Thank you, Chairperson. Chairperson, I said that the President of South Africa and the ANC has spoken. During his state of the nation address, we were, as public representatives, directed by him, among other things, to commit ourselves to the service of our nation with dedication, commitment, discipline, integrity, hard work and passion. Together we must build a society that prizes excellence and rewards effort, and shuns laziness and incompetence. These are the injunctions that we are conscious of as we grapple with the Department of Home Affairs' Budget Vote today, more so because we are very aware of the challenges that have, in recent times, beset this critical delivery vehicle. Moreover, we would like to remind the Department of Home Affairs that we, as the portfolio committee, demand the highest standard of service from the department.
A transformed Home Affairs is a vital instrument for enabling nation- building and for the state to deliver on the programme of action of the government. In this regard, the department is pursuing a turnaround strategy which we, as the ANC, support wholeheartedly. This turnaround programme consists of over 30 projects, and it has been the main strategic vehicle for implementing transformation of the Department of Home Affairs for the past 21 months.
A number of gains have been made, and from the viewpoint of the public there have been significant advances in service delivery and the turnaround time of enabling documents - more impressively, identity documents. This has involved the planning of processes, greatly tightened budget contracts, and transforming the key sections of operations through operations management and in training and motivating supervisors and their staff. Productivity, we are informed, has increased 300% in targeted units, and higher levels of morale are evident as officials understand and are proud of the value they add to processes they control. In this case, ID documents and other documents are being provided on time. We are informed that the time taken for the first issue and reissue of identity documents has been reduced to an average of just under 60 days. Temporary documents are also issued on the spot.
Regarding passports, we are informed that the turnaround time has improved from three months to 14 days for an adult and seven days for a child. There is also SMS notification to inform clients of the readiness of their birth, marriage and death certificates. Customer service centres are fully operational and are rendering services for both civil services and the National Immigration Branch. There are some initiatives, as the hon Minister has already said, to digitise photos so as to minimise the issuing of incorrect photos on identity documents. Similar gains in efficiency can be seen in other areas, such as the determination of status of asylumseekers at reception centres.
These improvements are important, and the strategic plan includes taking them to scale across the department - for example, through the wider introduction of operations management. This is indeed commendable and we would like to notify the department of our intent, as the portfolio committee, to gauge for ourselves not only the extent of these achievements, but also whether they are sustainable.
It must be recognised, however, that transformation involves larger and more complex challenges than just the radical improvement of outdated business processes. By far the most urgent and serious problem confronting the department is corruption involving syndicates in collusion with officials, leading to the theft or illegal acquisition of identity documents. This devalues enabling documents and poses a serious threat to individual citizens and national security. The problem is complex, with deep historical roots, and requires a range of responses, including the active support of government and the public as a whole.
Underpinning the efforts to fight corruption is the achievement of several other critical milestones over the next three years. By far the most important of these milestones is the transformation of the department as an organisation. Targets in the strategic plan that address these challenges include, among other things, the implementation of the new organisation structure and the establishment of sound government structures and practices. Also, there is the issue of professionalism in the development of managers, and the strengthening of key functions such as planning, monitoring, evaluation and risk management.
These initiatives are admirable and the ANC trusts that they will assist in putting in place a management team that will provide leadership and governance. But more than this is the critical aspect of ensuring that the department puts in place the long overdue critical mass of supervisors and senior managers to cover all areas of management in front and back offices. Also, although training has improved, there is the challenge for a larger- scale and well-structured programme of quality training.
We are told that with the current financial situation the department can only fill critical positions, and the process of identifying these posts is based on the fact that the department has to ensure that management posts are filled at all levels so as to ensure the filling of other lower positions. Another factor is the placement of those occupying positions of deputy directors and below in the new organisational structure.
In response to national youth development, the department has also engaged interns and National Youth Service and contract workers to sustain service delivery. [Time expired.] [Applause.]