House Chairperson, hon Ministers, hon Deputy Ministers, comrades and hon members, guests in the gallery, and officials of the department, I dedicate my speech to an outstanding, principled and gallant revolutionary, a foot soldier of the ANC, a cadre who embodies the best traditions of the movement, Comrade Ephraim Nkwe, who passed away on Tuesday. May his soul rest in peace.
I would like to take this opportunity, Minister, to welcome your presentation and clear outline. Indeed, the evidence is there for all to see that Home Affairs has turned a corner and weathered the storms that have come thus far. Even as we note and celebrate progress, we do so conscious of our history, for a nation that abandons its history abdicates its responsibility to posterity. It is crucial that the nation be told that Home Affairs has not transformed only because of the demands of citizens for urgent and efficient service delivery. The department embarked on this process informed by the mandate that resonates with our constitutional democracy founded on the values of human dignity, equality and freedom.
The truth is that under the apartheid regime, with its Bantustan offspring, the main objective of the Department of Home Affairs was to control black people and deny them their citizenship, identity, dignity and freedom of movement, among other injustices. The ANC, through implementing the national democratic revolution, seeks to ensure that every South African, especially the poor, experiences improved quality of life. The ANC undertakes to build a developmental state shaped by the history and socioeconomic dynamics of the South African society.
Home Affairs plays a decisive role as the backbone of the developmental state and is central to enabling security and service provision. It plays a crucial role in enabling all South Africans to proudly claim their citizenship, dignity and identity. I should mention that a developmental state is unable to meet its essential goals without a detailed and secure identification system that incorporates both citizens and noncitizens that live, work and/or study within its borders. The identification system is crucial to a range of social, economic and cultural activities and ensures that the state is empowered to organise itself, plan for the future and protect its citizens.
One of the pillars of the National Development Plan is the building of a capable developmental state that can play a decisive role both in development and the reduction of poverty. It is therefore encouraging that the department has embarked on a large-scale modernisation programme that will enable the state to provide services efficiently and securely. The same system will produce reliable statistics for planning purposes. We strongly urge the department not only to be vigilant in supply chain management in the roll-out of this programme and its other infrastructure development projects still in the pipeline, but to respond, through such projects, to the challenge of underdevelopment and unemployment.
We are aware of the efforts of the administration and leadership of the department in the fight against fraud and corruption. In this regard, we strongly urge the department to be resolute and robust in implementing its strategies to prevent and combat fraud and corruption. It remains our conviction that more effort should be put into developing the qualified and versatile cadre as a means to improving service provision. We are less inclined to agree with the department's plan to solicit more consultants in relation to the modernisation of Programme 1, referred to before. A developmental state should increase its capacity and not rely on external skills to discharge its mandate. The intention to retain the numbers of its staff complement in the face of rising unemployment also does not reflect commitment to expediting the process of filling all vacant funded posts.
The integrity of our National Population Register, NPR, is at the heart of ensuring that all people in South Africa are and feel safe. The NPR's vulnerabilities are a matter of common concern due to factors such as the late application for identity documents, IDs, and failure by some applicants to promptly collect their ID books. This offers an opportunity for unscrupulous elements in the department to sell such documentation to ill-intentioned persons who, after procuring such documents, employ them in undertaking illicit activities.
We therefore support the campaign for a single entry point into the National Population Register and registration of child births within 30 days. We call upon parents to ensure the success of this initiative and for the department to expedite the connection of all hospitals to the on-line registration portal. We are conscious of cultural and customary challenges that face some parents, and therefore we encourage all South Africans to partner with Home Affairs through active participation in stakeholder forums. These forums are being rolled out all over the country to deepen public participation in the provision of services and public goods. We must add our support for the unabridged birth certificate in this regard.
The compliance of the department with the law regulating financial matters needs to be strengthened. We are encouraged by the fact that most audit findings have been addressed by the department. We urge the department to implement effective controls to prevent irregular expenditure and to ensure that it complies with the legislative requirement to make payments within 30 days.
The performance of the three entities under the department is encouraging. Specific mention deserves to be made of the work of the Independent Electoral Commission, IEC, which has attracted both regional and international recognition in the form of awards received by the IEC, amongst those being the United Nations Public Service Award in the category Preventing and Combating Corruption in the Public Service. Indeed, our democracy gets more and more secure due to the work of the IEC in delivering free and fair elections and fostering co-operation between political parties and other election candidates. [Applause.]
The Film and Publication Board continues to protect children from harmful content and to standardise film and publication information prepared for public viewership within its capacity. The state has to intervene when necessary to curtail the right to freedom of expression if the exercise of such freedom adversely affects bearers' other rights, especially the right to human dignity. In the same vein, the state has a duty to ensure secure printing of government information and other related information. In this regard, the Government Printing Works, with limited and dated equipment, continues to execute its tasks to realise its objectives. We therefore welcome the decision to migrate the entity to a more appropriate facility.
Movement of people in and out of the country is inalienable from trade operations, economic growth and development. Immigration and border management continue to be critical to balancing security and development interests. The Border Management Agency should thus be strengthened, and the department should play a crucial role in its strategies and operations to ensure that only the appropriately documented people find their way into the country. Again, we call on the strengthening of border patrol to eliminate illegal entrants into the country.
The department should also strengthen its management of asylum seekers. There should be strict adherence to international conventions and protocols in the processing of applications for asylumseekers, and more should be done to limit fraudulent regularisation of stay by asylumseekers, especially by means of bogus marriages and/or procreation. With regard to economic migrants, the department must ensure proper documentation and registration.
It is incumbent upon all South Africans to ensure the integrity of our National Population Register through timeous registration of births and application for and prompt collection of IDs. The roll-out of the smart ID card is a ground-breaking development, and the department must be congratulated on this important development. [Applause.] The process should be rolled out in phases on a pilot project basis.
The Department of Home Affairs is the backbone of the developmental state we are building, and it is a pillar of service provision and security. Possession of an enabling document is indeed a gateway to all forms of social wage. Thus officials should be educated to respect this right that accrues to citizens and others who are eligible. The ANC supports the Budget Vote. Thank you. [Applause.]