ATC230504:Report of the Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs on Budget Vote 5 and Annual Performance Plans of the Department of Home Affairs and Entities, Dated 2 May 2023

Home Affairs

Report of the Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs on Budget Vote 5 and Annual Performance Plans of the Department of Home Affairs and Entities, Dated 2 May 2023.

 

The Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs, having considered the budgets and APPs of the DHA and entities reports as follows

 

1. Introduction.    

The Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs (the Committee) met on Budget Vote 5 on 28 February and held a Strategic Planning Session on 29 and 31 March 2023. On 30 March 2023, the Committee conducted an oversight visit to the Department of Home Affairs Head Office Permitting Unit and the new Menlyn Shopping Mall Office.

 

In the Budget Committee meeting, it was briefed on the budget allocations for the Department of Home Affairs (DHA), the Border Management Authority (BMA), the Government Printing Works (GPW) and the Electoral Commission (IEC) for the 2023/24 financial year.

 

In the Strategic Planning Session on 29 March 2023, the Committee again invited the DHA, BMA, GPW and IEC to present their Annual Performance Plans for the 2023-2024 financial years, progress on their 2019 to 24 strategic targets, the operationalisation of the BMA and IEC preparations for the National and Provincial Elections in 2024 as well the on electronic voting systems.

 

On 30 March 2023, the Committee conducted an oversight visit to the Department’s Head Office and the newly opened Menlyn Shopping Mall Office. The purpose of the visit to the Head Office was to interact with staff that were adjudicating Temporary Residency Visa (TRV) and Permanent Residency Permits (PRP). The DHA and media had previously reported that there was a backlog in the processing of these applications due to the Covid-19 pandemic as well as a funded project to address it.

 

2. BUDGET VOTE 5

2.1 Opening and Welcome.

The Chairperson officially opened the meeting and indicated that the Department of Home Affairs (DHA), the Electoral Commission (IEC), the Border Management Authority (BMA) and the Government Printing Works (GPW) would brief the Committee on their budget allocations for 2023-24 financial year.

 

2.2 . Briefing by the DHA, BMA, GPW and IEC on their 2023-24 budget allocations

DHA

DHA Chief Financial Officer, Mr Gordon Hollamby, presented the budget indicating that the expenditure from the past 8/9 years had been at 100% of its allocation. There is capacity to spend and since 2013-14 no unauthorised expenditure has been incurred. In the current financial year, as of January 2023, the overall spending is at 74 percent, this is slightly under the projections for the current financial year. This underspending projection is due to the late receipt of funds for the digitization project. Alongside the passenger name recognition project that has not progressed, leaving an amount of R200 million that has not been used.

 

The compensation of employees (CoE) remains the biggest cost driver, sitting at 36 percent. The ceiling for CoE is capped at R3.9 billion. As of January 2023, CoE is at 75% of its target, this places the Department in a less pressurised position – allowing the offices of the Department to open later and pay overtime including for the festive deployment periods.

 

Allocations for the 2023/24 budget are increased and are expected to drop in 2024/25. This is due to specific baseline reductions and baseline increases of about R1 billion. This is largely in programme 4: Institutional Support and Transfers for BMA and IEC.

Self-financing is a mechanism that allows the Department to retain some of the generated revenue, and use it for the purpose defined by the National Treasury. The Department uses these funds for the costs incurred for the generation of this revenue, these include but are not limited to cash-in-transit activities, hospital connectivity, property look and feel, financial accounting, and archives management. The overall self-financing allocation is R987 million and this will be used for expenses incurred should Treasury allow the Department to do so.

 

Mr Hollamby reported that for the 2023-24 financial year, the DHA’s allocations were R10.863 billion for the four DHA programmes as follows:

• Programme 1: Administration – R2.719 billion.
• Programme 2: Citizen Affairs – R3.361 billion.
• Programme 3: Immigration Affairs – R858.59 million.
• Programme 4: Institutional Support and transfers – R3.924 billion (BMA: R1.342 billion and IEC: R2.232 billion).
•  

BMA

Dr Mike Masiapato, the BMA Commissioner made the presentation and he indicated the BMA was still to be established by 1 April 2023 as a separate entity from the DHA. The staff consultation has been conducted in preparation for 1 April 2023.  He also reported that the Audit and Risk Committee with four members and the Remuneration and Human Capital Committee with three members have been established and were appointed by the Minister for three years with effect from 1 February 2023.

 

He indicated that the budget for 2022-23 was R78 million and the BMA has already spent about R47 million which translates to 60 percent. There was a commitment of R13 million for February and March 2023. An estimated amount of R18 million would be unspent from the COE.

 

The transfer of staff and functions from the Departments of Home Affairs; Health; Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development and Forestry, Fisheries and Environment would contribute about R1 billion to the BMA budget. The initial budget request by BMA for 2023-24 was R2.686 billion and over the MTEF period the budget was R10.6 billion. Because of budget pressures, the BMA would outsource most of its corporate functions to DHA.

 

IEC

IEC Chief Electoral Officer, Mr Sy Mamabolo, indicated that based on the 2024 Election, the 2023/24 financial year budget is R2.2 billion housed in four programmes bearing 14 outputs. The IEC budget will provide for:

- two registration weekends - one in 2023 and the other in 2024

- revisions to electoral information communication technology

- voter registration

- launch of communication campaigns

- staff expansion programme

- an incremental capacity increase of the institution

- recruitment and training of 50 000 registration staff for the upcoming registration weekends

- expansion of the local delivery model and local storage sites

- identification and contracting of registration stations

- maintenance of the network of offices countrywide.

 

Taking note of the recently passed Electoral Amendment Bill, the IEC is looking to accommodate the operational and financial implications of this. This includes the re-writing of ICT business applications, particularly the candidate nomination system to take account of independent candidates and signature requirements; the logistics information system; and the results system.

 

The IEC has some funding pressures, particularly in:

1. workshops and training,
2. the projected increase of ballot papers by about 50% to accommodate the regional ballot,
3. the expected increase in the number of contestants resulting in longer ballots and possible reconfiguration of ballot papers,
4. a public education programme of the revised electoral system and
5. workshops for new electoral contestants.

 

IEC Chief Financial Officer, Ms Dawn Mbatha, said the IEC has had to absorb cuts of about R240 million in the current year. The estimated budget for 2023/24 is R2.2 billion. Importantly, National Treasury has provisionally approved the retention of any 2022/23 budget allocation surpluses to assist with funding pressures.

 

The IEC programme financial breakdown is:

• The administration programme accounts for R820 million which includes CoE.
• Electoral Operations is the core programme accounting for R1.2 billion.
• The Outreach programme is R258 million.
• The Party Funding and Liaison programme is R25 million.
• The recruitment of staff in the Political Parties Funding Unit has been slowed down for the IEC to get a more realistic sense of the volume and intensity of work in this unit.

 

GPW

Ms Alina Fosi, the Chief Executive Officer; Ms Constance Shibambo, Director: Internal Audit and Mr Ian Van Der Merwe, Chief Financial Officer made the presentation.

 

In her presentation, Ms Fosi indicated some projects were implemented at GPW. Some of these projects are as follows:

• The development of change management and GTAC has been appointed.
• Modernisatiion of GPW.
• Business continuity after the loss of data.
• The implementation of Ministerial Review Panel Report Recommendations.
• The Security Printing Bill.
• The appointment of the Ministerial Advisory Board.
• A case study to establish a polycarbonate printing assembly.
• Critical infrastructure projects.

 

The newly approved organisational structure was implemented on 1 April 2022. It was reported that 417 new positions were added to the new structure and 74 positions have been reassigned.

 

Ms Mbambo indicated that GPW was addressing the audit findings. There were 595 findings and 77 percent of these findings have been resolved.

 

Mr Van Der Merwe indicated that GPW revenue was forecasted to increase at an average annual rate of 16 percent from R1.426 billion in 2022/23 to 1.654 billion in 2023/24. GPW was set to generate R5.51 billion in revenue over the medium term through business operations. Expenditure was forecasted to increase at an average annual rate of 15.54% from R1.288 billion in 2022/23 to R1.488 billion in 2023/24.  The total estimated expenditure over the medium term will be R4.960 billion.

