Chairperson, the hon Minister started her intervention this afternoon by reminding us that we are in the month of April. Then she reminded us about the arrival of Jan van Riebeeck 358 years ago. She made the point that that was the beginning of our oppression.
We all know that history can be interpreted from different points of view and angles. What I do know is that South Africa today is the most modern country in Africa. What I do know is that we have the strongest economy in Africa. We have one of the most modern constitutions in Africa. I was just wondering if it could be that not only those people who came then played a role, exclusively. It is definitely not so. All South Africans made a difference in making such a huge success of this country. Perhaps we should be careful before we just make statements.
The aim of the Department of Home Affairs is to efficiently determine and safeguard identity and status, regulate migration, ensure security, promote development and fulfil its international obligations.
This department is in the very frontline, in terms of the expectations of all our citizens. All citizens throughout their lives will, on more than one occasion, come into contact with this department. It might be with the registration of a child's birth, registering as a voter, or applying for an ID document or passport. It might be when they get married, change their name or surname or even when they die.
Unfortunately this department has, over the last couple of years, not had the best track record of service delivery, efficiency or being a bastion against corruption. Because of this, there has been a need to create a new Department of Home Affairs and we have been hearing about a dramatic turnaround strategy for quite some time. However, this is not the first time.
Six years ago, on 24 February 2004, a briefing was given to a joint committee of Parliament on a turnaround strategy for the Department of Home Affairs. The point of departure was that the Department of Home Affairs needed "a decisive turnaround strategy". That specific strategy was not successful. A new strategy was implemented in the last two years. At last we are now experiencing and seeing the positive results of a new Department of Home Affairs and for that we are very thankful.
That did not just happen by itself. In the 2003-04 financial year, R1,9 billion was given to this department. In the current financial year, it is R5,7 billion. That is an increase of 200%. When one gives such huge amounts of money, we obviously need to see the results at some stage.
Die Departement van Binnelandse Sake werk met die status van persone, deurdat hulle verantwoordelik is vir die toekenning en uitreiking van statusgewende dokumentasie. In daardie opsig kan foute nie bekostig word nie. Burgers is geregtig op dokumentasie wat effektief is. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraph follows.)
[The Department of Home Affairs deals with the status of people, on account of the fact that they are responsible for the granting and issuing of status documents. In that respect, they cannot afford to make mistakes. Citizens are entitled to documentation that us effective.]
In December last year, the hon Minister announced that she had suspended 31 officials, and that was over and above the other 28 officials that were also suspended in the last week of November. Can the hon Minister please give us some feedback about what happened? We cannot allow ... [Time expired.]