Date: 28/05/2003
Source: Ministry of Home Affairs
Title: Buthelezi: Press conference to introduce Barry Gilder as DG of Home Affairs
INTRODUCTORY STATEMENT BY MANGOSUTHU BUTHELEZI, MP, MINISTER OF HOME AFFAIRS, AT PRESS CONFERENCE, Cape Town, 28 May 2003
It gives me great pleasure to take this opportunity to foster my dialogue with members of the press corps. We have called this press conference to formally introduce the new Director-General of the Department of Home Affairs, Mr Barry Gilder, who has taken up office last week. There has been a great deal of speculation and controversy surrounding his appointment. I have called this press conference to plead with the press to allow for the controversy to subside. Mr Gilder and I have met and found a variety of common grounds in respect of the key strategic projects of my Department. Therefore, it is important that we now look to the future and focus public attention on the job, which remains to be done, so that both Mr Gilder and I can be judged on how we perform.
During my budget speech and in other public statements I made recently, I stressed that in serving as the Minister of Home Affairs I regard myself as a servant of the State and of the South African people. I have never tried to foster my party-political interests when serving the State and the South African people. Mr Gilder has assured me that he shares the same type of professionalism and philosophy of life and he also regards himself as a servant of the State and does not see his political views or affiliations interfering with the duties he has to perform in terms of law to serve the State and the South African people. I am looking forward to a harmonious and fruitful working relationship with him, also because I believe that together we could give a much needed example that the interests of the State and of the South African people must be placed above party politicking, and that one must not use the State to pursue political agendas.
A lot of nonsense has been bandied about that I objected to the appointment of Mr Gilder as Director-General because of his impeccable ANC credentials, or because of the fact that he comes from the Department of Secret Service, like his predecessor, with whom I had such unpleasant relations. I have never voiced to anyone that working in Intelligence, an organ of State, tarnishes anyone in my esteem. The problems I had with Mr Gilder's predecessor had nothing to do with his having come from the Department of Secret Service, but had a lot to do with his personality. I suppose that he could also be entitled to say the same about me. I therefore hope that the ghost of these allegations that I had objections to working with the so-called "spooks", as some of the media people have said, will today be laid to rest forever.
Mr Gilder and I have agreed that it is important that we promote teamwork and that our Department receives the benefits of the shared and combined efforts of a team of leaders equally dedicated to pursuing the same strategic projects with the same vision. In this respect, I am very pleased that our Deputy Director-General, Mr Ivan Lambinon, has also enthusiastically embraced the challenge of building this new spirit of teamwork. Unfortunately, he could not be with us today because of previous engagements, which could not be changed. He too is somebody who has dedicated his life to the service of the State and I value the commitment he has made to join hands with Mr Gilder to make the Department of Home Affairs work.
Mr Gilder is just beginning what is going to be a necessarily long and steep learning curve. However, he is learning the ropes at a fast pace and he will soon be in a position to provide his own leadership to many of the important projects in which the Department is engaged.
He is not a newcomer in the civil service and it will therefore not be too difficult for him to acquaint himself with the workings of the Department. We have agreed to maintain a close working relationship within our respective areas of competence. As the Executive Authority of the Department and subject to Cabinet approval and Cabinet collegiality, I carry the final responsibility for decision-making and policy matters. However, I have always worked with humility and enthusiasm with whoever is willing to work with me with loyalty and dedication. I believe in collegial leadership and that there is nothing better for a Department than people of goodwill applying their minds to the same issue without preconceptions or hidden agendas.
Mr Gilder has signed the prescribed contract, which ties him, as the Head of the Department, to me as the Department's Executive Authority. His contract spells out his duties and obligations and will be implemented by means of a performance agreement, which will need to be signed within three months. The performance agreement will set the benchmark against which the achievements of Mr Gilder can be tested. We have discussed the key strategic projects of the Department with which Mr Gilder is now familiarising himself. It is important that we now move debate away from past controversies and focus public attention on these important projects.
This year we need to finalise the HANIS project. The President has indicated that he wants to see substantial progress in the finalisation of HANIS by the end of the year. We consciously introduced delays in the finalisation of the ID portion of this project because we were uncertain that the technological solutions previously contemplated were indeed the best available for our country and the most cost effective. Further investigation seems to confirm that we can do much better with much less and I hope that at the end of the process we will be in a position of having saved hundreds of millions of Rand for the State. In this respect, I must thank the Haysom Commission for its contribution.
