Chairperson, the very fact that the Minister of Home Affairs had to call on the assistance of a task team to haul her department out of the mess it is in, is confirmation that the citizens of South Africa have lost confidence in the Department of Home Affairs.
The Auditor-General's report perhaps also served as the main catalyst to resort to crisis management intervention. It was interesting to hear that the Minister tried to absolve herself from her responsibilities, saying that she laid the blame for her dysfunctional department at the door of her senior management and that they had let her down. The reality, Minister, is that you were a Deputy Minister for three years and have been a full Minister in your department since 2004. You must therefore accept the observation made in the report that ``leadership was lacking'' includes lack of leadership by the political head of the department - lack of leadership in this case is you.
The report found that the management of human resources was the weakest link. It is unconscionable that at least 11 persons were appointed to senior positions despite not meeting the advertised criteria and that financial control is virtually nil.
The DA welcomes the findings of the task team, however the soft stance of the ``corrective measures approach'' by the Minster is akin to band-aid therapy and we urge the Minister to take decisive action if she is serious about changing the image and service delivery of her department. [Applause.]