 

2.3 Budget Deliberations

In relation to the budget presentations, the members of the Committee raised the following concerns and questions:

DHA

1.  
2.  
   1.  
   2.  
   3.  
      1. What is the plan for the DHA to fill the unfunded vacancies?
      2. Has the budget of the DHA taken into consideration load shedding in its offices and has provision been made for generators and alternative power?
      3. What are the key project milestones to ensure the R839 million digitisation project is completed on time? And how will the process be accelerated given its late start?
      4. The Committee received a report on 12 July 2022 on the review of permits issued since 2014. The report indicates serious problems such as widespread fraud and fake users created on DHA systems, identity theft and staff operating visa fraud syndicates. An information technology project is critical to address the gaps that permit fraud syndicates to operate in DHA - is there such a project?
      5. What are the remaining goods and services to be procured for the Who Am I project for 2023?
      6. What is DHA's intention with interns after serving on the digitisation project as it is set to be completed in one year?

BMA

1. What is the current budget shortfall for BMA for full implementation, what functions are not funded and what will be done to address this?
2. It is undeniable that South Africa has porous borders, the new officials – boots on the ground – that will be deployed by BMA seem to be positioned at the border posts and not along the borders to stop persons illegally coming into the country. What is the financial outlook for neglected internal enforcement in the medium term?
3. The Committee was concerned that there was a decrease in the funding of the Immigration Services programme and the BMA. The funding of the BMA will affect its operations.
4. There was concern with regard to the intentions for integration between SAPS and the Border Guards.

 

IEC

1. The Committee wanted to ascertain if and when electronic voting would be piloted and what finances were being planned for it.
2. Have there been any donations to the Multi-Party Democracy Fund, if so how much? How is the IEC planning to distribute these donations, considering the 2024 independent candidates?
3. On financial investments for the communication campaign ­– while it is important to ensure the youth and as many people are registered to vote. What is the targeted number of voters it should be increasing from the current 26 million registered voters.
4. Will the IEC be in a position to implement the Electoral Amendment Bill to include independent candidates in the National and Provincial Elections with a decreased budget?
5. The Committee has continually raised concerns about voter education to which the IEC would respond that not much could be done due to budgetary constraints. Can the IEC and the Committee not ensure there is sufficient allocation given the upcoming election and Amended Electoral Amendment Act; extensive voter education is crucial.
6. How long are the 7 000 additionally recruited staff for the elections to be employed by IEC as they seem to be budgeted for both 2022/23 and 2023/24?

 

GPW

1. There should be a turnaround time on the implementation of the Ministerial Review Panel Report  Recommendations.
2. On plans for GPW to have an imprint in other countries, what sort of revenue has been received from those initiatives? What marketing plans are there to ensure the success of this African initiative? Is there a budget allocation for marketing?
3. Previously GPW had challenges in ensuring audits are timeously conducted so what is being done to ensure this is improved?
4. GPW is still owed payments for services rendered to government departments and entities.
5. With regard to data loss, how much, if any, has been recovered?
6. On consultation on the Security Printing Bill, GPW should also consult with the private sector.

 

1. Responses by the DHA, BMA, IEC and GPW

DHA

1. The decrease in the DHA Immigration branch budget is due to the functional shift of Immigration to the BMA. All immigration officials at the ports of entry will move to BMA with their salaries. Therefore for the 2024/25 financial year, these remuneration budgets will move to BMA, because of the functional shift.
2. In the DHA Immigration branch budget, there are funds of about R450 million for goods/services and these will assist the Home Affairs team with deportation.
3. The Committee had suggested Home Affairs work on a business case due to understaffing as the DHA staffing level was sitting at about 36%. National Treasury had approved funds of R260 million which enabled DHA to fill about 762 vacant positions with a focus on services which placed it at a 42% staffing level. The Department is further looking at increasing the capacity to at least 55%. Whilst this is far below acceptable measures, DHA is looking at improving the staffing levels.
4. The budget will not be impacted by mobile trucks as the mobile footprint is being increased. The DHA is anticipating the receipt of 20 more trucks by the end of February 2023. Moreover, on the recommendation of the Committee, DHA is going to order 100 more trucks to be deployed and service the more rural areas.
5. The digitisation programme is set to continue for the next two years due to the late receipt of funds, therefore the interns will still be in the digitisation project. The digitisation programme is under consideration, with expected full running in March and April. More graduates are expected to be employed in this. The key milestones of the project will be indicated quarterly. The minimum set of records should be demonstrable at the end of March 2023. On the anticipated unspent money for the digitisation project, due to late receipt of the funding allocation, DHA has engaged National Treasury for a rollover, of which the Treasury has been supportive.
6. The Passenger Name Recognition (PNR) is allocated about R228 million, the system is a sub-component of the Advanced Processing System. This system allows DHA to tell you when a person books a ticket to South Africa which establishment they will be staying at, track the banking system of the traveller, and how the traveller intends to leave South Africa. Unfortunately, this system is provided by a sole supplier – a Swiss-based company – and National Treasury declined the application to engage and appoint this service provider for the PNR. The Department was advised to go on an open tender, and the process has been started. As a result, DHA will be unable to spend the R228 million in this current financial year, National Treasury has been requested to un-earmark the funds.
7. Home Affairs Deputy Minister, Njabulo Nzuza, stated that the DHA human resources issue will be reported on and emailed to the Committee.
8. Overall DHA has managed prudent financial systems in the past and there has been consistent performance. The aim now is to improve and receive a clean audit. Efforts to lobby for funding for the BMA will continue as this has been continually committed to by the Portfolio Committee that funding for the security cluster needs to be improved.

 

Border Management Authority response

1. The BMA operates in two distinct areas: (i) the port of entry, which is inside the port, and (ii) the law enforcement area, which is outside the port. Outside the port is legally defined as 10 kilometres, going sideways at the borderline, and 10 kilometres inside South Africa. The other specialised area which is part of law enforcement is the vulnerable segment on the borderline. This refers to areas where there are border communities, these are areas where the borderline competes with civilian activities in that area. These areas have at times what is called the foot and mouth fence, which deals with animal movement. The BMA will be taking over this work from the DHA of Agriculture.
2. Understanding the above, issues about the South African Police Services (SAPS); the BMA Act indicates that border law enforcement work will be done by BMA officials. The intention was to ensure there is no confusion about duties. Whilst this work is currently being done by the SAPS, when the BMA Act comes into effect it will be done by the Border Management Authority.
3. The initial intention of BMA was to ensure officers deployed at the port environment by SAPS are controlled by BMA and those officials are integrated into the BMA. It quickly became clear this would not succeed as the funds allocated for border control will have to be transferred to the BMA, Treasury did not allow this. This meant BMA will not have the capacity to do all the work. Although the BMA will be doing some aspect of the work based on the current 200 border guards and 400 that will be brought on in the coming financial year. As it stands the SAPS is utilising 6,000 officials across all ports in the country. Compared to the 600 officials that the BMA will have, this meant the BMA cannot fully take on the function. The SAPS will continue this work and BMA will gradually take responsibility when their border guards increase. There are still ongoing discussions with the relevant Ministers regarding the matter.
4. The BMA is looking at utilising drone technologies to complement the boots on the ground, unfortunately, with the allocation of only R250 million, BMA will not be able to deploy this at this stage. In the interim, the BMA will try and tap into the drone technologies that the South African National Defence Force had indicated they intend to use for border management during the 2023 Budget Speech, with the hopes that the BMA will be granted additional resources.
5. Presently the BMA will cover all the main ports, which include land ports, sea, and airports. In terms of the line, only landline ports will be covered, and no sea port line covering. BMA has not put effort into the sea line ports, let alone budgetary consideration. The bringing in of the coastline guards will be the second phase of the BMA plans. In summary, the shortfall is R10bn over five years. For the current year, BMA asked for R2.6bn but got R250m.

Government Printing Works response

1. To date, GPW has started printing for all spheres of government. In identifying revenue-generating clients, progress has been made. A multi-faceted approach has been adopted for the revenue quantum for the expansion plan. Since the advent of Covid-19, there have been numerous online engagements with SADC countries and the greater African continent to ensure the marketing of GPW products. This has yielded some results, as these countries have come on official visits to view GPW services, intending to return for business. Central to this strategy have been efforts to engage embassies and high commissions in Pretoria to ensure there is wider engagement, without having to spend much on travelling costs.
2. Regarding the data loss, several companies have been engaged for data recovery and no costs have been incurred. To date, there are no costs budgeted for data recovery, as systems are being recreated and there are efforts to re-automate the previously crashed system.
3. On an economic impact assessment for potential business losses by the private sector, it is important to note that GPW is part of Printing SA. Printing SA is a coordinating body for all printing, publication and manufacturing sectors within the country, therefore the GPW model has never competed with the private sector; it supports small, micro, and macro enterprises. SMMEs have been granted business by being contracted to print certain products on behalf of GPW, to ensure their development and sustainability.

