million for higher personnel remuneration increases. This amount is allocated between the three programmes as follows:
• Programme 1: Administration, R3.9 million for compensation of employees.
• Programme 2: Citizens Affairs, R19.96 million for compensation of employees and R6.39 million for transfers and subsidies to departmental agencies and accounts.
• Programme 3: Immigration Affairs, R2.34 million for compensation of employees.
Preliminary expenditure as at 30 September 2012 indicated that the DHA had spent an amount of R2.46 billion; this reflected 42% of the main appropriation and 47% of the adjusted appropriation due to the decrease in the budget allocation. This was lower than mid-year expenditure in 2011/12, by which the DHA had spent 48.7% of the adjusted appropriation. The reason for the expenditure decrease compared to 2011/12 is due to a reduction in the number of passports printed, as well as a decrease in the payment made in the Information Systems Modernisation projects and in transfer payments to public entities.
Fourth Quarter Expenditure
The Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs met with the DHA in June 2013 on their fourth quarter expenditure as at 31 March 2013.
In the past, the DHA reported that it planned to establish a trading account. The purpose of the trading account was for the DHA to retain the funds from producing of face documents and then use it to cover for the production costs of the documents. The approval from National Treasury was effective from 2011/12 financial year and the DHA deferred the operations of the trading account to the 2012/13 financial year.
The DHA discussed with the Auditor-General and a number of challenges arose such that all the expenditure line items should form part of the Trading Account. The issue which emerged is that this type of account would leave the DHA with unfinanced administrative expenditure since the Auditor-General indicated that the account would classify revenue as a sale of service instead of sale of goods. The DHA was faced with the challenge that it did not have adequate funds to account for revenue as a sale of service.
The trading account was faced with an unfavourable audit which later had an impact on the audit opinion in the Annual Report of the DHA. It was reported to the Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs that the DHA, in consultation with National Treasury, had decided that the trading account would be deferred for at least another three years. During the three years, research should be conducted to find an appropriate vehicle for the “self funding” objective. It was further reported that as results of the trading account being deferred, the over-expenditure lead to the DHA overspending on their budget vote.
In terms of economic classification, the DHA overspent on goods and services by R243 million, which represented 12% of the original budget and under spent on payment of capital assets by R37 million which represented 73.5% of the original budget.
The DHA has spent an average of 68% of its budget at the end of the third quarter in the last three financial years, compared to an average of 103% for the end of the fourth quarter. In 2010/11 for example, the DHA spent 64.3% of its allocation at the end of the third quarter, and recorded over-expenditure at the end of the fourth quarter, with 105.6% of the budget spent.
5. ANALYSIS OF THE DEPARTMENT’S ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
5.1 Annual report 2012/13
The AG’s report, contained within the annual reports of government DHAs and entities, speaks to the reliability of information contained in the annual report as well as the achievement of performance targets in recent years.
From 2006/7 the DHA made gradual improvements from a disclaimer to qualified opinions in 2008/9 and 2009/10. In 2011/12, the DHA received a qualified audit after receiving its first unqualified report in a number of years in 2010/11. In 2012/13, the DHA again received a qualified opinion.
The AG expressed his qualified opinion for 2012/13 based on four main areas where insufficient audit evidence or records were available (in 2011/12 it was in one main area: contingent assets):
1. Receivables Revenue: The AG was unable to confirm revenue from goods and services, fines, penalties and forfeitures and thus whether adjustments to these were necessary. A total of R2.67 billion (which equals 47% of the total annual budget) is insufficiently accounted for. The biggest part of this is Departmental revenue and National Revenue Fund Receipts stated at R750 million which the DHA indicate were not retained as planned in a trading account which was not established. The amount of R16 million of contingent assets in 2012/13 is a significant reduction from the R173 million of unsupported documentation from the Department of International Relations in 2011/12 which was the only area for which the DHA received its qualified audit in that year, however issues with Payments from DIRCO have impacted on several other areas of qualification.
2. Accruals: Insufficient evidence was available to audit foreign expenditure which relates to note 21 on page 157 of the annual report for a total of R273 million. Of this, only R21.6 million is unconfirmed for the 2012/13 year from the DIRCO. According to the DHA annual report presentation, this relates to the lease of a building in London. The unsupported nature of this amount is not distinguished in the Annual Report from amounts outstanding to other government departments stated on Annexure 4 (page 170). This in turn makes the verification of adjustments to all other accruals.
3. Employee benefits: This relates to insufficient evidences to verify leave taken in 2011 and 2012. As a result the need to restate vacation leave to 30 days for employees with over 10 years service (due to a Public Service Bargaining Council Resolution) to an amount of R82.1 million (compared to R70.75 million in 2011/12) could not be confirmed.
4. Movable and Tangible Assets: Inadequate records were available to record and thus adjust major tangible assets valued at R1 billion and minor assets of R179.6 million.
In addition to the basis for qualification, the DHA received six matters of emphasis (compared to 3 in 2011/12) as well as 2 additional matters (compared to 3 in 2011/12) and 2 issues with Legal and Regulatory Requirements (compared to 5 in 2010/11) and 22 additional matters (30 in 2011/12). Three of the matters of emphasis continue from previous years. These are:
· The Financial Reporting Framework again has difficulties in securing, proving and receiving cash due from DIRCO to the DHA.
· Occurrence of significant uncertainties relating to contingent assets and liabilities, particularly outstanding legal claims against the DHA amounting to R1.2 billion from previous years and R138 million in 2012/13 for which the DHA have made no provisions. R407 million of these claims are older than 3 years.
