Hon Mathebe, order please!
Chairperson, on a point of order: I want you to make a ruling with regard to the decorum of this committee and the decorum of this House. And, with all due respect, the hon Mathebe has a history of making these kinds of jokes, and we are busy with a really serious type of debate. We have a Minister and a Deputy Minister and a chairperson who feel very seriously about addressing the issues, and it's a tragedy that we end the debate with this kind of person who doesn't even have a speech. [Interjections.]
Order, hon Mulder. [Interjections.] The hon member has a time allocation. Whether the hon member uses his time fruitfully or not is the responsibility of his political party. Please continue, hon member.
Thank you, Chairperson. Chairperson, I said that the President of South Africa and the ANC has spoken. During his state of the nation address, we were, as public representatives, directed by him, among other things, to commit ourselves to the service of our nation with dedication, commitment, discipline, integrity, hard work and passion. Together we must build a society that prizes excellence and rewards effort, and shuns laziness and incompetence. These are the injunctions that we are conscious of as we grapple with the Department of Home Affairs' Budget Vote today, more so because we are very aware of the challenges that have, in recent times, beset this critical delivery vehicle. Moreover, we would like to remind the Department of Home Affairs that we, as the portfolio committee, demand the highest standard of service from the department.
A transformed Home Affairs is a vital instrument for enabling nation- building and for the state to deliver on the programme of action of the government. In this regard, the department is pursuing a turnaround strategy which we, as the ANC, support wholeheartedly. This turnaround programme consists of over 30 projects, and it has been the main strategic vehicle for implementing transformation of the Department of Home Affairs for the past 21 months.
A number of gains have been made, and from the viewpoint of the public there have been significant advances in service delivery and the turnaround time of enabling documents - more impressively, identity documents. This has involved the planning of processes, greatly tightened budget contracts, and transforming the key sections of operations through operations management and in training and motivating supervisors and their staff. Productivity, we are informed, has increased 300% in targeted units, and higher levels of morale are evident as officials understand and are proud of the value they add to processes they control. In this case, ID documents and other documents are being provided on time. We are informed that the time taken for the first issue and reissue of identity documents has been reduced to an average of just under 60 days. Temporary documents are also issued on the spot.
Regarding passports, we are informed that the turnaround time has improved from three months to 14 days for an adult and seven days for a child. There is also SMS notification to inform clients of the readiness of their birth, marriage and death certificates. Customer service centres are fully operational and are rendering services for both civil services and the National Immigration Branch. There are some initiatives, as the hon Minister has already said, to digitise photos so as to minimise the issuing of incorrect photos on identity documents. Similar gains in efficiency can be seen in other areas, such as the determination of status of asylumseekers at reception centres.
These improvements are important, and the strategic plan includes taking them to scale across the department - for example, through the wider introduction of operations management. This is indeed commendable and we would like to notify the department of our intent, as the portfolio committee, to gauge for ourselves not only the extent of these achievements, but also whether they are sustainable.
It must be recognised, however, that transformation involves larger and more complex challenges than just the radical improvement of outdated business processes. By far the most urgent and serious problem confronting the department is corruption involving syndicates in collusion with officials, leading to the theft or illegal acquisition of identity documents. This devalues enabling documents and poses a serious threat to individual citizens and national security. The problem is complex, with deep historical roots, and requires a range of responses, including the active support of government and the public as a whole.
Underpinning the efforts to fight corruption is the achievement of several other critical milestones over the next three years. By far the most important of these milestones is the transformation of the department as an organisation. Targets in the strategic plan that address these challenges include, among other things, the implementation of the new organisation structure and the establishment of sound government structures and practices. Also, there is the issue of professionalism in the development of managers, and the strengthening of key functions such as planning, monitoring, evaluation and risk management.
These initiatives are admirable and the ANC trusts that they will assist in putting in place a management team that will provide leadership and governance. But more than this is the critical aspect of ensuring that the department puts in place the long overdue critical mass of supervisors and senior managers to cover all areas of management in front and back offices. Also, although training has improved, there is the challenge for a larger- scale and well-structured programme of quality training.
We are told that with the current financial situation the department can only fill critical positions, and the process of identifying these posts is based on the fact that the department has to ensure that management posts are filled at all levels so as to ensure the filling of other lower positions. Another factor is the placement of those occupying positions of deputy directors and below in the new organisational structure.
In response to national youth development, the department has also engaged interns and National Youth Service and contract workers to sustain service delivery. [Time expired.] [Applause.]
Thank you, hon Chair. First, let me thank the chairperson of the portfolio committee, Comrade Ben Martins, not only for the input he has made here, but for the way he is conducting the affairs of this portfolio committee. [Applause.] And I also thank the portfolio committee members as a whole. I would really like to express my appreciation for the seriousness with which you have approached this debate. [Interjections.]
Order, please!
I think this should be a reflection of how you are going to approach the work of this department.
I will not say a lot about everything, but I would just like to say that it is true that everyone should expect proper service when they go to a Home Affairs office, and this is not yet happening. Not all the officials are giving such service. But I think what will help us is if, when you to go to an office, or someone tells you they have been to an office, you tell us the name of the official you dealt with. We can only respond when we get feedback from yourselves and the public. Indeed, I take seriously the suggestion that there should be an office where all complaints are received. Officials should know that there are consequences to the actions they take. [Applause.]