IEC response

1. Voter education plans have a combination of integrated activities, the target is the young electorate of the country – particularly first-time voters. Given the new electoral system, every electoral member becomes a target for voter education and the communication campaign. One of these integrated activities is the community approach – the capacity is being put on the pool of staff members that will be at municipal duty stations. The hope is that communities are reached broadly within communities, this will be at a voting district level.
2. The second focal activity deals with vulnerable groups, particularly persons living with disabilities, where there will be similar community engagements with these groups for voter education and information.
3. Radio-based engagements for voter information and engagement will continue, using community-based radio stations as the medium has still been found to be relevant and effective. Digital media is a new medium and the IEC will be making use of these. The key areas include information sharing through animation, chatbots, and conferencing facilities to create dialogue for participants to engage with the IEC content. The partnership with the South African Broadcasting Corporation does include radio and television where educational material will be shared, extending to all SABC channels.
4. The IEC also has a focused school curriculum where civic education and duty are encouraged, coupled with the annual campaign in April which is voter education month. The context of voter education in South Africa is still about why people should participate and vote. This is a question that needs to be answered in dialogue and interactions. The electorate needs to have a purpose in participating and to understand their responsibility in participating in the electoral democracy.
5. The IEC can execute all four programmes depending on the National Treasury approval of the anticipated rollover. The Electoral Amendment Bill was also factored into the budget allocation process.
6. The electoral process is becoming an expensive exercise as there is the amendments in the Electoral Amendment Bill to consider; enhancements to technology; and efforts in automating the election process. Moreover, the IEC procures in the open market and prices are affected by external factors such as inflation.
7. Donations to the Multi-Party Democracy Fund are indeed a strategic innovation in the party funding regulatory environment, as it allows corporates and the citizenry to contribute to entrenching multi-party democracy. Contributions to date have been to the value of R7.5 million. Quite admirably two citizens have made contributions. The need is there and the IEC is engaging all corporates and citizens who can contribute. A process of engaging with high net worth individuals is underway to enthuse them about contributing to the fund. This is distributed in a defined formula contained in the electoral prescripts in both an equity and proportional manner.
8. The IEC is intending to open the total fleet of 23 000 voting stations for two registration weekends – one in late 2023 and another in early 2024. This is an important modality as voting stations are the most accessible for people. It is a modality that is not dependent on a cell phone as you merely walk to a voting station to register. It serves as an equalising opportunity for all South African citizens. To supplement this, the IEC has an online 24/7 accessible voter registration platform. This is an attractive feature, particularly for young voters, who are the key target. Civic education programme was launched last year for students in all tertiary institutions which is also important as it is an opportunity to register.

 

1. ANNUAL PLANS AND MEDIUM TERMS TARGET  PROGRESS

 

3.1 Introduction

The Chairperson opened the Strategic Planning Session. He requested Adv. BT Bongo to make remarks. Adv. BT Bongo indicated that the purpose of the Session was to take stock from the DHA on Medium Term Strategic Framework (MTSF) from 2019 until 2023 and to receive briefings on the Annual Performance Plans of the DHA and the entities.

 

The Committee would also have an opportunity to conduct oversight of the Permitting Unit of the DHA. There had been challenges to the backlog in the processing of the applications and members of the public were contacting the Committee to intervene on their behalf. One other challenge was that when these queries were sent to the DHA, the officials did not respond.

 

3.2 Department of Home Affairs (DHA).

Mr T Makhode, the Director-General (DG) of the DHA made the presentations. He re-emphasised the vision, mission, mandate, values and outcomes of the DHA.

 

The DHA envision South Africa where identity, status and citizenship are key enablers of citizen empowerment and inclusivity, economic development and national security.

 

The DHA carries out its mission in line with its commitment to citizen empowerment and inclusivity, economic development and national security, by:

• Being an efficient and secure custodian of citizenship and civil registration.
• Securely and strategically managing international migration.
• Efficiently managing asylum seekers and refugees.
• Efficiently determining and safeguarding the official identity and status of persons.

 

The DHA’s mandate is divided into two broad categories namely Civic Service and Immigration Services. There are three (3) mandates, which are to manage citizenship and civil registration, the management of international migration and the management of refugee protection.

 

These are values of the DHA and it is committed to being:

• People-centred and caring

• Patriotic
• Professional and showing leadership
• Effective, efficient and innovative
• Ethical and having integrity
• Security conscious
• Development oriented

 

The DHA has five (5) Outcomes to accomplish its vision and these are:

• Secure management of international migration resulting in South Africa’s interests being served and fulfilling international commitments.
• Secure and efficient management of citizenship and civil registration to fulfil constitutional and international obligations.
• Efficient asylum seeker and refugee system in compliance with domestic and international obligations.
• Secure population register to empower citizens, enable inclusivity, economic development and national security.

• DHA is positioned to contribute positively to a capable and developmental state.

 

3.3 The DHA contribute to the achievement of the National Development Plan (NDP) 2030 objectives:

• The inclusion of all citizens in democracy and development is enabled by providing them with a status and an identity that gives them access to rights and services.  This must be done in an efficient, effective, professional and secure manner.

• A further priority for the DHA is to facilitate the acquisition of the critical skills needed for economic growth as determined by the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) to build our own skills base. 
• The DHA must continue to drive integrated and coordinated border management to ensure our borders are effectively protected, secured and well-managed.
• The DHA plays a key role in enabling regional development by working with SADC countries through the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) to establish efficient, secure and managed migration.
• The DHA is central to harnessing the fourth (4) industrial revolution and building a capable state. The modernization programme of the DHA can reduce fraud and the cost of doing business by enabling e-government, which will attract more investment into the country.

 

The NDP aims to eliminate poverty and reduce inequality by 2030 and the major focus of the NDP is to confront the triple challenge of poverty, inequality and unemployment by achieving higher growth rates.

 

3.4. State of the Nation (SONA) 2023 commitments.

The DHA made the following commitments after the President’s SONA:

• More than 340 million paper-based civic records are to be digitized by about 10,000 unemployed young people who would be appointed by the DHA.
• Establish a more flexible points-based system to attract skilled immigrants, implement a trusted employer scheme to make the visa process easier for large investors and streamline application requirements.
• Introducing remote worker visas and special dispensation to high-growth start-ups.

 

3.5. Key Development and Critical Success Factors for 2023-2024.

• The DHA will continue to support the Border Management Authority (BMA) as a public entity through systems, legislation, policies and standard operating procedures that form part of the broader approach to managing migration within the RSA.

• The Digitization Programme to modernize civic services as announced by the President in the 2022 SONA has commenced and the 2023/24 financial year will digitize around 36 million birth records.
• The Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS) went live in November 2022. The DHA is in the process of implementing phase 2, which will include additional functionalities such as Iris, infant footprint and palm-print backend recognition capability.
• The Biometric Movement Control system (BMCS) rollout to 72 ports of entry will be completed in the 2023/24 financial year.
• The DHA has developed an implementation plan to deal with the Vulindlela Task Team policy and process recommendations.
• A multi-disciplinary task team has been appointed to deal with the Lubisi Report recommendations.
• The implementation of the DHA Repositioning Programme is underway and around 30 projects form part of the Programme Management Office.
• To deal with long queues:
  • The DHA Menlyn office in the Menlyn Shopping Mall in Pretoria was opened in March 2023 with more malls to follow.
  • The Branch Appointment Booking System (BABS) has been rolled out to all 200 modernized offices.
  • DHA is in the process of procuring an additional 100 mobile offices to cover the 778 visiting points to augment the DHA access model and strategy.

• The procurement process for the Passenger Name Record (PNR) has started. The bid specification process is underway. The PNR system data elements include passenger data from airline reservation systems like payment details, travel itinerary and baggage information. The PNR is a key component of a risk-based approach to immigration.
• DHA has made significant progress with the implementation of POPIA.
• DHA will continue with the implementation of the DHA Plan to promote gender-based violence and femicide (GBV&F) as well as gender, youth and persons with disability issues. Specific focus to be placed on:
  • Increase awareness on issues of harassment through the launch of women’s forums across the DHA.
  • Undertake a survey on different issues related to GBV&F.
  • Strengthen the DHA Sexual Harassment Policy.
  • Host sessions aimed at empowering employees on issues of harassment, especially lower-level employees.
  • Create a dedicated email for reporting cases of harassment.
• Central to the DHA improving its organizational performance and quality of service delivery, is the issue of capacity. The funding received from the National Treasury as part of the Capacitation Business Case has already shown a positive impact on target setting for 2023/24. The DHA will strive to improve its HR capacity from 46% to at least 55% over the medium term in conjunction with National Treasury.
• The DHA will continue in its endeavours to find durable solutions for long-lasting systemic challenges such as system downtime through working closely with SITA and other service providers.

