Chairperson, hon members and guests, the Minister was at the point where he was making some very important announcements to South African citizens and the general population when his time expired. So, with your permission, Chairperson, I would like to use some of my time to deal with some of those issues.
Firstly, the Minister called on people to register the births of their children within 30 days. Secondly, he calls on all South Africans to apply for their identity documents at the age of 16 years, and perhaps the particular case that the hon Nkomo referred to would not have happened had the gentleman in question applied for his identity document timeously.
Thirdly, he is calling upon us to safeguard our documents. This is very important to help combat identity theft and fraud, which can be a very painful experience if that happens to you. An alarming number of IDs are reissued every year due to loss or theft, and many of these documents subsequently lie unclaimed for years at Home Affairs offices, increasing identity theft and inviting fraud and corruption.
Finally, the Minister is also calling on everybody to take heed of the fact that they should register deaths in the family immediately, in order to prevent theft of the deceased's identity and insurance, and other types of corruption.
A very important part of his speech is that the Minister wishes to thank the Deputy Minister for her hard work and efficiency! [Laughter.] [Applause.] I thought that I must say that.
Chairperson, today as we greet and welcome our guests in the gallery, I wish to recognise two very special guests who vary in age across the spectrum. Firstly, Mrs Nora de Kock recently received her smart ID card at the tender age of 104 years. [Applause.] Mrs de Kock was so delighted that she agreed to come to Parliament today and grace this occasion.
Baie dankie, Ouma. Ons is baie bly om u hier hartlik te verwelkom en ons bid dat God u met baie meer gesonde jare sal sen. [Thank you, Grandmother. We are delighted and we extend a warm welcome to you here and we pray that God will bless you with many more healthy years.] [Applause.]
The second special guest is a Grade 11 learner from Mountview High School in Hanover Park. Young Tasneem de Jongh was the team leader of an international group of schools who participated in the Commonwealth Games Classroom Project. Where are you? Ah! There you are. [Applause.]
The various participating schools had to write essays about their school experience and Tasneem's group won. For her prize, Tasneem will be travelling to the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, next week. We are very pleased to be able to facilitate an urgent passport for her.
We wish to congratulate her and her team who are here today. Where are the team? Please stand. [Applause.] Accompanying them is Mr Reginald Assure, as well as the Principal of Mountview High School, Mr Archie Benjamin. Well done, sir.
Thank you all for showing South Africa that in this country, this 20-year- old democracy, success is not dependent on who you are or where you come from. What you have shown us is the truism that real success is dependent on hard work and dedication. It is values like these that will make sure that we transform this nation into a winning nation. We will continue to work in our communities and support our people in moving South Africa forward.
The Department of Home Affairs has a key role to play in the safety and security of our country and its citizens, as the Minister has already said. My specific responsibilities, which are the management of refugees, legal services and the front office improvement project, are all linked to this particular outcome.
South Africa is part of a global society where the security and socioeconomic realities in one country impact on those of another. On the one hand we have an obligation in terms of our values as a nation to fulfil our constitutional and international obligation to protect persons who have a well-founded fear of persecution, or who are escaping life-threatening situations. To this end, we need to adjudicate asylum seekers efficiently, fairly and humanely, and integrate those persons accorded refugee status into our communities. On the other hand, we need to put a stop to the large- scale abuse of the asylum seeker system in South Africa, as this places genuine asylum seekers at a disadvantage and creates social and economic risks for the country.
The asylum database for 2013 gives a picture of a gradual decline in the overall number of registered asylum seekers in 2013. Despite this, the activity at the Marabastad Refugee Reception Office suggests the opposite. The report of the department into asylum seeker management comes to the conclusion that there are concurrently push factors in the countries of origin fuelled by pull factors in South Africa. This will continue to generate the high numbers of new arrivals on our shores.
One of our major challenges in this regard is that many people who seek asylum in South Africa are actually economic migrants who use the asylum seeker process to avoid applying for a visa under the Immigration Act.