· Restatement of corresponding Figures: The DHA had to restate figures relating to information presented in the 2011/12 financial year in order to address audit concerns about foreign revenue, fines, penalties and forfeits. The two amounts involved are R32 million and R46 million and they relate to several budget categories.
New matters of Emphasis are:
· Material Losses/Impairments: This is stated as R26 million worth of assets that were lost during the financial year, although this number cannot be clearly found in the annual report.
· Material Overspending: The DHA incurred unauthorised expenditure of R301 million by overspending on its budget by 6%. The DHA indicate that this is due to the non-implementation of the trading account for the DHA to use its income to cover certain costs. The account was not established due to the need for certain functions to be shifted out of the DHA if the account was to comply with accounting standards. This was agreed to by National Treasury subject to them submitting a favourable review to the Standing Committee on Public Accounts.
· Payables: This relates R41 million in payments made beyond the required 30 day term.
Irregular, Fruitless and Wasteful Expenditure
During 2012/13, the DHA incurred R4.2 million in irregular expenditure, as compared to R5.7 million in 2011/12. This relates primarily to utilisation of service providers beyond their contract period (R3.5 million).
Fruitless expenditure is also less in 2012/13 at R374 thousand as compared to R700 thousand in 2011/12. The fruitless expenditure again mostly relates to having to pay interest on overdue payments to service providers.
In 2009/10 and 2010/11 the DHA had irregular expenditure of R321.6 and R24.5 million respectively. In 2010/11 fruitless and wasteful expenditure was R334.6 million. Material losses amounting to R26 million and R66.7 million were recorded in 2009/10 and 2010/11.
In 2011/12, the DHA continues to have an amount of R463 million of Irregular Expenditure from previous years that has not been condoned (R439 million from prior to 2010/11). However, significantly less new irregular expenditure of R5.7 million was recorded for 2011/12. The majority of this amount (R3.9 million) relates to contractors not being appointed according to the Construction Industry Development Board Act (No 38 of 2000). Additional amounts of R1.3 million relate to non-compliance with tender Procedures, still under investigation.
Fruitless expenditure is also largely from previous years still not condoned: R334 million from 2010/11 but only R700 thousand from 2011/12. The amounts outstanding from previous years relate largely to the out of court settlement made with Gijima Ast, reflected as payments made in vain in the 2010/11 annual report. Fruitless expenditure in 2011/12 related to interest of R700 000 having to be paid for late payments on leased IT equipment, which is being investigated.
Performance
The DHA has noted progress in a number of areas in its Annual report including the following; arranged according to government priorities relevant to Home Affairs:
Outcome 1 Secure South African citizenship & identity.
• There has been substantial progress with regard to Civic Services in terms of securing the National Population Register; ensuring all citizens are registered; and delivering services according to acceptable standards.
• The DHA facilitated the Second Conference of African Ministers responsible for Civil Registration in Durban, South Africa, which was of strategic importance.
• The number of health facilities connected for online registration of births and deaths increased from 118 in March 2009 to 334 in March 2013.
• From March 2011 to March 2013 there was a 20.4% increase in the number of births registered within 30 days – that is from 500 524 to 602 530 births.
Outcome 2: Immigration managed effectively & securely in the national interest including economic, social & cultural development.
• The facilitation of large volumes of persons through ports of entry and support for large international events is reasonably efficient and secure. Permitting largely eradicated a backlog of temporary residence permits; and there were some efficiency gains in deportations and in the adjudication of asylum seekers.
• A total of 93% of passports that were applied for through the live capture process are delivered within 13 working days.
• A Corporate Accounts Unit has been established to service projects and institutions of national importance such as Eskom, with turnaround times of 2 weeks achieved.
Outcome 3: A service that is secure, efficient, and accessible corruption free.
• With regard to organizational transformation, the foundations were laid for the modernization project to be rolled out. Also, systems were put in place for the devolution of Human Resources and finance functions to provinces. The Learning Academy began to play a significant role in training and staff development, having established accredited and relevant courses.
• There has been a steady expansion of the footprint of Home Affairs from a total of 273 frontline offices in March 2006 to a total of 403 in March 2013.
• The DHA managed to achieve the majority of its targets in outcome three dealing with a service that is efficient, accessible and corruption free. A draft concept paper is under consideration on the role of DHA in the fighting corruption and strengthening the security of identity and immigration systems.
Notwithstanding the abovementioned achievements, the DHA has achieved only 25% of its targets set for 2012/13 (13 out of 51 targets). In contrast, 21 targets (41.2%) were partially achieved and 33.3% of targets were not achieved. This is a regression from the already low performance in the 2011/12 financial year in which 26% of 50 targets were achieved; 50% of targets were partially achieved and 24% were not achieved.
Programme 1: Administration : Only 4 of 17 targets were achieved (23.5%) in 2012/13. This is a significant decline compared to the 50% of targets achieved in 2011/12. The reliability of the targets presented for the Administration programme is also once again questioned by the AG given that, as in 2011/12, they do not always equate with the source information/ evidence provided. Due to the reduced budget allocation to the DHA in 2012/13, all programmes within the DHA had a cut in expenditure. The biggest reduction was for the Administration programme, which was 11.8% or R223.8 million less than in 2011/12 in nominal terms, largely due to a large once off capital investment for Transversal Information Technology in that year. The DHA, however under spent on this programme by 9% or R140 million.