There was also uncertainty that the previously contemplated procurement modalities were indeed the ones that could best serve the interests of the State and those that could give the best assurances of being corruption-free. I instructed that a rethink should take place on the procurement modalities so as to ensure a corruption-free process which guarantees not only the best value for money for the State, but also a solution which will become sustainable in the long-term and will foster South Africa's technological advancement. We must not lose sight of the fact that whatever we do in respect of HANIS will have a tremendous impact on our country's technological future, as HANIS remains one of our major investments in technology.
I have also indicated to Mr Gilder that the Department must now move swiftly to finalise a long-term plan for the devolution of civic affairs services to municipalities and other organs of State or entities which can suitably deliver IDs and birth, marriage and death certificates throughout the territory, thereby redressing and levelling the spatial inequalities we inherited from apartheid. I also hope that through the leadership of Mr Gilder substantial progress can be made in the restructuring of the Government Printing Works to ensure that this structure can finally be privatised, as has been envisaged for a number of years.
Obviously, Mr Gilder will also need to take great care to ensure that the new reform of our system of migration control is fully and extensively implemented. We have adopted a law and made new regulations, but these are but the beginning stages of a long process. What remains to be done is almost more difficult. We need to change administrative structures as well as administrative attitudes. We need to formulate new ways of doing things which are consonant with the tenets of the new reform as set out in the law and its regulations. We will also need to carefully monitor the public debate which arises out of the implementation of the new reform and ensure that there is serene, thoughtful and intelligent discussion about further stages of policy development. The field of migration control is not static but is and will always remain dynamic. For this reason, the Immigration Advisory Board which was established last week will be of critical importance to ensure that we move forward with the policy contribution of all stakeholders and role players.
Mr Gilder inherits the Department at a time when we have turned it around and set it on the right course. In this respect, he is a fortunate fellow in that he is now in the position of reaping the benefits of many years of hard work. However, in other respects he is facing a truly invidious task, as he needs to face the greatest challenges yet. The Department is on the right course, but the course ahead is rough and hard. It will require from him a great deal of stamina, determination and commitment to pull the Department through the challenges ahead, but I verily trust that this is indeed a man with the required stature, commitment and professionalism which will enable him to rise up to these challenges.
Issued by Ministry of Home Affairs
28 May 2003
Source: Ministry of Home Affairs
Title: Buthelezi: Press conference to introduce Barry Gilder as DG of Home Affairs
INTRODUCTORY STATEMENT BY MANGOSUTHU BUTHELEZI, MP, MINISTER OF HOME AFFAIRS, AT PRESS CONFERENCE, Cape Town, 28 May 2003
It gives me great pleasure to take this opportunity to foster my dialogue with members of the press corps. We have called this press conference to formally introduce the new Director-General of the Department of Home Affairs, Mr Barry Gilder, who has taken up office last week. There has been a great deal of speculation and controversy surrounding his appointment. I have called this press conference to plead with the press to allow for the controversy to subside. Mr Gilder and I have met and found a variety of common grounds in respect of the key strategic projects of my Department. Therefore, it is important that we now look to the future and focus public attention on the job, which remains to be done, so that both Mr Gilder and I can be judged on how we perform.
During my budget speech and in other public statements I made recently, I stressed that in serving as the Minister of Home Affairs I regard myself as a servant of the State and of the South African people. I have never tried to foster my party-political interests when serving the State and the South African people. Mr Gilder has assured me that he shares the same type of professionalism and philosophy of life and he also regards himself as a servant of the State and does not see his political views or affiliations interfering with the duties he has to perform in terms of law to serve the State and the South African people. I am looking forward to a harmonious and fruitful working relationship with him, also because I believe that together we could give a much needed example that the interests of the State and of the South African people must be placed above party politicking, and that one must not use the State to pursue political agendas.
A lot of nonsense has been bandied about that I objected to the appointment of Mr Gilder as Director-General because of his impeccable ANC credentials, or because of the fact that he comes from the Department of Secret Service, like his predecessor, with whom I had such unpleasant relations. I have never voiced to anyone that working in Intelligence, an organ of State, tarnishes anyone in my esteem. The problems I had with Mr Gilder's predecessor had nothing to do with his having come from the Department of Secret Service, but had a lot to do with his personality. I suppose that he could also be entitled to say the same about me. I therefore hope that the ghost of these allegations that I had objections to working with the so-called "spooks", as some of the media people have said, will today be laid to rest forever.
