Hon Chairperson, hon Minister, hon Deputy Minister and Director-General of the Department of Home Affairs, let me first express appreciation on being given an opportunity to express my opinion and that of the committee on the Budget Vote of the department. A loud call has been made on behalf of all the citizens of South Africa. This call has been made on all those who are given different positions of responsibility to ensure that all South Africans have a better life.
Moswana o bolet?e a re: Lent?u la kgo?i le agelwa le?aka. Ge o sa le agele le?aka, o tla swanelwa ke gore o sepele. Se se hlalosa gore Mopresidente wa rena wa naga o bolet?e a re a re yeng go ?oma, gobane ge re ?oma mmogo re tla kgona. (Translation of Sepedi paragraph follows.)
[It is very important that we respect what our leaders say. If we don't, we will have to face the consequences. Our President mentioned that we need to work hard and that together we can make it.]
The Department of Home Affairs must heed the call of the President and get down to work, as per their departmental strategic plan. I assume that the department will work hard to realise this vision.
Ka mant?u a mangwe, seboko a se tsene nyobeng. Seboko ge se tsena nyobeng se ?oma bjalo ka boro gomme se a bora - se mo?omong. Ka fao, kgoro ye le yona e swanet?e gore e swane le seboko gomme e tsene nyobeng e e bore. [Disego.] (Translation of Sepedi paragraph follows.)
[There is a strong emphasis on hard work. The department needs to work hard to achieve its goals.]
Throughout the 2009 election campaign, the ANC reaffirmed our commitment to stamping out corruption in all its many and varied manifestations. This was spelt out clearly in the ANC 2009 election manifesto and was also underscored by our President during the state of the nation address. Indeed, the injunction by the President is clear: that a developmental state such as ours requires commitment to the highest standards of service probity and integrity. These are the critical issues we are conscious of as we grapple with the strategies and mechanisms the department of Home Affairs seeks to implement in order to entrench new value systems.
By far the most urgent and serious problem confronting the department is that of corruption involving syndicates in collusion with some of the officials, leading to the theft or illegal acquisition of identity. This devalues enabling documents and poses a serious threat to individual citizens and to national security. The problem is complex, with deep historical roots, and requires a range of responses, including the active support of government as a whole and of the public. This statement supports the statement that was made by the hon Minister earlier when she said that we need to mobilise the public in order to uproot corruption.
This department has been in the print media for some time in relation to allegations of corruption, and this is still continuing as we speak. The department must fight corruption in a very serious manner if it is serious about giving our people decent services. Fighting corruption is not a favour to the citizens of this country but a constitutional obligation. Section 3(1) in Chapter 1 of the Constitution provides for a common South African citizenship. Also, in terms of section 3(2)(a) of the Constitution, all citizens are equally entitled to the rights, privileges and benefits of citizenship. Section 20 in Chapter 2 of the Constitution provides that "No citizen may be deprived of citizenship."
A transformed Department of Home Affairs, with a sound anticorruption instrument, is a vital tool to engender public confidence in the actions of government. Although the department's turnaround strategy consists of 30 projects, which have been the mainstay of its turnaround strategy over the last while, we remain vigilant and wish to impress upon the department that corruption directly undermines the critical national efforts to defeat poverty and achieve the goal of a better life for all. Remember that corruption benefits only the few and harms the majority.
It would be unfair and politically irresponsible if we talked about corruption without talking about the involvement of certain officials. Not all officials in the department are corrupt. But there are certain officials that perpetually and continually have their own strategic plans to commit corruption in the department. If we want to deal with corruption, we must first uproot those corrupt officials so that the spirit of good governance can be realised.
In conclusion, we have confidence that with risk management and the internal controls the department has put in place it can rise to the challenge and defeat this animal which we call corruption. We bring the following aspects to the department's attention and consideration: mobile unit maximisation; uncollected IDs and those not reaching their owners; the role of centres of excellence; workable systems to manage immigration; the smart card system, port entries; the movement of foreigners; illegal marriages of young girls; registration of children; and the review of legislation.
With these few words, we, from the Select Committee on Social Services, support the department. We are behind the department, particularly on fighting corruption. As the select committee we support this budget to enable the department to discharge its responsibilities.
Ba re ?ako la hloka thobela ke mojano. Ke a leboga, Modulasetulo. [Magoswi.] [United we stand, divided we fall. Thank you, Chairperson. [Applause.]]