Programme 2: Civic Services : 6 out of 19 targets (31%) were achieved in 2012/13 compared to the 21% of targets achieved in 2011/12. This is the best performing of the three programmes in DHA, however the AG has indicated that significant targets within the programme were misstated due to inadequate review of reported achievements against source documents provided and the related lack of standard operating procedures for accurate recording of achievements. The Citizen Affairs budget declined by 9% or R306.3 million from 2011/12, mostly due to an 80% decrease in the Status Services sub-programme in that year. This was a 14% decline in real terms. The DHA overspent on this programme by R226 million.
Programme 3: Immigration Services , only managed to fully achieve 3 of its 16 targets (19%). Of the 13 targets not achieved, 3 were partially achieved. This is an improvement compared to 2011/12 where only 1 of 15 targets (6%) was achieved. Immigration Services received 4.2% less in 2012/13 than 2011/12. This R24.2 million reduction is mostly due to a halving of allocation to the Immigration Affairs Management sub-programme. The DHA overspent on this budget programme by 11% or R74 million.
According to the Presidency Management Performance Assessment Tool for the 2012/13, the continued low performance of the DHA against its targets is not as much a result of inadequate strategic planning or financial management but rather low performance on governance, accountability and human resource management. As far as governance and accountability is concerned, the DHA performed better than average on service delivery improvement and risk assessment, but it performed particularly low the functionality of management structures and ensuring professional ethics and fraud prevention.
6. CONSIDERATION OF REPORTS OF COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC ACCOUNTS
6.1 Introduction
The Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) heard evidence on and considered the contents of the Annual Report and the Report of the Auditor-General (AG) on the 2011/12 financial statements of the DHA. The Committee noted the qualified opinion, highlighted areas which require the urgent attention of the Accounting Officer, the following of which have re-occurred in 2012/13:
6.2 Supply chain management
SCOPA recommended that the Accounting Officer ensures that:
· Employees of the DHA are informed regularly of the requirement to obtain written permission from the relevant authority if they wish to perform remunerative work outside their employment, and that violation of this requirement by law leads to the necessary consequences; and
· Appropriate sanctions are taken against officials who contravene any of these legal requirements.
6.3 Revenue management: Contingent assets
SCOPA recommended that the Accounting Officer ensures that:-
The DHA’s policies are consistent and adhered to so as to avoid qualified audit results and that the DHA’s accounting policy were inconsistently applied in both the current and the previous year, resulting in the contingent asset balance of R219 800 000 (2010/11: R56 800 000) being materially overstated by R34 000 000 (2010/11: R113 100 000 understated).
6.4 Predetermined objectives
SCOPA recommended that the Accounting Officer ensures that-
· the National Treasury Framework is understood and used as a basis to avail information to the extent required;
· information on indicators relating to Administration, Immigration and Civics Services is captured accurately, and that the standard of achievement in this area is clearly stated in the performance contract of the responsible officer; and
· processes and systems are set up such that it is possible to provide clear evidence of actual performance achieved.
6.5 Human Resources
SCOPA recommended that the Accounting Officer ensures that-
· the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) constantly conducts the necessary checks in his or her areas of responsibility; and
· funded vacant posts are advertised and filled within the specified time frames.
6.6 Material errors or omissions in the annual financial statements submitted for auditing
The Auditor-General identified that-
financial statements submitted for auditing were not prepared in accordance with prescribed financial reporting framework and supported by appropriate records as required by the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA).
SCOPA recommended the Accounting Officer ensures that-
· the prescribed financial reporting framework is known, understood and followed; and
· deviation from the requirements of the PFMA results in the responsible officer being held accountable.
6.7 Other non-compliance matters
SCOPA recommended that the Accounting Officer ensures that-
· appropriate processes are developed to provide for the recording, reconciliation and safeguarding of information on revenue;
· appropriate and effective steps are taken by the accounting officer to collect all monies due;
· appropriate and effective steps are taken by the accounting officer to prevent irregular expenditure; and
· all contractual obligations and monies owed by the DHA are settled within agreed time frames, and that this requirement is built into the performance contract of the responsible officer.
6.8 SCOPA Conclusion
SCOPA noted the qualified audit outcomes that the DHA received for 2011/12. SCOPA recommended that the DHA works closely with the Office of the Auditor-General, National Treasury and the DIRCO in order to correct all issues resulting in qualified audit outcomes.
SCOPA recommended that the Executive Authority submits a progress report on the implementation of the above recommendations to the National Assembly within 60 days after the adoption of this report by the House. SCOPA further recommended that the Accounting Officer submits quarterly reports on all the above-mentioned recommendations.
7. CONSIDERATION OF OTHER SOURCES OF INFORMATION7.1 State of the Nation Address 2013
The 2013 State of the Nation Address (SONA) outlined the following key priorities that have an impact on the DHA. These included:
· Youth Employment
· Education
· Representation of women in half of all decision making structures
· Fighting Corruption
· Social Cohesion
Job creation and countering corruption are continued emphasis from previous years which remain important for the DHA. Progress on these and the other 2012 SONA priorities are covered in the third section. The increased emphasis on social cohesion will require more specific intervention from the DHA in terms of integration of foreigners and the need for foreign skills, investment and tourism. The further training of staff, continued recruitment of young interns and improved gender equity are all current initiatives that will need to be intensified in line with the President’s priorities
7.2 The Presidency National Development Plan and Indicators
On a general note the 2013 SONA specified the need for all initiatives to fall in line with the National Development Plan (NDP). The key priorities in the NDP relevant to the DHA are-
· creating jobs and livelihoods;
· improving education and training ;
· building a capable state;
· fighting corruption and enhancing accountability;
· transforming society and uniting the nation;
· expanding infrastructure;
· providing quality health care; and
· transitioning to a low-carbon economy.
