Media Statement: Home Affairs Committee Calls for Focus on Immigration and Resolution of Queue Challenges

Parliament, Thursday, 28 April 2022 - The Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs has welcomed the tabling of the Department of Home Affairs' Annual Performance Plan for the 2022/23 financial year and has emphasised the need for the department to refocus on the challenges within immigration services and the perennial challenge of queue management at home affairs offices.

"While we welcome the plans presented by the department, we must highlight the need to, within prescribed health protocols, increase performance levels to those prior to the commencement of Covid-19. We also emphasise the need to deal with challenges within immigration, which have increasingly come to the forefront. For its part, the committee will endeavour to focus its oversight to ensure that targets are met," said Mr Mosa Chabane, the Chairperson of the committee.

The committee highlighted concerns around the increase in the number of syndicates trying to forge the department's documents. The committee also welcomed the various operations aimed at curbing corruption, which led to the arrest of some officials. Protecting the credibility of the National Population Register requires an anti-corruption strategy that will weed out any corrupt element within the system.

The incremental roll-out of the Border Management Authority (BMA) will also play a critical role in addressing the challenges with our immigration system. "The committee notes that while the immigration challenges are global in nature, the department has committed to a risk-based approach to immigration to ensure the safety of our country, especially since the department was redesignated into the security cluster," Mr Chabane said. The committee also committed to quarterly updates from the BMA on progress with the incremental roll-out of the agency.

The committee remains concerned by the long queues at home affairs offices and the continued downtime caused by internet connectivity challenges. The committee emphasised that a concerted effort is needed to resolve this to ensure that people receive quality services. In line with this, the committee has demanded a detailed analysis of the successes and failures of the pilot phase of the electronic appointment system. The committee remains of the view that this system has a critical role to play in resolving queue challenges.

Regarding the extension of the department's working hours to include Saturdays, the committee notes the challenges with negotiating with labour unions in this regard. The committee has called on the department to continue engagements with the unions to ensure that a solution to this impasse is reached. Furthermore, as a result of ongoing discussions with labour unions, the department will table the Home Affairs Bill, which will pave the way for extended and Saturday working hours.

Meanwhile, the committee applauded the department and other government departments for their swift responses to the floods in KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape, which have helped those affected by the floods to replace their lost documents. Furthermore, the committee welcomes the announcement that the departments will offer free services to those affected by the floods. "The fee concession will ensure that the devastation is not impounded by requirements of a fee to have documentation. Despite this, the committee has called for collaboration among government departments to ensure that the fee concession is not abused by chancers," Mr Chabane emphasised.

The committee extended their appreciation to the department's Deputy Director-General Mr Jackson McKay, who will go on retirement at the end of April after many years of sterling work in public service. The committee wishes him well for the future.

The committee also noted that the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC), Mr Glen Mashinini's, term is coming to an end. The committee appreciated his services in strengthening of South Africa's democracy through his work at the IEC. "We appreciate the work of these exemplary public servants and wish them well for the future," Mr Chabane emphasised. The Chairperson informed the meeting that the process to fill vacant positions within the IEC is underway and that, as per the Act, a report was tabled before Parliament and referred to the committee.

The committee has highlighted that it will continue its focused oversight to ensure targets are attained.

ISSUED BY THE PARLIAMENTARY COMMUNICATION SERVICES ON BEHALF OF THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON HOME AFFAIRS, MR MOSA CHABANE.

For media enquiries or interviews with the Chairperson, please contact the Committee's Media Officer:

Name: Malatswa Molepo (Mr)

Parliamentary Communication Services

Tel: 021 403 8438

Cell: 081 512 7920

E-mail: [email protected]

Public link

Please use the above public link if you want to share this noodl on another website.