 

3.6. Summary of the Annual Performance Plan (APP) Targets for 2023/24.

In the Civic Services programme, the DHA plans to register 800 000 births within 30 days a calendar year and 2.5 million Smart Cards to be issued to citizens 16 years of age and above. The DHA plans to issue 90 percent of the machine-readable passports issued within 13 for applications collected and processed in South Africa per year. The DHA would also issue 90 percent of machine-readable passports issued within 18 days for applications collected and processed in South Africa per year.

 

In the Immigration Services, the DHA plans to conduct 1 296 DHA-led law enforcement inspections to ensure there was compliance with the immigration legislation per year. These operations would focus on restaurants; security companies; manufacturing; transport companies; automotive industry such as car dealerships, towing, scrap yards, and recycling; retail outlets; farms; DHA-led operations or roadblocks and mines

 

The DHA plans also to adjudicate 85 percent of permanent residence applications for critical skills (S27b), general work (S26a) and business (S27c) within eight (8) months for the applications collected within South Africa per year. The DHA would adjudicate 95 percent of critical skills visa applications within 4 weeks for applications processed within the RSA per year, 90 percent of business visa applications adjudicated within 8 weeks for applications processed within the RSA per year and 90 percent of general work visa applications adjudicated within 8 weeks for applications processed within the RSA per year.

 

To achieve the above, the DHA has 16 adjudicators who would start on 1 April 2023. The DHA was training 62 adjudicators who would be posted to the South Africa missions abroad. These 62 adjudicators would assist with the backlog for two (2) months before being posted abroad.

 

Under the Administration programme, there are sub-programmes such as the Information Service; the Director-General’s Office; the Institutional Planning and Support; Counter Corruption and Security Services and Human Resource Management and Development. Below are the targets under the Administration programme.

 

3.6.1. The Information Service

Biometric Movement Control System (BMCS) implemented at 38 ports of entry and the implementation of BMCS will eliminate a lot of fraud and identity theft as has been the case using only photographs as a means of biometric testing. The use of fingerprint technology will make it increasingly difficult for fraudsters to enter the country anonymously.

Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS) Phase 2 is operational: Iris, infant footprint and palm-print backend recognition capability is deployed into production. ABIS started in January 2016. It is a modern IT system based on commodity hardware. This modern IT system will integrate with other relevant systems, inside and outside Home Affairs, to allow for one holistic view of the status of clients.  It will serve as a single source for biometric authentication of citizens and non-citizens across state institutions and private sector entities.

The DHA would pilot the IMS Case Management System modules for Inspectorate and Deportations to be piloted in four (4) offices (Head office, Epping Refugee Reception Centre, Pretoria Large Office and Lindela Repatriation Centre)

 

The DHA would implement the Asylum Seeker Management and Refugee System at five (5) refugee reception offices and 2 statutory bodies (Refugee Appeals Authority of South Africa -RAASA and the Standing Committee on Refugees Affairs - SCRA)

 

3.6.2. Digitisation of Records.

Target for 2023/24:

• 36 million records digitised (birth records)
• 18 000 Microfilm indexed

Target for 2024/25:

• 152 million records digitised

 

• 152 million records digitised.

 

3.6.3 Legislation

Target for 2023/24:

• White Paper on the Management of Citizenship, International Migration and Refugee Protection submitted to Cabinet for approval

Target for 2024/25:

• Citizenship, Immigration and Refugees Bill submitted to Cabinet for approval

Target for 2025/26:

• Citizenship, Immigration and Refugees Bill tabled in Parliament
• White Paper on the Management of Citizenship, International Migration and Refugee Protection submitted to Cabinet for approval

 

The Immigration Regulations will be amended to incorporate remote working/digital nomad visas as a priority under one of the existing visa categories. Consultations with the Department of Trade Industry and Competition are underway on this matter. The Regulations will be presented to the Minister of Home Affairs by the end of May 2023.

 

The DHA also planned to table to Parliament the DHA Bill; the National Identification and Registration; Marriage Bill and One Stop Border Post Bills would be submitted to Cabinet and therefore tabled in Parliament for processing.

 

The DHA would have 20 engagements with the media; will have six (6) outreach programmes and three (3) campaigns. These targets are intended to communicate and publicise the DHA’s core functions and mandate, while also engaging with the stakeholders to solicit their support and buy-in for the work of the institution.

 

3.6.4 Institutional Planning and Support.

The 2023 State of the Nation Address commitments such as the establishment of a more flexible points-based system to attract skilled migration, implementing a trusted employer scheme to make the visa process easier for large investors and streamlining application requirements as well as introducing a remote worker visa and special dispensation for high-growth start-ups will be covered in the White Paper on the Management of Citizenship, International Migration and Refugee Protection.

 

The Service Delivery Model (SDM) implementation Framework approved by the Director-General and the User Asset Management Plan (U-AMP) 2024/25 was submitted to National Treasury and copied to the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPW &I.

 

The DHA would submit approved strategic accommodation requirements for 2025-2026 to DPW&I and budget requirements and options analysis for DHA Hybrid Access Model presented to National Treasury to secure funding for Access Model.

 

The DHA would digitise 36 million records digitised (birth records); 18 000 Microfilm indexed.

 

3.6.5. Counter Corruption and Security Services

Under the Counter Corruption and Security Services, the DHA would review 16 Business processes to identify vulnerabilities to fraud, corruption and security breaches (per year).

 

Seventy-five percent of reported cases of fraud and corruption were finalized within 90 working days (per year).

 

Forty Threat and Risk Assessments (TRAs) are conducted per year in accordance with the requirements of Minimum Information Security Standards (MISS) and/or Minimum Physical Security Standards (MPSS).

 

Four hundred and fifty vetting files were finalized and referred to State Security Agency (SSA) for evaluation.

 

 

3.6.6. Human Resources Management and Development.

DHA Gender-based Violence and Femicide Plan were implemented and 70 percent of misconduct cases were concluded within 90 working days per year.

 

In addition, the Department of Home Affairs reported on the upcoming legislation and update the policy to amend consequential legislation to the Electoral Amendment Bill. The DHA reported that the Electoral Commission Act, the Electronic Communications Act, the Political Party Funding and the Financial Management of Parliament and Provincial Legislatures Act were being drafted together with the Electoral Commission (IEC). The document was yet to be finalised.

 

The project of moving Refugees Reception Centres (RROs) closer to the borders has been shelved due to the unavailability of funds.

 

With the One-Stop-Border-Post (OSBP), the Public-Private Partnership (PPP), the DHA must obtain approval from the National Treasury (NT). The DHA was granted Treasury Approval (TAI) on 10 August 2017 to start drafting the Request for Proposal (RfP). The draft RfP and the draft PPP Agreement were concluded on March 2022 and submitted to NT on 18 March 2022.

 

The DHA engaged with the NT draft on the RfP, the draft PPP and this resulted in the revised RfP that was re-submitted to NT in December 2022, and final amendments are expected to be completed by 31 March 2023. The RfP would be issued to the market before the end of April 2023. In March 2025, the construction would commence in phases and could take up to 3 years for each of the six (6) ports of entry.

 

3.6.7 Vulindlela Report

During the February 2022 SONA, the President announced that South Africa would review its visa regime to make it easier for foreigners to travel to the country for tourism, business and work. Operation Vulindlela delivered to the DHA a report with eight recommendations broken down into Process Recommendations and Policy Recommendations. The Immigration Services Branch has studied the report and was finalising the draft Implementation Plan.