All but the last two of the NDP priorities above, relate specifically to the DHA and the first four are specifically mentioned as relevant to Home Affairs, and thus guided the work of the Committee. The primarily infrastructural emphasis of the 2012 State of the Nation Address for Home Affairs were not specifically re-iterated this year, although many of the related projects and the NDP span several years.
7.3 Oversight Findings
The Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs has focussed on Legislation and oversight meetings at Parliament and has thus postponed its oversight trip for the year to November 2013 when it will visit the National Headquarters of the DHA, IEC, GPW and FPB. However there are a number of outstanding issues mentioned in the 2012 BRRR which were noted in an oversight trip conducted by the Committee to DHA Offices in Kwazulu Natal and a study tour to the Russian Federation in 2012.
7.4 Minister’s Response to the Portfolio Committee 2013/14 Budget Report
The Minister of Home Affairs, in a letter dated 26 August 2013, responded on only two recommendations on the budget vote of the DHA and noted the report and the recommendations and that future briefing to the Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs will cover the other recommendations:
· Ensure that the DHA works with other government departments in the Justice, Crime Prevention and Security (JCPS) cluster in order to protect the coastline. The DHA should have more accurate numbers of undocumented migrants.
The response from the Minister of Home Affairs was that the DHA is working with JCPS cluster departments on developing a maritime security strategy and combating the smuggling of migrants at sea. The operational arm of the JCPS which is the National Joint Operation Intelligence Structure (NATJOINTS), has a priority Committee looking at immigration and coordinating action on issues such as fraudulent marriages and the smuggling of people. The Movement Control System (MCS) of DHA provides records of migrants who have overstayed their visas and are therefore unlawful in the country.
· There should be considerable planning in the establishment of Border Management Agency (BMA) by the DHA as it has significant responsibilities.
At the end of June 2013, Cabinet approved the guiding principles for the establishment of the Border Management Agency (BMA) and affirmed the DHA’s lead role in this process. An internal DHA Task Team has been established to attend to the appointment of a Project Manager and the establishment of a Project Management Office to coordinate and drive the establishment of the BMA. The DHA has already started a process to engage Treasury on BMA funding. Both planning and benchmarking against the experiences of other countries are being taken into consideration.
7.5 Budget Vote Report
The 2013/14 budget is set within the context of a prolonged and slow economic recovery globally and domestically; from the global financial crisis of 2008, domestic structural constraints and recent disruptions emanating from the mining sector. Spending agencies/departments have been advised to reprioritise spending within their baseline allocations to accommodate new priorities or the expansion of existing programmes. However, in response to the cumulative effects of the slowdown in growth and revenue, government has appropriately decided to reduce the overall spending by government by R10.4 billion relative to 2013.
Budget analysis
The DHA received a total allocation of R6.56 billion in 2013/14. This is a 22.7% increase in nominal terms from its 2012/13 budget. This is compared to a year on year decrease of 9.5% in nominal terms in 2012/13 and 6% decrease in nominal terms in the 2011/12 financial year. When the nominal increase for 2013/14 is considered against the 5.6% projected inflation for the year, the real increase to the budget of the DHA is 16% (R866 million). This increase is primarily due to the 72% increase in real allocation to the IEC amounting to R624.2 million (R707 million in nominal terms). This increase is to allow for preparations for the 2014 National Elections. If the increase to the IEC is omitted; the increase to the overall budget of the DHA is a much more moderate 5.4% in real terms. In contrast overall government expenditure for 2013/14 is projected to grow by 8.9%.
Spending over the medium term will mainly focus on the following: (1) Implementing the modernisation programme of the DHA, (2) Developing and implementing a risk based approach to immigration and policies in support of national priorities; (3) Strengthening the effectiveness and efficiency of the status determination process and refugee management process, (4) Establishing the Border Management Agency and (5) establishing and maintaining secure identity systems and issuing of enabling documents. This will contribute to the achievement of the three departmental outcomes. All programmes within the DHA receive an increase in 2013/14.
The Administration programme which accounts for the 28.5% of the DHA budget receives a 12.7% real increase of R199.8 million. This is due to significant increases in allocation for Office Accommodation (37%) and Transversal Information Technology (22%).
The biggest programme: Citizen Affairs comprises 61.6% of the DHA budget. The programme is up 26% or R845.4 million in nominal terms (19.7% in real terms) compared to 2012/13. Again largely due to the significant increase allocated to the IEC mentioned above. The FPB also shows a budget increase of 12% (R8.5 million) in real terms. And the GPW budget declines by 6% in real terms. There was also a notable real decrease in the Citizen Affairs Management sub-programme amounting to 31% (R10 million).
Without the IEC allocation, the increase to Citizen Affairs overall is only 0.28% above inflation (a 5.9% nominal increase). This must be considered against the fact that Citizen Affairs declined by 14% in real terms or R306.3 million from 2011/12 to 2012/13.
|
Programme |
Budget |
Nominal Increase in 2013/14 |
Real Increase in 2013/14 |
Nominal Percent change in 2013/14 |
Real Percent change in 2013/14 |
|
|
2012/13 |
2013/14 |
|||||
|
Programme 1: Administration |
1 572.5 |
1 871.6 |
299.1 |
199.8 |
19.02% |
12.71% |
|
Programme 2: Citizen Affairs |
3 203.3 |
4 048.7 |
845.4 |
630.7 |
26.39% |
19.69% |
|
Programme 3: Immigration Affairs |
577.2 |
647.5 |
70.3 |
36 |
12.18% |
6.23% |
|
TOTAL |
5 353.0 |
6 567.8 |
1 214.8 |
866.5 |
22.7% |
16.19% |
DHA Budget per Programme Change (R. million)
The Immigration Affairs programme accounts for 10% of the total budget received by Home Affairs. The programme receives a 6.23% increase in 2013/14 compared with a 4.2% decrease from 2011/12 to 2012/13. This equates to a R36 million real increases (R70 million in nominal terms). This increase is mostly due to the 22% (R43.4 million) real increase in the allocation to the Admission Services sub-programme. The largest sub-programme in Immigration Affairs: Immigration Services, in contrast, only receives 0.4 percent real increase. The last two sub-programmes: Immigration Management and Asylum Seekers both get a real percentage cut of around 10%.
