What (a) total number of duplicate identity documents have been reported to his department in 2023 and (b) time frames were put in place to resolve the duplicates?
(a) The category of multiple persons sharing one identity number had 240 cases on hand at the beginning of the 2023/2024 financial year. Another 4882 duplicate cases were reported to date which brings the total to 5122 cases. A total of 4818 cases have been finalised, leaving a balance of 304.
For the category of one person with multiple ID numbers, there were 2946 ...
With reference to the Multi-Disciplinary Task Team which was established to root out criminal behaviour within his department’s immigration services, what is the total number of officials identified to have allegedly committed unlawful and/or irregular activities or potential unlawful and/or irregular activities?
- The Multi-Disciplinary Task Team (MDTT) has identified sixty-one (61) officials for disciplinary action in respect of potential irregular activities as at 29 February 2024 and;
- Two (2) criminal referrals to the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI) for investigation of potential unlawful activities.
END.
What number of (a) suspected illegal foreign nationals have been arrested in quarter 3 of the 2023-24 financial year, (b) those arrested was released from custody because his department failed to confirm their immigration status within the required 48 hours and (c) illegal foreign nationals was deported were?
- The number of suspected illegal foreign nationals that have been arrested in quarter 3 of the 2023-24 financial year is 32572.
- The number of the released illegal foreign nationals during quarter 3 from Lindela Repatriation Centre is 69.
- The number of deported foreign nationals is 5148.
END.
(1) Whether his department has very substantially solved the technical problems and the repeated downtime, especially as a result of the (a) glitches with the State Information Technology Agency mainframe affecting access to the National Population Register, (b) sluggishness of the live capture functionality at the counter leading to delays in processing transactions and (c) obsolescence of equipment contributing to system downtime and hindering efficient service provision; if not, why not, in each case; if so, (i) how exactly and (ii) to what extent are the technical problems being solved;
(2) whether he will make a statement on (a)(i) how and (ii) to what extent systems are being modernised and (b) how the rendering of services is therefore being sped up; if not, why not, in each case; if so, what are the relevant details in each case?
(1)(a) In January, the Department of Home Affairs experienced a system downtime on the National Population Register (NPR) due to a glitch. SITA submitted an incident report and also took corrective actions to restore services. They are also replacing the infrastructure that contributed to the failure as part of their Modernisation program, which we believe will improve stability. The glitch was caused by a ...
Whether he has been informed that the Home Affairs office in Phuthaditjhaba in the Free State closes at 11:00 every morning due to downtime and water shortage, with members of the public being turned away without any assistance; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details in this regard?
The Minister of Home Affairs was indeed informed in writing about service delivery challenges at the Phuthaditjhaba office. Water supply to the building was affected by a burnt water pressure pump on the galvanized water tank on top of the building. Municipal water supply was not reaching the building because there was no pressure at all. All bathrooms were not working due to no ...
What total number of asylum transit visas has his department issued in terms of Section 23 of the Immigration Act, Act 13 of 2002, to asylum seekers in the (a) 2022-23 and (b) 2023-24 financial years?
a) During the 2022/23 financial year, the Department of Home Affairs issued 30 asylum transit visas in terms of Section 23 of the Immigration Act, Act 13 of 2002.
b) In the 2023/24 financial year to date, the Border Management Authority issued 61 asylum transit visas in terms of Section 23 of the Immigration Act, Act 13 of 2002.
END.
What are the full details of all (a) sponsorships, (b) donations and (c) financial transfers provided for lawfare and/or any other purposes to (i) him, (ii) his department and (iii) officials of his department by any (aa) Qatari, (bb) Iranian and/or (cc) Russian organ of state, organisation and/or resident since 1 January 2021 up to the latest date in 2024 for which information is available?
No sponsorships, donations, or financial transfers have been provided for lawfare and or any other purposes to me, the Department, or any official in the Department by any Qatari, Iranian, or Russian organ of state/organisation since 1 January 2021 to date. The Department and I would not know whether any sponsorship, donation, or financial transfer for lawfare and or any other purpose was made ...
With regard to the late registration of birth certificate applications in the 2022-23 financial year, what total number of applications were (a) lodged, (b) finalised and (c) of these applications, what number required DNA testing to prove parentage and (d) what was the average processing time of the applications?
(a)(i) Applications lodged for Late Registration of Birth (LRB) for the category - 31 days to 15 years = 77 179
(a)(ii) Applications lodged for LRB applications for the category 15 years and above = 10 097
(b)(i) Applications finalised for the category - 31 days to 15 years = 70 651
(b)(ii) Applications finalised for LRB applications for the category 15 years and above = 6 714 ...
(a) What total amount of office hours were lost due to (i) load shedding, (ii) office closures, (iii) water outages, (iv) system downtime and (v) no online verification scanners at health facilities in quarter 3 of the 2023-24 financial year and (b) what was the total percentage of uptime of his department’s civic services system hosted by State Information Technology Agency?
(a) The total amount of office hours lost in all Provincial Offices across the country due to load shedding, office closures, water outages, system downtime and no online verification scanners at health facilities in quarter 3 of the 2023-24 financial year is as follows:
(i) 6 106 hours (load shedding);
(ii) 34 hours (office closures);
(iii) 682 hours (water outages);
(iv) 8 645 hours ...
(1)Whether, in view of the fact that the National Treasury did not have the money to assist his department to obtain more money in order to employ more staff to have a contingency of at least 60% to operate optimally in sorting out visa applications, his department employed innovative and speedy measures to fasttrack the applications for 35 000 visas of persons who had legitimate spouses in the Republic and wanted to come and live in the country and seek employment here as well; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details;
(2) what are the reasons that legitimate foreign spouses of South African citizens cannot have their visa applications speedily processed?
1. The Department has developed a Backlog Eradication Plan and the Plan was presented to the Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs. The Plan includes amongst other additional capacity to complement the current Immigration Services’ team. An additional 117 officials coming from Head Office and Provinces have been put together to deal with the Backlog Eradication Plan.
The Department through Operation Vulindlela has sought the ...