 

Recommended	Required Actions	Target date	Who
1.  Streamline documentation required for work visa applications.	Amend sections 9, 14 and 18 of the Immigration Regulations. This would classify documents into those necessary to adjudicate the application and those required for entering the country. Removal of the Radiology report as a requirement for all visa types. Amend the years for which a Police report must be submitted to the last 5 years where a person resided.	Review of the Regulations and the Gazetting of the revised delegations affecting the recommended changes by 15 March 2023.   Draft regulations submitted to legal for their input. Copy shared with the Presidency team for inputs Immigration Regulations and SOP are to be amended by the end of May 2023.	DHA
Review need for additional capacity in the Immigration Services branch.	Develop a new organisational structure, taking into account required technological innovations.   Advocate for necessary human resources and appoint qualified professionals. Draft structure for Permitting concluded.	Phase 1: DHA submitted a Business Case for Capacitation of the Department (Phase 1) to National Treasury in October 2021 for 762  positions,  18 of which were for adjudicators for the IMS Branch and they have been appointed to commence on the 1 March 2023. Phase 2: For a semblance of normality in our frontline offices, we need a minimum of 60% (2917 positions) or at worse 55% (1 937 positions) for both Civic and Immigration Services. The Business Case for phase 2 of the Capacitation of the Department has been finalized. Revised capacity and structure submitted to the presidency for comments.	DHA
Modernise IT systems and introduce automation	Approve business case for capacitation for the IS branch. Upgrade connection speeds within the DHA from 512kbps to min 30Mbps. Develop business cases and secure resources for upgrading IT infrastructure. Appoint a dedicated team of IT specialists to support the platform.	The Department is in the process to sign an MOU with the CSIR to assist with the automation of systems in the IMS. This will commence with an activity of doing a thorough diagnosis of the current system infrastructure with the view of developing an integrated, single-view system for Immigration Services. An analysis of the current environment will determine the scope of work as well as the duration of the project. The expectation is that the automation of all systems will require 3-5 years to complete.	DHA & CSIR
Upgrade the Employment Services of SA (ESSA) database	Upgrade and automate the ESSA database. Presidency to send a letter to DEL to obtain buy-in updating the ESSA database.	The work visa application process requires the testing of the labour market on government platforms such as the ESSA database. The recommendation to upgrade and automate the ESSA database has been shared with the Department of Employment and Labour to solicit their input in this regard. The Vulindlela team from Presidency will engage DoEL and DTIC to obtain buy-in and their support.	DoEL
Create a Trusted Employer scheme	Amend the Immigration Regulations to introduce the scheme as an additional approach to securing a work visa. Use the existing CAU list to create a trusted employer database. Identify the requirements that need to be verified by the employer. ( SAQA, Professional body registration, Foreign Police Clearance, previous work experience, DEL letter). DHA will verify current employment and current visa.  Include penalties/ blacklist for false verification and any fraud. Create criteria for who will make the trusted Employer database, e.g. financial threshold of employer, sector, multinationals, etc.	The Department has in place a list of trusted Corporate Accounts Clients which has similarities with a trusted employer scheme. A comprehensive study will be done to establish the parameters for the scheme, including monitoring of compliance by trusted Employers. Incorporating the scheme/list will require the amendment of the Immigration Regulations. The review of the Regulations will include public participation and consultation with the various government clusters which will be concluded 31 May 2023.	DHA
Introduce a points-based system to streamline existing visa categories and introduce greater flexibility.	Amend the Immigration Regulations to introduce the points system as an additional approach to securing a work visa. Introduce a manual Points base system to the current SOP, while the electronic system is being developed. We need to determine the final score to qualify to apply for a work visa, e.g. considering Qualification, experience, salary threshold, etc. Consultation with DEL,DTIC. DHET, SAQA to take place to determine the scores.	A system to apply for visas might not require a change of legislation. The Points-Based system is already currently part of the Green Paper on International Migration. The Department will engage CSIR to assist with the development of an easy to use point based system as part of the MOU. Completion date March 2024. Consultation with Legal Services on this process and its implications to be done. Regulation 18 must be amended to include the points base system	DHA
Update the Critical Skills List frequently & is informed by national strategic industries.	Include necessary steps for Critical Skills List updates in the annual plans of the DHA & DHET. Engage DTIC for their input. Specify timelines in advance to ensure that the consultative process is clear and accommodated by various stakeholders.	The Department will develop a document that details the steps required in the drafting of the critical skills list, including the consultative processes required.   Target date: April 2023	DHA
New visa categories cater to remote workers and start-ups.	Specify requirements for a remote work visa and start-up visa (incl. for partners & children) Amend sections 11 and 14 of the Immigration Regulations Introduce We can also amend regulation 11(1)(b)(iv) to include this as one of the categories. This is quicker and also safer as the visa can be issued for 3 months with the option to extend if the need arises.  We need to determine the specific requirements for both categories   ( Minimum amount R1m pa for Remote Visa), Start Up visa – e.g. R5 million from aboard transferred to SA. DTIC approval for which sector is critical.	This recommendation requires a consultative process between the DTIC, DoEL, SARS, Organised Labour, NEDLAC and Business Community. This item, as well as the current multiple visa categories, are part of the current discussions on the Green Paper on International Migration Policy.   A stakeholder consultative workshop was held on 23 March 2023. The following Departments attended, (DOEL, DTI, and DHET). Formal inputs will be received from these Departments.	DHA

 

4. BMA 2023 – 2025 Strategic Plan and 2023-2024 Annual Performance Plan

The Commissioner reported that the development of the BMA Strategic and Annual Plans involved the Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation (DPME); the DHA; Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD); the Department of Health (DoH); the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment (DFFE); the Cross-Border Road Transport Agency (C-BRTA) and the South African Police Service(SAPS).

 

During the BMA Strategic Planning Sessions, he reported that the Strategic Plans (2020-2025 and APPs 2022-2023) of the DHA; DoH; DFFE and DALRRD were scrutinised.  These departments would cede selected functions to the BMA.  The DPME guarded the BMA in the development of the Strategic Plan and APPs with inputs from NT and the Auditor-General of South Africa (AGSA).

 

Section 5 of the BMA Act, the Authority is expected to fulfil the following legislated mandate:

 

a) Facilitate and manage the legitimate movement of persons within the border law enforcement area and at ports of entry;

b) Facilitate and manage the legitimate movement of goods within the border law enforcement area and at ports of entry;

c) Co-operate and coordinate its border law enforcement functions with SAPS, SARS & SANDF, border communities or any other persons.

 

Section 4 (2) emphasizes that border law enforcement functions should be exclusively performed by the officers of the BMA and BMA’s is overseen by the Border Technical Committee (BTC) & Inter-Ministerial Consultative Committee (IMCC) – (No Board). The Minister of Home Affairs would chair the IMCC and the Commissioner would report to the Minister of Home Affairs. The Commissioner is the Commander of the Border Guard, the Accounting Officer, the Accounting Authority and the Chairperson of the BTC.

 

The vision of the BMA creation of a world class integrated border law enforcement Authority partnering for a safe and prosperous South Africa.

 

The mission is to be a credible provider of highly efficient, integrated, well-coordinated and technology-driven border law enforcement services that contribute to national security and socio-economic development by inculcating an ethical culture that empowers teams for service excellence.

 

Value proposition: A world-class coordinated and integrated Border management platform with a Single Command and Control that supports Secure Borders, Safe Travel, and Trade Facilitation, which promotes Socio-economic Development.

 

The BMA has four key outcomes and these outcomes are aligned with the outcomes of the Medium-Term-Strategic-Focus (MTSF) priorities.

• Outcome 1: Institutional excellence distinguished by good corporate governance and ethical leadership;

• Priority 1
• A capable, ethical and developmental state.
• Priority 2
• Economic transformation and job creation.
• Priority 6
• Social cohesion and safer communities.

 

• Outcome 2: Secure borders that protect national interests and enhance national security;

• Priority 6
• Social cohesion and safer communities
• Priority 2
• Economic transformation and job creation

 

• Outcome 3:Enhanced trade and socio-economic development;

Priority 1

• A capable, ethical and developmental state.

Priority 2

• Economic transformation and job creation.

Priority 7

• A better Africa and world.

 

• Outcome 4:Strengthened coordination and cooperation amongst stakeholders within the border management environment.

Priority 1

• A capable, ethical and developmental state.

 

Operating Model

The BMA has signed service level agreements with the DHA; DoH; DFFE and DALRLD. F Functions, staff and assets of these departments at the border environment would be transferred to BMA. The core functions of the BMA are land border law enforcement; maritime border law enforcement and Aviation Border law enforcement. There would be Head office nine (9) regional offices. The border guards would be deployed at the vulnerable segment of the borderline, 53 land ports of entry, 11 avian ports of entry and nine (9) maritime ports of entry.

 

Furthermore, there are stakeholders such as the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), the South African Revenue Services (SARS) and the South African Police Services (SAPS) that would cooperate under the implementation protocol. The C-BRTA and South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) would operate under the basic Memorandum of Understanding.