In terms of economic classification; Compensation of Employees which accounts for 41% of the DHA spending receives a 6.2% increase (only 0.8% above inflation). Despite expansion of offices and staff shortages, the projected personnel numbers for the three year medium term show no growth in the staff compliment of 10 716 in the Estimates of National Expenditure.
Budget Change Overview
7.6 Ministerial statement of the civil registration and vital statistics conference
African Ministers responsible for Civil Registration held a Conference on 6 and 7 September 2012 in Durban, South Africa, on the theme, Improving Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) Institutional and Human Infrastructure. The conference was jointly organized by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), the African Union Commission (AUC), the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the Government of the Republic of South Africa, supported by United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), World Health Organisation (WHO) and Health Metrics Network (HMN).
The conference commended the progress and achievements made by Member States, since the first conference in August 2010, in improving civil registration and vital statistics systems, including the contribution of African regional organisations, various UN organisations and other development partners.
Welcome the participation and contribution of non-governmental organisations, including the role of the private sector in the future development of CRVS systems in Africa.
The attendees at the conference also recognised the continuing importance of CRVS in advancing Africa’s development agenda, including accelerating regional integration, attaining the priorities of New Partnership for Africa’s development (NEPAD), and meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
The Ministers resolved, amongst others to-
· continue efforts to develop appropriate policies and strategies to reform and improve our CRVS systems, and to mainstream them in national development plans and programmes, taking into consideration the specific circumstances of our countries. In this regard, committed to urgently develop costed national plans of action on CRVS that reflect individual country priorities based on comprehensive assessments to be undertaken with the support of the Secretariat and partner organisations;
· formulate laws and policies that ensure timely and compulsory registration of all vital events occurring within our countries, with guarantees of equal access to the system for all persons, regardless of nationality or legal status. In this regard, we commit to continue our efforts in revising and updating civil registration and statistical legislation in our respective countries in line with regional and international guideline s and taking into account the evolving needs and innovations;
· adopt appropriate technologies to speed and scale up civil registration, manage civil registration records, and ensure their integrity and security against natural disasters, civil wars, etc;
· accord high priority to CRVS and ensure allocation of adequate human and financial resources for the day-to-day operations of CRVS in our countries, including implementation of the national action plans in order to ensure sustainability and country ownership;
· ensure the alignment of health information management system and the CRVS systems and that both be mainstreamed into National Strategies for the Development of Statistics (NSDS); and
· intensify awareness-raising campaigns to educate the public on the importance and procedures of CRVS to ensure their effective functioning.
7.7 Second Ministerial Conference on Migration Dialogue for Southern Africa (MIDSA)
The Second Ministerial Conference on MIDSA under the theme “Enhancing Labour Migration and Migration Management in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Region” was held on Thursday 11 July 2013, in Maputo, Mozambique.
The overall objective of the Conference was to discuss and to make recommendations on how SADC member States can comprehensively address the management of migration including labour migration in the region.
The Conference was attended by the Honourable Ministers of Home Affairs and Honourable Ministers of Labour from SADC countries and was preceded by a meeting of Senior Officials on 10 July 2013. The meeting was also attended by members of the diplomatic corps, cooperating partners and other Regional and International Organizations.
The Second Ministerial Conference called on Member States to share experiences and good practices from their respective countries regarding the management and control of migration in the region, as well as to jointly explore opportunities leading to the implementation of the Regional Action Plan on Labour Migration in Southern Africa.
Ministers welcomed the Regional Action Plan and called upon fellow member states to support the implementation of the plan.
The Regional Action Plan on Labour Migration contains key priority areas relating to labour migration in the SADC region in which SADC Member States commit themselves to translate the provisions of the recommendations on labour migration into concrete action in their respective countries.
The Conference further discussed various topics related to labour migration and wider migration issues in the region including National Migration Policies, Migration Profiles, Irregular Migration, Migration and Health, SADC Protocol on the Facilitation of Movement of Persons and One-Stop Border Post.
Ministers acknowledged that harmonisation and integration of national policies and strategies relating to migration management is important and there was growing recognition among SADC member states that well managed migration can contribute to development.
Ministers further acknowledged that well-managed labour migration flows, protection of the rights of migrant workers and effective responses to irregular migration can lead to mutual benefits for both migrants and Member States.
On Migration Management:
· Member States agreed to enhance regional coordination through the establishment of migration focal points in relevant ministries;
· There was a general agreement that there is a need for common Regional Standard Operating Procedures including minimum standards for the treatment of migrants;
· There was also consensus that there is a need for on-going exchange of experiences and best practices;
· Ministers further re-affirmed the need for harmonized border management systems and integrated regional information management system
· Member States agreed to address irregular migration challenges by increasing public awareness as well as promoting legal labour mobility channels and opportunities.
On Regional Migration Cooperation:
· SADC Member States were encouraged to expedite ratification of the SADC Protocol on the Facilitation of Movement of Persons.
