The Democratic Alliance (DA) welcomes reports of a clampdown on corruption at the Department of Home Affairs (DoHA) after 31 Home Affairs officials have been suspended for their alleged involvement in the fraudulent registration of births of foreign nationals. The minister seems to finally be implementing the turnaround strategy for the DoHA in an attempt to pull the department out of a dire situation.

The fact that these officials were arrested in multiple provinces (KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, Eastern Cape and Limpopo), suggests that this is not an isolated issue, but a further indication of the depth of this problem and that it exists throughout the country.

Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma's actions follow her statement on the dismal statistics released earlier this week which revealed that more than 400 000 South Africans have multiple identity numbers, a fact of which most of them are not aware, as well as an additional 12 000 cases of one ID number being shared by 2 or more persons.

Among the causes of these statistics, Dlamini-Zuma cited corruption as a major problem facing the department.

On a recent surprise visit to the department's district offices in East London, Deputy Minister Malusi Gigaba, slammed management, and claimed that swift action would be taken to rectify the situation. Gigaba was quoted as saying, "I think we have management issues we need to deal with in this office."

The DoHA's main function of providing personal documentation, an essential service for all South Africans, makes it a prime target for criminals and it is imperative for the minister to keep up a vigilant approach to tackle corruption head on.