 

The BMA would also work with the local and international communities; the border communities; the law enforcement community, travellers and neighbouring countries.

 

BMA Operationalisation

The President has signed Section 97 Proclamation shift function to BMA. The Ministers, Directors-General and the Chief Financial Officers of the four (4) Departments (DHA; DoH; DFFE and DALRRD) signed the joint submission in December 2022.

 

The Ministry of Public Service and Administration (MPSA) approved the determination for the transfer of resources and NT concluded budget shifts.

 

The Agreement of the transfer and integration of staff into the BMA was signed by Government and the organized labour and staff migration plan endorsed by National Macro-Organizational Government (NMOG) Streams and implemented. The BMA signed a Shared Services Agreement with the Department of Home Affairs for assistance with corporate services support.

 

As indicated, the BMA has four (4) outcomes and four (4) targets for five (5) years to accomplish 15 targets. The five-year targets are as follows:

• Integrated good governance framework for the BMA established.
• Intelligence and risk capability established and implemented. Six Priority land ports of entry functional as secure trade- and travel-friendly one-stop border posts.
• Eleven (11) agreements with stakeholders were signed and implemented.

 

The targets for the BMA are as follows:

• Business process reviews are conducted to detect system and process-related vulnerabilities to fraud and corruption.
• 100 percent of valid invoices are paid within 30 days.
• Three (3) quarterly approved reports were submitted to DPME as prescribed.
• Gender-based Violence and Femicide Plan implemented as per approved implementation plan.
• Disaster Management plan approved.
• National Targeting Centre (NTC) was established as per the proposed operating model (business case).
• The BMA rolled out in phases along additional two (2) segments of the land border law enforcement area
• The BMA rolled out to one (1) additional community crossing point (CCP).
• Thirty (30) PoEs rendering port health services in compliance with International Health Regulations (2005) and National Environmental Health Norms and Standards
• 100 percent of detected illegal persons at the ports of entry are processed for deportation.
• 100 percent of pre-booked CITES consignments that go through the PoE endorsed.
• The facilities at 22 identified PoEs audited for transfer to the BMA.
• The OSBP: Bid adjudication for selection of preferred bidders concluded.
• Three (3) signed Implementation protocols (with SAPS, SARS & SANDF) were monitored for implementation.
• 25 percent of cooperation agreements signed and implemented.

 

5.  Electoral Commission (IEC)

5.1. Annual Performance Plan for 2023-2024 Financial Year.

The Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) made the presentation. He indicated that the IEC received a budget of R2.2 billion with four (4) programmes and 14 targets for the 2023-2024 financial year.

 

These programmes are as follows:

• Programme 1: Administration. The purpose of Programme 1 is to achieve the strategic outcome of strengthening institutional effectiveness at all levels of the organization. It also provides the overall strategic management of the Electoral Commission, as well as centralized support and financial management services. This programme has four (4) targets.

 

• Programme 2: Electoral Operations. Programme 2 focuses on the strategic outcome of managing and delivering free and fair elections by striving for excellence at the voting station level; ensuring accessibility and suitability of voting facilities and processes; managing results; maximising electoral justice for all stakeholders in the electoral process; enhancing the credibility of the voters’ roll; ensuring compliance with legal prescripts; and continuously improving the legislative framework.

 

• Programme 3: Outreach. This programme focuses on the strategic outcome of informing and engaging citizens and stakeholders in electoral democracy. The programme fosters participation in electoral democracy by providing civic and democracy education continuously; voter and balloting education as may be required by each election; strategic and thought leadership on matters pertaining to electoral democracy; broadening our research agenda and issuing publications; increasing visibility through proactive consultation, effective communication, and presence among our stakeholders and communities; facilitating platforms for political dialogue; cultivating an environment conducive for the holding of free and fair elections; and constantly engaging the media.

 

• Programme 4: Party Funding. This programme focuses on the strategic outcome of contributing to the enhancement of transparency in elections and party funding. The programme manages party funding and donations in the:

• Compliance with legislation, and strengthens cooperative relationships by providing consultative and liaison platforms between the Electoral Commission and political parties and candidates, using systems, people and processes that are sustainable.

 

• It also provides effective management of the registration of political parties and processing of the nomination of candidates for various electoral events.

 

5.2 National and Provincial Elections 2023 Critical Milestones

 

 

 

 

 

 

5.3 The IEC indicated that consequential amendments that require attention would be:

• Section 236 of the Constitution provides that “to enhance multi-party democracy, national legislation must provide for the funding of political parties participating in national and provincial legislatures on an equitable and proportional basis”.

• The Political Parties Funding Act is to be amended to bring independent MPs within the scope of the Bill.
• Other optimization amendments to the Political Parties Funding Act.

 

5.4. Briefing on Electronic Voting Model (e-voting).

The IEC reported that it undertook study visits over the years and in 2010-2011, the IEC commissioned a desktop study into electronic voting. In March 2013, the Electoral Commission convened a conference on e-Voting and Members of political parties represented in Parliament were invited to participate, together with interested civil society organisations.

 

The IEC defined an electronic voting system as an integrated device that utilizes an electronic component for one or more of the following functions: ballot presentation, recording of votes and tabulation of votes cast.

 

It was indicated that E-Voting might be conducted in an environment that is under the control of the Electoral Management Body (EMB) such as the IEC, or an environment that is not controlled by an EMB such as the IEC.

 

E-Voting in a controlled environment, such as a polling station, includes EVMs (electronic voting machines of India) and direct recording electronics (DREs) in Brazil

E-Voting in uncontrolled environments includes internet voting, mobile phone voting, fax and email voting (France, Canada, Japan, Estonia & USA).

 

E-Voting in a controlled environment EVMs and DREs are located inside the polling station and administered by voting staff. The voter directly enters their choice into electronic storage using the touch-screen, push buttons, keypad or similar device and votes cast are stored onto a memory cartridge, diskette or smart card. This system is used in India, Brazil, Venezuela, France, Russia, Japan and some states in the USA.

 

 DRE VVPAT - Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail in a controlled environment: an e-voting machine with added facility of printing pieces of paper showing the ballot choice of voters which are then placed in a physical ballot box and this allows for a manual recount of ballots (audit trail) if votes are disputed

 

In effect, DRE VVPAT involves the use of electronic voting machines in parallel to the paper ballot voting method, with the latter as a backup should results be disputed and subject to re-count, which is not possible if only an e-voting machine is used.

Optical scans are electronic counting machines. The votes are cast on paper ballots and fed into an optical scanner that tabulates votes cast and the system was used in the Philippines in the 2010 elections.

 

Voters can vote through Internet voting and the system would be available at polling stations or any location with access to the Internet (remote Internet voting). The system was used in Estonia, Canada & France. The voters’ choice is encrypted by the voting application and placed in the inner envelope.

 

The manufacturers of e-voting machines are mainly located in the US, Canada, India and Brazil. The costs of EVM without VVPAT: $100 in India to $7 000 in New York

EVM with VVPAT: additional $1 500 to the cost of EVM.

 

6. Government Printing Works (GPW).

6.1. Annual Performance Plan for 2023-2024 Financial Year.

Ms Alinah Fosi, the Chief Executive Officer made the presentation and indicated that the APP outlines all the outcomes, outcome indicators and performance targets for the 2023-2024 financial year and the targets are aligned with the Strategic Plan 2020-2025. The APP was further developed on the revised Framework for Strategic Plans and Annual Performance Plans with the assistance of the Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation.

 

She indicated that the GPW contributes to the following MTSF:

• Building a capable, ethical and developmental State.
• Economic transformation and job creation.
• Social cohesion and safe communities.
• A better Africa and world.
• Education, skills and health.
• Consolidating the social wage through reliable and quality basic services.
• Spatial integration, human settlements and local government.

 

6.2. Progress on the 2019 to 2024 Strategic Framework Targets demonstrates that GPW performed well.

• GPW has successfully maintained and achieved the quality measure of producing security-printed documents at 100% compliance against client quality and quantity specifications. As at the mid-term reporting period a total number of 432 905 identity documents/cards and 1  432 738 passports were produced.
•  In contributing to the “economic transformation and job creation” strategic outcome, GPW has been implementing the youth and women through its Artisan and Graduate skills programme. Of the 100 planned for achievement over the MTSF period, a total of 54 have already been taken through this programme. 
• GPW received a disclaimer audit opinion for the 2019/20 and 2020/21 financial years, as a result of the challenges that emanated from the system crash that led to the loss of critical finance data. GPW has been implementing a migration plan to stabilise and sustain all operations, particularly in ICT and Finance.
• GPW’s focus on business continuity, risk management and resolution of audit findings remain a priority to strengthen internal controls and ensure clean governance, given the challenges experienced in the past financial years.  