The standard push factors include the unpredictability of the sociopolitical situation in SADC and the Eastern African regions and the continued impact of the world economic meltdown. The pull factors include South Africa's resilient economy, the high standard of living, the human rights culture, and the free health, education and other social benefits.
The asylum statistics report shows that, amongst others, these factors have contributed to a total number of 70 010 new arrivals' being registered in 2013. Just under 50% of the new asylum seekers are from the SADC region, with Zimbabwe being the largest asylum seeker-producing country, followed very closely by the DRC, Mozambique and Lesotho at approximately 3 500 each and Malawi at 2 500. Asylum seekers from West and East Africa constituted 32% of the overall number of applicants, and the rest are received from South and Central Asia.
Chair, 70% of the new arrivals in 2013 were registered by the Pretoria Refugee Reception Office, up from 59% in 2012. The Musina Refugee Reception Office accounted for 19% or 13 600-odd new applications, 3% more than in 2012. The Durban Refugee Reception Office handled 9% or 6 400 new applicants, up from 7%.
Our decision with regard to the Cape Town Office was initially successfully challenged in court, but the Supreme Court of Appeal reaffirmed the department's right to determine policy matters of this nature. We are then on track in regard to our policy to relocate refugee reception centres to the borders and not to locate them in the hinterland.
Gauteng remained the hub in 2013, with 71% of the registered new arrivals, and the other provinces received a combined 29%. This adds significantly to the urban influx challenges faced by that province, and the competition for scarce resources leads to other social and economic challenges.
A total of 68 000 registered asylum claims were adjudicated and finalised in the first instance at the refugee centres between January and December 2013. Of these claims, a total of 10,6% were approved and 30% were rejected as unfounded, with a further 52% rejected as manifestly unfounded, fraudulent and abusive. These figures indicate a potentially healthier situation than the one which had occurred prior to this, when a total of 95% of all asylum applications were found to be without merit.
These statistics are critical in informing our policy development for the future. They also indicate that we are making important strides in the neutralisation of the negative consequences of inefficiencies in our asylum seeker management. This coming financial year will have to see some major interventions, particularly at the Pretoria Refugee Reception Centre.
In terms of the National Development Plan objective to facilitate faster and more inclusive economic growth, we need refugee policies, legislation and processes which will address national priorities and reduce risks to the country. There are some positive signs, but much more still needs to be done in this area.
Legal Services are responsible for drafting legislation dealing with litigation, and assisting various units in the department with contracts. It is currently preparing a piece of draft legislation that will lead to the establishment of the border management agency, which will play a critical role in securing our ports of entry and borderlines. This is going to be one of our biggest initiatives this term, aimed at safeguarding our collective national interests.
For the last financial year the success rate of the Directorate: Litigation on average over the reporting period was 84%.
The Directorate: Contracts finalised 93,5% of the contracts received for scrutiny or drafting within one month, and 100% of these contracts were quality assured. For the next financial year the Directorate: Contracts has set itself the target of finalising 91% of the contracts received for scrutiny or drafting within one month of receipt.
This directorate has also played a major role in ensuring that contracts and work orders pertaining to the modernisation of the department were timeously concluded and quality assured, which ultimately led to, amongst others, the successful implementation of the smart ID card.
During the next financial year we will also endeavour to fill the vacant funded positions in the Chief Directorate: Legal Services.
In 2009 the Department of Home Affairs initiated a pilot project aimed at revitalising the look and feel of our front offices to make them more user- friendly, with clear signage to enable proper workflow and queue management. The project has been rolled out in a number of our offices in accordance with the available budget. The Minister has, as he has said, tasked me with improving the client experience at each of our front offices. After a comprehensive consultative process, the details of the front office improvement project will be finalised.
Chairperson and hon members, most, if not all, South Africans would agree that there has been steady improvement in the Department of Home Affairs over the years. We remain committed to further improving our operations to primarily ensure the security of our people and country.
Finally, let me extend, on behalf of both the Minister and myself, our thanks to the director-general and his team, the chief of staff in the Ministry, and all the officials in the Ministry. Let me also take this opportunity to thank our Minister, whose impeccable leadership and collegial approach are most exemplary. Thank you very much. [Applause.]