· Ministers agreed that there is a need to strengthen Diaspora Engagement and promote their participation in development to mitigate the effects of brain drain.
· In addition, Ministers agreed that regional migration policies have to promote the cooperation between countries of origin, transit and destination.
· Ministers acknowledged that there is a need to address labour migration challenges in a comprehensive way and develop policies that aim to harness the benefit of labour migration in Southern Africa.
8. COMMITTEE’S KEY FINDINGS
The following findings are consolidated from the various sources included in the report and from the discussions of the Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs with the DHA and the entities: IEC, FPB and GPW.
8.1. Budget Vote and Strategic Plan
Observations below are those in which the Committee interacted with the DHA and entities, on the Budget Vote/ Speech and the 2012/13-2014/15 strategic plans.
8.1.1. The vacant funded posts in the DHA are not filled within four months as directed by the President during the State of the Nation Address (SONA). 8.1.2. There is an significant increase in the spending on the deportation of illegal foreigners. 8.1.3. The DHA did not achieve the 2% of the employment of persons with disability. 8.1.4. The Department’s Annual Performance Plan was not sufficiently aligned with the National Development Plan (NDP). 8.1.5. Mobile offices were not functional in order to assist in eradicating late registration of birth, especially in the rural areas. 8.1.6. The working relationship between the DHA and the Department of Health on online registration of births and death in health facilities had not improved significantly. 8.1.7. The DHA is not sufficiently working with other government departments in the Justice, Crime Prevention and Security (JCPS) cluster in order to protect the coastline. The new Movement Control System had captured people who had overstayed their visas and thus were illegal in the country. There had been an improvement in the amount of time taken for processing Permanent and Temporary Residence Permits. The DHA reported that in November 2013, the backlog in the processing of permanent residence permits will be cleared. 8.1.8. The IT systems of the DHA were still not sufficiently integrated. The Information Technology (IT) Modernisation Project of the DHA should be prioritised. 8.1.9. The IT systems of the DHA were still not sufficiently integrated. The Information Technology (IT) Modernisation Project of the DHA should be prioritised. 8.1.10. The DHA had not yet addressed the audit findings raised by the Auditor-General (AG) in the Annual Report for 2012/13. 8.1.11. In future the DHA should consider submitting Draft APP/Strategic Plans to the Portfolio Committee before it is tabled to Parliament. 8.1.12. Sufficient measures were not yet taken to address court rulings on the closure of Refugee Reception Offices. 8.1.13. The GPW was not marketing itself sufficiently, particularly to government departments; in order improve its declining revenue. 8.1.14. The GPW’s Annual Performance Plan did not have outcomes based strategies nor consider the National Development Plan sufficiently. 8.1.15. The respective roles of the FPB and other stakeholders involved in the fight against child pornography need to be formalised. 8.1.16. The IEC did not have sufficient plans with regard to political intimidation when training staff during elections. Voter education of the IEC was also not simple enough to focus on what voters need to know. 8.1.17. The IEC should work towards strengthening the political Party Liaison Committees (PLCs).8.2. Annual Report
Observations below are those in which the Committee interacted with the DHA and entities on their annual reports.
8.2.1. The Portfolio Committee encouraged the DHA to address the findings made by the Auditor-General. The collection of revenue in missions abroad was still a major challenge. DIRCO was not providing all supporting documents to the DHA. 8.2.2. The Department of Public Works (DPW) was not providing adequate support to the DHA in acquiring and renovating offices, particularly at border posts This also applies to the GPW, which has been delayed for some time in moving to move to the new Visagie Street facility and this will have a negative impact on the roll out of the ID Smart Card.8.2.3. There are challenges in measuring performance against targets set by the DHA. The Leadership of the DHA was not sufficient in the consistent monitoring of performance and ensuring internal audit controls. 8.2.4. The non-implementation of the Trading Account had resulted in the DHA overspending by R301 million. The DHA and National Treasury did not conduct early and thorough enough research on the impacts of such an account. 8.2.5. The suspension of the Chief Executive of Internal Audit seems to have had a negative impact on the audit outcome of the DHA and should be addressed as a matter of priority. 8.2.6. The IEC should do not seem to be doing enough to attract young people to register and vote in the upcoming elections in 2014. 8.2.7. The IEC have not been active enough in clarifying that during the elections in 2014; the green ID book as well as the ID Smart Card will be used for registration and voting. 8.2.8. The Portfolio Committee noted and commended the IEC, GPW and FPB on their clean and unqualified audit opinions in their 2012/13 Annual Reports.
8.3 Entities in the Home Portfolio Budget
The FPB has three Strategic Outcomes and Objectives which translated in to 34 targets in the 2012/13 Annual Performance Plan. In the Annual Report however the FPB report on 74 targets, some of which are the same and many of which are new and altered. Of the reported targets in the Annual Report 18 are reported as partially achieved (24%). This compares to 48% of targets that were partially or not achieved 2011/12. Although the improvement in performance is noted the non alignment of targets with the strategic and annual performance plan leads to the uncertainty whether the reported targets are accurately measuring the performance of the FPB. The AG made following recommendations to the FPB:
· Management should consider compiling monthly financial reports on various account balances included in the disclosure notes to the financial statements in order to build proficiency in the compilation of financial information.
· Suitable training interventions in respect of the financial reporting framework requirements must be identified and implemented.
· The DHA’s internal control processes for financial statement preparation must be reviewed to identify shortcomings in the process and with a view to implementing sustainable corrective actions.