 

6.3. Critical Projects.

• GPW repositioning: change management and culture change. GTAC appointed and busy with the development of a turnaround strategy and provide support on the implementation of HR recommendations based on the MRP Report and change management
• Modernisation of GPW- a renewed focus on ICT interventions in the wake of 4IR. A migration plan is being implemented to ensure the stabilisation and sustainability of the ICT environment.
• Business continuity of all operations and sustainability of GPW, given the challenges that GPW has been experiencing in ICT and its facilities
• A conscious journey towards a clean audit rests upon the following crucial pillars:

• Quality of oversight processes in GPW- to realise the imperative of achieving a clean audit
• Strengthening and monitoring internal controls to ensure their relevance and effectiveness
• Financial probity and culture that supports probity with our procurement processes being efficient and compliant with legislation, having integrity, equitable and fair
• Overall governance: leadership, management responsibility and effectiveness of governance structures such as EXCO, MANCO, Audit and Risk Committee within the combined assurance framework

• Implementation of Ministerial Review Panel Report recommendations: Action plan being implemented based on the short-term, medium-term and long-term activities and milestones. 
• Security Printing Bill: The Provincial consultative sessions on the Bill are ongoing. GPW in partnership with the DHA team has already presented to all Provinces, except for North West and Western Cape. Engaging them on dates to finalize consultation.

• Appointment of the Ministerial Advisory Board (MAB). Governance structure to advise Minister and EXCO on overall GPW operations.
• Strengthening systems of employee wellness and occupational health and safety. Implementation of policies, procedures and plans to create and sustain a caring environment
• Critical Infrastructure Projects: New Head Office (ABSA) building refurbishment) and Masterplan (initiation of construction plan): both projects approved for implementation.
• DBSA has been appointed as the implementing agent and has begun with administrative processes towards the refurbishment and construction of these critical facilities.
• Implementation of ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 45001, ISO 27001, ISO 22301, ISO 18788 and ISO 14298: Research and development, including support and service maintenance for 5 years post implementation
• Conduct a polycarbonate printing and assembly plant techno-economic study: agile printing facility, which is ready for expected future trends in technology and the printing industry.

 

7. National Treasury (NT) on funding allocations for Home Affairs portfolios.

Ms Gillian Wilson noted the lack of funding for the BMA and the lack of capacity at the DHA. She indicated that funding for the IEC had been adjusted in anticipation of the Provincial and National Elections and Amendments to the related legislation. She encouraged the DHA and BMA to develop proper business cases and cash flow management in line with National Treasury with policy and advice.

 

8. Oversight visit to the Head Office of the DHA and the Menlyn Shopping Mall office.

On 30 March 2023, the Committee conducted an oversight visit to the Department of Home Affairs Head Office, in particular the Permitting Unit. The Committee then visited the newly opened DHA office at the Menlyn Shopping Mall.

   

 

 

8.1. Permitting Unit at the Head Office.

The Acting Deputy Director-General for Immigration Service, Mr Yusuf Simons, welcomed the delegation. He took the delegation to the Adjudication Hub and explained how applications were received from the Visa Facilitation Services (VFS). He reported that the process would start with the applicant applying online to VFS for a visa or permit. Once that has been done, the applicant makes an appointment with VFS for biometrics and submission of their application.

 

VFS would get the application and forward it to the Department of Home Affairs and it is received at the Adjudication Hub at the Head Office. The Hub was created during the Covid-19 period in 2021. The VFS system generates a reference number for the application and is packaged by VFS to the DHA.

 

Four Assistant Directors received the applications through the DHA ICT. They would then assign the applications to adjudicators. There were 24 adjudicators and there would be a further 62 adjudicators to be assigned to assist with the backlog. These 62 adjudicators would work at the Hub for two (2) months and thereafter would be posted in the missions abroad.

 

It was reported that an official is supposed to finalise about 15 a day applications if the applications have all the supporting documents. The adjudicators have to confirm the authenticity of the supporting documents and it can take as little as 15 minutes. The Committee was concerned about where the delay was and if it can take this short. The challenge was working with external stakeholders such as the banks to confirm the bank statements, because of the Protection of Personal Information Act. The applicant has to give consent to the DHA to confirm their bank statements. The banks do not have dedicated employees to verify the statements. There is slow or no response from other stakeholders such as former employers or consulates. The Section also has to interact with internal stakeholders such as the inspectorate. It was reported that the bulk of the applications were for spousal visas. The inspectorate has to check if the marriage is of good faith. This process takes time and that was causing the delay.

 

The DHA reported that the backlog in the processing of visas and permits was from 2022 backward and was anything over eight (8) months. It was also indicated that there was no backlog at the level of the adjudicators. The adjudicators have made recommendations for approval or rejection. All the applications have to go to the Director, Chief Director, Acting Deputy Director and the Director-General, irrespective of whether the application had been recommended for rejection. The Committee was concerned that when applicants apply for VFS, the DHA sometimes would reject the application on the basis that certain documents such as a copy of the valid passport are missing. VFS should not have accepted an incomplete application. The DHA indicated that VFS is not allowed to refuse to take an application. There has been a court judgement in connection with this since the contract with VFS is not a Public Private Partnership and the DHA cannot delegate its functions to a private company. VFS has a checklist of all the applications and the desk manager there would indicate to the applicant there was a document missing. The applicant sometimes insists that VFS should apply with the missing supporting documents.

 

The process at VFS is quick but the delay in processing the applications was with the DHA. The tender for VFS would end.  The DHA has advertised a tender to appoint a Transitional Adviser and the closing date was 31 March 2023. The work of the Transactional Adviser is to advertise a tender in the market to find a service provider. The tender with the new service provider would be different from the current VFS because it would be PPP. In the past, the DHA advertised the tender for Transactional Adviser and it was found that Transactional Adviser was charged with corruption. For the second advertisement, there was no response and the third tender is the one that closed on 31 March 2023. 

 

After the Lubisi Report, the DHA increased the level of control. The delegations for Temporary Residency Visas (TRV) were increased to four (4) and for the Permanent Residency Permit (PRP), the delegations were increased to six (6). Before the Lubisi report, an adjudicator would finalise the TRV. The DHA was planning to decrease the delegations of the TRV from four (4) to two (2) and for the PRP from six (6) to four (4). This would assist with the faster processing of the applications and deal with the backlog.

 

Prior to the recommendations of the Lubisi Report, all DHA officials had access to the VAS system, even some who were no longer in the employ of the DHA. All officials were disconnected and those who needed access to the system had to reapply. The Lubisi report flagged about 45 000 permits and visas that could have been obtained irregularly. There was a multi-disciplinary team that was appointed and it would look into all the 45 000 cases and the work had already started.                                                                                                                 

 

The Committee expressed concern with the slow or no response to the queries that were sent to the DHA on behalf of the members of the public. The Minister of Home Affairs had assigned an official in Cape Town where the Committee could send their queries. The official is doing his best but the colleagues at the Head Office were not responding to him. The DHA indicated that it has identified a person who would only deal with queries from Parliament and the email would be sent through to an official in Cape Town.

 

The Committee also indicated that it was concerned that if the application was incomplete and it was recommended at the first level of quality assurance, why clog the system by passing it to the last person to reject, instead of rejecting it at the first instance. These would add to the backlog. The applicant would sometime receive the rejection after three (3) years and thereafter start the process of appealing.                         

 

8.2. Menlyn Shopping Mall DHA Office.

The delegation proceeded to the Menlyn Shopping Mall Office together with the Deputy Minister of Home Affairs. The Acting Provincial Manager welcomed the delegation and took everyone inside the office. He indicated that the applicants would make an appointment for the application of passports and Smart ID Cards through the Branch Appointment Booking System (BABS).  The system would indicate an appointment for example that it would be between 10:00 and 11:00. When the applicant arrives, they would be given a ticket number and asked to sit down. The system would call them one by one. The people would be served within an hour. For applicants who want to make an appointment but do not have data; the office has a tablet that they can use to make an appointment. BABS does not allow making an appointment for the collections, however, the office has segregated the functions.

 

There is also an e-channel where applicants can both apply for Smart ID Cards and passports and make an appointment with the office for biometrics to be taken. Walk-in applications are also allowed.