The team is sitting here, and the FeverTree team is sitting there. They heard what you said, and they must implement it. Because then we will know who is doing what, which office is working well, and which officials are not. We have to engage the trade unions, that indeed we are going to sack officials who do not comply. [Applause.] But we need your help. We need everybody's help. Indeed, that is the only way you can deal with Home Affairs. If we just keep saying, "Please, do this", it will not work. You have said yourselves, it is deep-seated. It has been like this since time immemorial. Those who come from KwaZulu-Natal, where I grew up, know this corruption is not new, and it exists not only in Home Affairs, but generally. There was a thing where you say ...
... Heyi! Unjani umsebenzi wakho? Likhona igwinya? Uma uthi hhayi alikho. Hawu uhlaleleni? Ngiwushiyle loya msebenzi awunalo igwinya. [... "Hey! How is your job? Do you receive any bribes?" And if you say no, "Why are you still working there? I left that job, it does not have bribes."]
"Igwinya" means something that you get on the side. So, it is very important that you assist us. We cannot do it alone. You have to assist us. You and the general public have to assist us. [Applause.]
In terms of refugees, of course we have an obligation, not only because of international law and our own laws, but also because of our own humanity. We must treat human beings as human beings. I agree with hon Mnqasela that maybe we should visit these areas. Parliament had visited before when there were xenophobic attacks. Maybe we should agree that a parliamentary delegation or portfolio committee members should visit these places and see what is going on, so that we are not taken by surprise. He is an hon member. If he says he is seeing the seeds of this reoccurring, we must take it seriously, and work, and go there and see. [Applause.] That is my view.
Also, hon member Terblanche, I think you take your work very seriously. And we have to work, all of us, the opposition and ourselves. This is a critical national matter, Home Affairs. We cannot use it as a political football. We will co-operate with you, just as much as you co-operate with us, and we are happy that you have taken that attitude. [Applause.] We will have regular interactions. We have noted the issues.
Regarding the questions that hon Mda has raised about mobile units and all that, I think it is unfair to say the mobile units are partisan. We will be using these mobile units. If you listened closely, you would have heard that I said we do not want to be put under pressure for IDs during elections. We want to do it now. We want to have a campaign now, for the next two years, so that come 2011, we are not going to be put under pressure. We will not allow any of you to put us under pressure. But that means you have to work with us now to do it. [Applause.]
We are not partisan. We have a responsibility to every citizen in this country, and we will maintain that. The ANC will sack us if we become partisan. If I start being partisan and giving IDs to ANC members and not to anyone else, the ANC will be the first to say, "Minister, you have lost it - out!" You must just understand that. And you yourselves must not be partisan when you deal with this matter. Let's all work together.
I am not saying don't criticise. Of course, you have to criticise. That is your responsibility. You criticise and you give solutions, and we work together, constructively. [Applause.] [Interjections.]
Order, please!
Of course I agree with hon Makhuba about employing people who are efficient and skilled and all that. Indeed, the department needs that very much.
The other areas, I think, were covered. The issues that hon Magau has raised we have noted, and we will obviously make sure that we deal with those. If the hon member spoke for three hours on the phone, and people went this way and that way, after we leave here, give us the names of the people you were talking to, the people who were not helpful, and we will take action. [Applause.]
Hon Mulder, yes, we would like you to report all the crooks to us, all the people who are doing wrong things. But also, it is unfair for you to say to us today, "This is what the previous Minister said." The previous Minister did what she could. We are here. Reserve those comments for five years' time, when I finish my mandate. Then you can say, "You said this at the beginning and nothing happened." You cannot say that now. [Applause.] You cannot say that now. You have to give me the benefit of the doubt, and say, maybe she means it, and maybe she will do it. This my maiden speech!
Chairperson, may I ask the hon Minister a very friendly question?
It's fine, if it won't take my time.
Thank you, Chairperson.
It will take your time, hon Minister.
It will be one second. Hon Minister, will you agree that I was about to give you the benefit of the doubt, before the Chairperson stopped me because my time had expired?
OK. Thanks.
We will deal with the questions of the Auditor-General, as indicated. If there are problems at Oliver Tambo, we will take that into account.
The hon member seems to be complaining that the UK is losing tourism. I think it is not necessarily our business that they are losing tourism. Maybe South Africans should begin to be internal tourists. I am not justifying what happened; we will correct that. But also South Africans should give themselves enough opportunity to tour in their own country. South Africa is an excellent destination for tourism. You won't lose anything by not going to the UK. So, please, in the meantime, tour South Africa.
The last thing I just want to say, in a friendly way, Chair, is that I hope the fact that it is unparliamentary to say that we are lazy does not mean that we should be lazy. I agree that it is unparliamentary, but the public would have a fit if they heard that we were actually happy to describe ourselves as lazy. So, we shouldn't describe ourselves as lazy, but we should not be lazy either! [Applause.] I am not saying you are.
Generally, my last comment, really, hon Chair, is: Let's work together. If we work together, all of us, including the public, we can change things around. But if we expect only the department to do it, it will not work. Thank you. [Applause.]
Debate concluded.