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The Democratic Alliance (DA) shares the dismay of South Africa in reaction to the Department of Home Affairs’ increases in tariffs. The cost for a re-issued identity document or for a temporary identity document has been hiked by 600%, from R20 to R140, while the cost of a passport increases by 110%, from R190 to R400. These increases will hurt those at the bottom end of the income ladder the most. They have been made without proper consultation or parliamentary oversight, and they will disenfranchise South Africans of their rights.
Increasing the cost of an identity document to R140 makes these documents unaffordable to many millions of South Africans, and particularly the 33% of South Africans who are, by broad definition, unemployed. This is a reckless move that will make it a lot harder for ordinary South Africans to vote, open bank accounts and carry out all manner of other important activities.
Unfortunately, South Africans are once again bearing the brunt of a Home Affairs department that is unable to fulfil its responsibilities. The Director-General of the Department has admitted that many identity documents have to be re-issued because of errors, and that this is contributing to the increase in costs. Judging by the number of queries that the DA is currently dealing with, it is very clear that these errors were made by the Department. The incredible number of duplicate identity numbers issued by the Department – 598 000 – demonstrates the scale of the problem. Ordinary South Africans will now be forced to pay the cost of the Department of Home Affairs’ failures.
Equally concerning is the fact that no consultation on these excessive hikes has taken place.
The Department presented its budget to the parliamentary portfolio committee on 15 March this year. We are asking, today, for the Minister of Home Affairs to put these cost increases on immediate hold, revisit the announced tariffs, reduce them, and expend more energy on creating a functional Department. South Africans cannot be expected to pay for the costs incurred through a Department’s failure to deliver adequately on its mandate.
We understand that cost increases are sometimes necessary, and that no Department can function smoothly all of the time. However, the enormity of the problem facing Home Affairs, and the vast hike in tariffs, go far beyond anything we can reasonably allow for. The Minister needs to appear before the Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs, and we need to see immediate evidence that these tariff rates are being reconsidered.
We are eager to work with the Home Affairs department to find an alternative cost structure.