· Internal audit must be tasked with reviewing and tracking management’s actions.
· The audit committee needs to ensure that supply chain management processes for the appointment of an internal audit service provider is concluded soon to allow the entity to have a functioning internal audit for the entire financial year.
· The audit committee needs to ensure that the effectiveness of the internal control environment is assessed throughout the financial year. This can be achieved through approval of the internal audit plans and revisions of the plans in time.
A total of 61% of the objectives set in the GPW strategic plan were achieved for the year (i.e. 39% of targets were not achieved). Much of these problems emanate from challenges encountered in relocating and recapitalising the entity as well as continued challenges in recruiting sufficient staff.
The AG made following recommendations to the GPW:
· Management should ensure that all accruals and receivables are properly and accurately accounted for in the accounting records and financial statements.
· The auditors reiterate their prior year recommendation that management should consider referring long outstanding debtors to the State Attorney, and where economical, institute legal demand.
The IEC has 41 performance indicators across their five programmes. The IEC managed to exceed or achieve 32 of these (78%). This is compared to 35 achieved out of 49 targets (60%) in 2011/12. This is admirable compared to many other entities in government. In addition, many of the un-achieved targets were in fact mostly achieved and/or postponed to allow for further consultation. The lowest achieving programmes were Outreach where 5 out of 8 objectives were achieved (62%) and Corporate Services where 9 out of 14 targets (64%) were achieved.
The following table is a summary of the findings of the Auditor General for the entities in the Home Affairs Budget Vote.
|
DESCRIPTION |
08-09 |
09-10 |
10-11 |
11-12 |
12-13 |
|
|
Audit opinions |
||||||
|
DHA |
QUALIFIED |
QUALIFIED |
UNQUALIFIED |
QUALIFIED |
QUALIFIED |
|
|
GPW |
QUALIFIED |
UNQUALIFIED |
UNQUALIFIED |
UNQUALIFIED |
UNQUALIFIED |
|
|
IEC |
UNQUALIFIED |
QUALIFIED |
UNQUALIFIED |
UNQUALIFIED |
CLEAN |
|
|
FPB |
UNQUALIFIED |
UNQUALIFIED |
UNQUALIFIED |
UNQUALIFIED |
UNQUALIFIED |
|
|
Compliance Issues |
||||||
|
DHA |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
|
|
GPW |
|
X |
X |
X |
X |
|
|
IEC |
|
X |
X |
X |
|
|
|
FPB |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
|
|
|
|
|||||
What can be seen is that that apart from two exceptions in the last four years, all the entities in the Home Affairs Portfolio, unlike the DHA itself, are competent at receiving unqualified Reports and the IEC received its first clean Audit in 2012/13
9. CONCLUSION
The Minister of Home Affairs has made significant progress in achieving the six targets of her performance agreement with the President. Identities of citizens will become more secure as a result of the roll out of the Smart ID cards. Refugee management turnaround times are gradually improving. Birth registration is improving as the footprint of the DHA offices and presence in hospitals continues to expand. Great numbers of youth are getting IDs as a result of targeted visits to schools. Lastly turnaround times for improving services has been noticed with more offices being equipped with electronic queue management systems and reduction in overall delivery times of documents for citizens.
After making significant progress in its 2010/11 financial reporting, however, the DHA has unfortunately returned to receiving a qualified audit report in 2011/12 and 2012/13. Performance against predetermined strategic targets has also declined on previous years; which can be observed with continued under expenditure in the first two financial quarters each year. More consistent monitoring and expenditure throughout the financial year will help prevent over and under expenditure and service delivery performance at year’s end. The DHA has affirmed that its goal is a clean audit in 2014/15 which will require a redoubling of efforts and expedient recruitment of Internal Auditing and Human Resource Recruitment Capacity.
The DHA continues to make progress in expanding its footprint and staff capacity to improve its service delivery. However there continues to be general underperformance of management targets related to inadequate Governance and Accountability as well as Human Resource Management have been noted by the Presidency management Performance tool. It is expected that the advances made by the DHA since its significant turnaround initiative will help overcome what it is hoped is only a temporary setback in its financial and service delivery performance.
The continued improvements by the entities under the DHA Budget Vote are commendable and their striving towards clean audits is encouraged.
10. RECOMMENDATIONS
Of the issues observed by the committee during the year under review the following were of particular concern and are recommended for prioritisation by the Minister of Home Affairs in the future planning and budget allocations:
10.1. The IT Modernisation Programme must be implemented as an urgent security matter in 2013/14. The DHA will need to identify savings and improve performance in all programmes to prevent the reoccurrence of related overspending. The DHA must present on the 2013/14 third quarter progress made in terms of this programme to the Committee as was also advised by National Treasury.
10.2. Matters raised by the Auditor-General in the Annual Report, should be addressed, in particular the recurring matter of contingent assets in relation to the DIRCO. There should be a clear action taken between the DHA, DIRCO and the National Treasury in relation to the management of revenue generated in missions abroad prior to the end of the 2013/14 financial year. The matter of accommodation for the DHA in London through DIRCO also needs to reported on and finalised.
10.3. The matter of overspending relating to the late and failed implementation of a trading account to offset operational costs against income must be finalised as a matter of urgency. The DHA should promptly consult with National Treasury to find and implement a suitable self financing vehicle by the end of 2014/15.