 

It was further indicated to the Committee that there were three booths where photos are taken for passports and ID Smart Cards. The Provincial Manager reported that the province had 34 offices. Of the 34 offices, it was only Temba, Mabopane and Carletonville offices that were not modernised due to the space required for the photo booths.

 

The Deputy Minister indicated that 200 offices were not modernised countrywide due to space. The DHA was piloting a simple solution where the photo booth would be compressed into a small box at the Cape Town Refugee Reception Office and it would use the LTE connection.

 

9. Committee observations and responses by the DHA and entities

9.1. Committee observations.   

9.1.1. The Committee expressed a concern that there were DHA offices that have the Branch Booking Appointment System (BABS) and in most cases, the system does not work properly. There were reports that in some offices, walk-ins were not assisted. They were told to book an appointment through BABS. Some people are not able to make the bookings through the system.

9.1.2. The Call Centre at the Department was not working properly and often was not answered and this frustrates clients who want to make enquiries.

9.1.3. The queries that are forwarded to the Department by members of Parliament and in particular members of the Committee on behalf of the members of the public were not responded to. The officials that were not responding to members of the Committee and the public, should face consequences and improved management.

9.1.4. The Department was conducting many operations and inspections on undocumented migrants but it still appears that the DHA was unable to track undocumented migrants or persons whose papers had expired and to deal with companies that employed undocumented migrants.

9.1.5. The Committee was concerned about the long queues at DHA offices. The downtime at DHA offices was still a concern as this contributes to long queues and frustration for members of the public. There are mobile offices that did not have generators; therefore, when there was load shedding, the mobile offices were unable to process documentation. It was also pointed out that those offices were experiencing network challenges with or without load shedding. An example is given of the East London office. The DHA is at the centre of service delivery and queues should be resolved as soon as possible.

 

9.1.6. The DHA offices in the rural areas were not all modernised to ensure that people could apply for Smart ID Cards.

9.1.7. The DHA was struggling to deal with the Late Registration of Births (LRB) and the backlog should be cleared.

9.1.8. Some people were applying for passports through the eHomeAffairs system; the system would not link the payment to the applications. In some instances, the client would go to the office to make payment because they need the passport urgently. The client would be struggling to get a refund for the additional payment.

9.1.9. The DHA was planning to eradicate the issuance of the Green Identity Book; however, the issue of people who are applying from overseas has not been resolved. The DHA’s target to process a passport application is 13 days while there was no target for an application that was applied for overseas.

9.1.10. The Committee requested that the DHA should focus on applications for Identity Documents towards the 2024 National and Provincial Elections and there should be cooperation with the IEC.

9.1.11. Several Home Affairs offices around the country did not have cameras and the Committee recommended the installation of cameras during the July 2021 unrest as part of the security measures.

9.1.12. The Committee was concerned about the backlog at the Permitting Section at the Department of Home Affairs.

9.1.12. The Committee noted and appreciated the work that was done by the Civic Branch of the DHA but the issue of LRB should be resolved and sorted out.

9.1.12. The BMA should have a plan to deal with the corruption at the Ports of entry and it would be difficult to secure the borderline because in some areas there was no fence.

9.1.13. The Committee noted that the BMA was underfunded and more border guards and surveillance technology were needed on the ground.

9.1.14. The Committee commended the BMA on combating stock theft; intercepted 55 stolen vehicles through the Lebombo and Beitbridge Ports of Entry and intercepted 13 630 undocumented migrants en route to South Africa.

 

9.2. Responses by DHA and entities

9.2.1. The DHA indicated that there were modernized offices in the townships and that there was no biased towards urban areas. The concern with the East London office was reported to the new Office Manager and it operates from 06:00 to deal with the large volume of people.

9.2.2. The DHA reported that there were 178 412 Zimbabwean Special Permit (ZEP) holders. It was reported that 27 799 had applied for waivers and 5 905 had applied for a mainstream visa. The ZEP was meant to end on 31 December 2022; however, the deadline was extended to 30 June 2023. The DHA also indicated that another programme for Lesotho citizens called the Lesotho Special Permit would also end on 31 December 2023.

9.2.3. The DHA indicated that LRB was prioritised and the Department want a model that would be applied across the country.

9.2.4. The DHA indicated that immigration is a global challenge. Most countries after covid-19 pandemic are not coping with migration and were considering suggestions to automate more aspects of permitting.

9.2.5. The DHA reported that about 720 000 people had used the BABS system so far to make appointments and it was stated that the poor are not excluded by using the system. For those who want to make an appointment but do not have the gadget to do so, the DHA has tablets to assist or could walk in and they would be assisted. The DHA conceded that BABS would indicate errors because it was overloaded.

9.2.6. With regards to the Call Centre, the DHA reported that the Centre had 120 lines with 92 agents. It was stated that 72 were taking calls while 20 agents deal with emails.

9.2.7. The DHA reported that all mobile units have generators to operate during load-shedding.

 

11. Recommendations

DHA

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    1. An update on all outstanding report recommendations contained in the interim legacy report of the Committee will be required by the third quarter of 2023.
    2. Whilst the additional allocation of funds increasing the DHA capacity is appreciated, the DHA budget should continue to increase capacity even beyond the 55% currently allowed for given the ongoing delays in services to the public. Planning should start to possibly retain some of the youth employed in the digitisation project after their 2 year contracts.
    3. Whilst the additional caution introduced to prevent fraud in applications for Visas and permits is important, there must be decentralisation and downward delegation of applications with other ad hoc and automated system checks and balances put in place to address the backlog.
    4. There should be ambitious time bound targets set in the annual plans and related budgets for so-called non-critical permits such as spousal permits which have a knock on effect on the reputation of the country to attract scarce skills and investments.
    5. The Branch Appointment Booking System should be enhanced to ensure that it accommodates the collections of documents and that walk-ins should be allowed in all offices.
    6. The DHA should capacitate the Call Centre to ensure that members of the public are assisted timeously.
    7. The DHA should ensure queries sent to the Department by Committee members on behalf of the public, should be responded to.
    8. The DHA should deal with long queues at its offices and mobile offices should be procured and deployed in rural areas.
    9. DHA offices in rural areas should also be modernised to ensure the phasing out of the Green Identity Documents.
    10. The Committee requested that the DHA should focus on applications for Identity Documents towards the 2024 National and Provincial Elections and there should be cooperation with the IEC.
    11. The DHA should ensure that its offices installed cameras for security purposes.
    12. The DHA should work faster on resolving the Late Registration of Births to ensure that all South Africans have the necessary documents while at the same time, encouraging citizens to register births within 30 days.
    13. The Deputy Minister should engage with VFS on the issues raised by the Committee and report back. The Committee would then conduct an oversight visit to VFS office/s.
    14. The Public Private Partnership tender for the appointment of a new Visa Facilitation Service provider should be completed as soon as possible with the inclusion of requirements to filter out incomplete applications which are now clogging the application process.

 

BMA

1. The BMA should work closely with the National treasury to get more funding for the full operationalisation of the BMA, expansion of its patrolling of the borderline and roll out to guarding coastal borders.
2. The BMA should continually endeavour to make good on the promise that its establishment would improve the efficiency of border management beyond the capacity seeded from other departments despite fiscal constraints.
3. An update on all outstanding report recommendations contained in the interim legacy report of the Committee will be required by the third quarter of 2023.

 

IEC

1. An update on all outstanding report recommendations contained in the interim legacy report of the Committee will be required by the third quarter of 2023.
2. Funding provisions will need to be made for the inclusion of independent candidates in the forthcoming National and Provincial Elections and forthcoming Party Funding Act amendments.
3. The IEC should aspire towards its initial targets set in 2019 for the registration of 29 million voters and 74% participation in elections.
4. The IEC will require additional funding in the adjusted budget to allow for extensive voter education and mobilisation given the changes to the Electoral laws around independent candidates.

 

GPW

1. An update on all outstanding report recommendations contained in the interim legacy report of the Committee will be required by the third quarter of 2023.
2. There should be a timeline provided by the GPW for the implementation of the remaining  Ministerial Review Panel Report  Recommendations.
3. GPW needs particular focus and oversight on ensuring the timely submission of accurate audit data to internal and external audit and consequence management for dereliction in this regard.
4. The GPW should work in collaboration with National Treasury to ensure that non-payment by government clients after 30 days is addressed.
5. The GPW must provide an update on its consultation on the State printers bill and finalise the tabling of this legislation as a matter of urgency.

 

Report to be considered.