Mr Gilder and I have agreed that it is important that we promote teamwork and that our Department receives the benefits of the shared and combined efforts of a team of leaders equally dedicated to pursuing the same strategic projects with the same vision. In this respect, I am very pleased that our Deputy Director-General, Mr Ivan Lambinon, has also enthusiastically embraced the challenge of building this new spirit of teamwork. Unfortunately, he could not be with us today because of previous engagements, which could not be changed. He too is somebody who has dedicated his life to the service of the State and I value the commitment he has made to join hands with Mr Gilder to make the Department of Home Affairs work.
Mr Gilder is just beginning what is going to be a necessarily long and steep learning curve. However, he is learning the ropes at a fast pace and he will soon be in a position to provide his own leadership to many of the important projects in which the Department is engaged.
He is not a newcomer in the civil service and it will therefore not be too difficult for him to acquaint himself with the workings of the Department. We have agreed to maintain a close working relationship within our respective areas of competence. As the Executive Authority of the Department and subject to Cabinet approval and Cabinet collegiality, I carry the final responsibility for decision-making and policy matters. However, I have always worked with humility and enthusiasm with whoever is willing to work with me with loyalty and dedication. I believe in collegial leadership and that there is nothing better for a Department than people of goodwill applying their minds to the same issue without preconceptions or hidden agendas.
Mr Gilder has signed the prescribed contract, which ties him, as the Head of the Department, to me as the Department's Executive Authority. His contract spells out his duties and obligations and will be implemented by means of a performance agreement, which will need to be signed within three months. The performance agreement will set the benchmark against which the achievements of Mr Gilder can be tested. We have discussed the key strategic projects of the Department with which Mr Gilder is now familiarising himself. It is important that we now move debate away from past controversies and focus public attention on these important projects.
This year we need to finalise the HANIS project. The President has indicated that he wants to see substantial progress in the finalisation of HANIS by the end of the year. We consciously introduced delays in the finalisation of the ID portion of this project because we were uncertain that the technological solutions previously contemplated were indeed the best available for our country and the most cost effective. Further investigation seems to confirm that we can do much better with much less and I hope that at the end of the process we will be in a position of having saved hundreds of millions of Rand for the State. In this respect, I must thank the Haysom Commission for its contribution.
There was also uncertainty that the previously contemplated procurement modalities were indeed the ones that could best serve the interests of the State and those that could give the best assurances of being corruption-free. I instructed that a rethink should take place on the procurement modalities so as to ensure a corruption-free process which guarantees not only the best value for money for the State, but also a solution which will become sustainable in the long-term and will foster South Africa's technological advancement. We must not lose sight of the fact that whatever we do in respect of HANIS will have a tremendous impact on our country's technological future, as HANIS remains one of our major investments in technology.
I have also indicated to Mr Gilder that the Department must now move swiftly to finalise a long-term plan for the devolution of civic affairs services to municipalities and other organs of State or entities which can suitably deliver IDs and birth, marriage and death certificates throughout the territory, thereby redressing and levelling the spatial inequalities we inherited from apartheid. I also hope that through the leadership of Mr Gilder substantial progress can be made in the restructuring of the Government Printing Works to ensure that this structure can finally be privatised, as has been envisaged for a number of years.
Obviously, Mr Gilder will also need to take great care to ensure that the new reform of our system of migration control is fully and extensively implemented. We have adopted a law and made new regulations, but these are but the beginning stages of a long process. What remains to be done is almost more difficult. We need to change administrative structures as well as administrative attitudes. We need to formulate new ways of doing things which are consonant with the tenets of the new reform as set out in the law and its regulations. We will also need to carefully monitor the public debate which arises out of the implementation of the new reform and ensure that there is serene, thoughtful and intelligent discussion about further stages of policy development. The field of migration control is not static but is and will always remain dynamic. For this reason, the Immigration Advisory Board which was established last week will be of critical importance to ensure that we move forward with the policy contribution of all stakeholders and role players.
Mr Gilder inherits the Department at a time when we have turned it around and set it on the right course. In this respect, he is a fortunate fellow in that he is now in the position of reaping the benefits of many years of hard work. However, in other respects he is facing a truly invidious task, as he needs to face the greatest challenges yet. The Department is on the right course, but the course ahead is rough and hard. It will require from him a great deal of stamina, determination and commitment to pull the Department through the challenges ahead, but I verily trust that this is indeed a man with the required stature, commitment and professionalism which will enable him to rise up to these challenges.
Issued by Ministry of Home Affairs
28 May 2003
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