10.4. A special intervention is required by the DHA to ensure that the permanent and temporary residence permits and the related backlogs are addressed. This is impacting on the low delivery rate on the Ministers targets of 50 000 skilled immigrants per annum. Given the continued overspending and not meeting of several targets in the Immigration Services Branch and Budget Programme; a prioritisation of funding for planning, training and recruiting in this programme is recommended above the 7.3% average growth rate projected for the Medium Term. Consideration should be given to weekend and after hour work to address these backlogs. The collaboration of the Immigration Branch with Departments of Trade and Industry, Labour and Education on updating the numbers and types of skills needed also needs to be done before the second quarter of 2014/14.
10.5. Prioritisation of the filling of all vacant funded posts is needed within 12 months of vacancies or new posts arising. The high vacancy rates in audit services, counter corruption and immigration services is seriously negatively impacting on service delivery. In particular, the filling of key management positions such as the Chief Financial Officer, Provincial Managers and the Chief Internal Audit Executive should be finalised as soon as possible. Serious consideration is needed on improving times of finalisation of appeals to dismissals with the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA). Additional capacity, training and weekend and after hour work for Human Resources Section to address these backlogs should be addressed.
10.6. The continued low performance against set targets needs to be seriously considered prior to the strategic and annual performance plans being set. Preliminary plans should be submitted to Parliament prior to the final strategic plan being submitted. Of particular concern as raised by National Treasury and the Presidency is the addressing of targets in the Governance, Accountability and Human Resource Management. In this regard there needs to be thorough consideration of the evidence which will be provided to support performance information. Early indications of underperformance against targets in quarterly reports should be addressed by management and staff as soon as possible to ensure more stringent monitoring and achievement of targets.
10.7. The Counter Corruption Unit should be fully capacitated as a matter of urgency in order to deal with ongoing matters of corruption in the DHA and to comply with recommendation made by the State of the Nation Address and National Development plan.
10.8. The DHA and GPW rely on the DPW in acquiring and renovating buildings to provide their services and perform work and have been held back on several key projects as a result. This includes, but is not limited to, the establishment of Refugee Reception Offices at land borders and final facilities for the housing of security printers needed for the mass production of smart identity documents. An urgent meeting between the Ministers of the two departments is needed to implement a solution. If the DPW is likely to continue delaying the initiatives of these entities, discussion of alternative arrangements for acquiring/renovating buildings need to be arranged with National Treasury. A reconsideration of the need for the placement of new offices must also be conducted.
10.9. Regulations relating to the Immigration Amendment Bill and Refugees Amendment Bill should be finalised by the end of 2013/14. The Draft Immigration Policy given to the Minister should be presented to Parliament as soon as possible. The Draft of the Border Management Agency Act should also be given to Parliament for consideration as early in 2014/15 as possible. Aspects of preventing xenophobia and promoting social cohesion should form part of all these initiatives as per the National Development Plan.
10.10. Conformity of the DHA, GPW, FPB and IEC to the Financial Reporting Framework needs to be better standardised and conformed to across the entities.
10.11. The IEC should put additional emphasis on voter education and training of the electoral staff. Engagement with stakeholder such the South African Police Services should be included in this regard. Issues dealt with by the Public Protector report should be left to Parliament and the IEC should focus on the coming elections. 10.12. The IEC needs to expand on their outreach programmes to youth voting for the first time particularly in informal settlements.
10.13. Improved working relations between the FPB and the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) are needed to ensure that content that is broadcast and privately posted online complies with the Film and Publications Act. 10.14. Ensuring of consistency between the strategic targets set, budget allocated and performance reported on in annual reports of the FPB should be addressed.
10.15. Given the significant expenditure, improved quality and declining revenue of the GPW; a measure to prioritise the use of the GPW by government entities and the need to justify not using them, needs to be considered in conjunction with National Treasury in the 2014/15 financial year. 10.16. The long outstanding special dispensation for competitive salaries for professional printing staff in the GPW needs to be resolved in conjunction with the Department of Public Service and Administration as soon as possible in 2014/15. 10.17. As per the African Ministers’ Civil Registration Conference; the DHA need to continue to adopt appropriate technologies to speed and scale up civil registration, manage civil registration records, and ensure their integrity and security against natural disasters, civil wars, etc . 10.18. As per the Second Ministerial Conference on Migration Dialogue; South Africa must share their experiences and good practices with respective countries in SADC regarding the management and control of migration in the region, as well as to jointly explore opportunities leading to the implementation of the Regional Action Plan on Labour Migration in Southern Africa. 10.19. The Committee supports the recommendations of Ministers at the Migration Dialogue of the need for harmonized border management systems and integrated regional information management system. In this regard the Committee encouraged the ratification of the SADC Protocol on the Facilitation of Movement of Persons and to address labour migration challenges in a comprehensive policy to harness the benefit of labour migration in Southern Africa.
Outstanding Issues from the 2012 Budget Review and Recommendation Report (most of which are detailed above)
10.20. There needs to be assurance that the Information Technology systems integration projects of the DHA would be finalised and implemented. 10.21. There needs to be assurance that all priority posts would be filled by the first the end of the 201/14 financial year. 10.22. There needs to be assurance that the internal audit and compliance monitoring capacity and training of both the DHA and its entities would be prioritised. 10.23. There needs to be assurance that methods for the better control and monitoring of migrants within the country, both for improved services delivery and security and immigration policy are revised. The use of biometrics and especially digital fingerprint records is a critical tool in this area. 10.24. There needs to be improvement on human resource development and training to ensure that new regulations and accounting systems are uniformly implemented. This applies in particular to the new accounting policy and procedures to be implemented in missions for the collections of fees on behalf of DHA by DIRCO. 10.25. The Minister of Home Affairs should report back in six months on progress made on the abovementioned recommendations.
Report to be considered
Documents
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