Date: 30/07/2004
Source: Ministry of Home Affairs
Title: N Mapisa-Nqakula: Networking breakfast meeting with editors
ADDRESS BY HON. NN MAPISA-NQAKULA, MINISTER OF HOME AFFAIRS, ON THE OCCASION OF NETWORKING BREAKFAST MEETING WITH EDITORS, Sheraton Hotel, Pretoria, 30 July 2004
I must thank the editors from the media for finding time to join us here this morning. If we had called this meeting ten days from today we would have been inviting you to what we could have called the "first 100 days review". For today marks exactly 91 days since the Deputy Minister and I were appointed to our respective positions in the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Many of you are aware that the at Home Affairs we inherited one of the biggest departments at the national sphere of Government. It is also true that this department is also at the centre of Government's ability to provide services to citizens. In the first place we are responsible for ensuring that the constitutionally enshrined right to citizenship is realised, thereby giving all our people an identity with this country and a claim to the services provided by government. Secondly, our work in the area of immigration establishes this department as a key security installation and custodian for much valuable data necessary for many of our planning processes.
So, even despite the political dynamics that have characterised the Department in the past ten years, we have always been aware that ours was going to be a challenging task as we assumed the leadership of the department. In the past year, the Department has been moving steadily towards the stabilisation of the administrative process and structures of the department as well as beginning the conceptual stages for a turn around in the department. The appointment of our new Director General, Mr. Barry Gilder added an important impetus into this process.
Since then we have had an opportunity to present our first budget to the Parliament as a new ministry and outlined several key intervention areas that are urgent if the turn around of the Department is to be sustained. This is the reason why we have invited you here today. We have planned this meeting not necessarily as a press conference, but just as equally it is not an off the record briefing. What we needed to do here is to share with you some of the issues that we flagged when we presented our budget to Parliament.
Amongst these issues were the following:
* Survey on Services to Citizens
We have raised our concern that the planning process for our approach to provision of civic services is not based on reliable research. There is a need for us to determine the extent of the need for services by citizens. For example, we need to know where the biggest concentration of people without IDs is by province and by municipality, how many South Africans have still not converted to the new green bar coded IDs, whether there is still a need to implement the policy of late registration for those adult South Africans who still do not appear on the population register, and so on.
We have undertaken to institute a survey to be finalised during this financial year aimed at determining the extent of the problem relating to these and other civic services related problems. The result of the survey will be useful in the Department's planning cycle and in determining the scope and nature of our campaigns, and most specifically in planning for the Local Government Election. This survey also relates to our collaboration with Statistics SA and in particular the Cabinet Memorandum regarding extending the census period to 10 years. However, in order to reduce the need for frequent census, the Department must be able to provide reliable and authentic data. Collaboration with Statistics South Africa must be ongoing.
* Marriage registrations
On Tuesday, 3 August, we will be launching the "Check your Status Campaign" as part of Government's activities for the Month of Women. The campaign is aimed at ensuring that women who are married are able to make sure that their status is so registered, in particular those that are married in terms of the Recognition of Customary Marriages Act.
* Fraudulent marriages
The Strategic Plan for the MTEF includes a campaign to assist women who find themselves trapped in a fraudulent marriage or marriages of convenience. We must also create the capacity for women to verify their marital status in our records. Dedicated counters have been opened in all our offices for women to assist women with these verifications. In a situation where reasonable proof exists that the marriage was registered fraudulently, the Department will expunge these. We already have permission from the department of Justice and Constitutional Development on less cumbersome process of expunging these unions without the cumbersome process of the courts.
* Registration of customary marriages
Women married in terms of customary unions will also be able to check registration of their marriages, in what we hope will become a standing programme of the Department. We will seek partnerships in implementing this programme, which will include an interrogation of the reasons behind the low rate of registration of customary marriages.
* Birth registrations
Key to the Poverty Alleviation Campaign is the issue of registration of births. Our first partnership is with the Department of Social Development. We hope to broaden the partnership to other Departments and institutions such as the Department of Health in what is to be an ongoing campaign. A report from the Department assessing the partnership of the past 24 months, dealing with any teething problems, has now been received and will form part of our plans to expand this programme.
* Providing convenient access to services
The need to provide convenient access to all our clients particularly those who live outside the urban centres has necessitated a reconsideration of the location of our offices and our expansion strategy. An expansion plan that takes into consideration the scientific study on population dynamics, nodal points, and rural development strategy is being finalises to inform our expansion plans for this year. We are at the stages of finalising this plan on the expansion of Home Affairs offices to ensure convenient access to our services. The integrated plan includes the involvement of the Department of Public Works, local government and the private sector. This plan also includes a report on the utilisation of MPCCs, in particular, where these are situated and how many would be available for DHA use.
* Mobile units
The primary tool for improvement of access to services is the proposed mobile units. An amount of R67 million has been budgeted for the provision of these mobile units. These will be deployed in all our nine provinces during this financial year. The mobile units will include a fully computerised mobile office with satellite link to our main framework for real time verification and the ability to capture applications.
* Office Environment
The campaign to clean and renovate dilapidated offices is also ongoing. The importance of clean environment conducive for service delivery in our offices cannot be overemphasised. Simple thing attributes such as painted offices, where light bulbs are replaced and toilets work is important both to service delivery and staff morale.
* Foreign missions
The issue of Departmental staff and services at foreign missions, particularly in Africa and other countries of the South, is being dealt with in terms of the need to broaden access to services, particularly in those areas that have been neglected in the past.
* Policy review
In the short term, the President in his state of the nation address emphasised the need to finalise the regulations within a three-month deadline from the day of his address in Parliament. In order to do this, the Immigration Amendment Bill has been tabled in Parliament. There are other policy and legislative issues that may frustrate service delivery, or may not be in sync with other legislation or with the constitution. A Policy audit and review is therefore necessary in the long term. A Commission will be appointed for this purpose and will work with the Department to overhaul policy. While the need for a general policy audit exists a longer-term review of immigration policy has been prioritised.
* Other urgent policy issues
(a) Refugee status determination procedures
The unacceptable delays in refugee status determination procedures and the increased pressure on the asylum process must be addressed.
(b) Border control/illegal immigration
We have committed ourselves to the upgrading of ports of entry, and to working with other departments in the efficient administration of border posts. The issue of border control and illegal immigration generally must be addressed.
(c) Government Printing Works
The conversion of the GPW to a state-owned enterprise that specifically serves as Security Printing Agency will be finalised in this financial year.
(d) Electoral Task Team Report
We have already undertaken to present to introduce to cabinet the continuation of the discussions towards the finalisation of the report by the Task Team. We will also await the process of the appointment of the new Commissioners of the IEC, which is likely to be finalised by the beginning of September.
4.3 Outstanding legislation
(a) Citizenship Amendment Bill (b) Film and Publication Amendment Bill It is hoped that both these Bills will be passed in August.
* Staffing
There is a need to improve our Human Resources capacity. In this financial year we have already filled more than 600 posts and we intend to fill 1000 before the end of the year. We are also happy to announce that we have finalised the process of interviews for two DDg posts and we will also be filling all the management posts that were advertised last month in the coming month. We have also launched an internship programme that will see about 350 young people recruited into a mentorship programme for a period of 12 months while assisting in service delivery in our offices.
* Morale
The need to boost staff morale in the Department through the introduction of incentives and good human resource management, including emphasis on the following:
* Principle of Batho Pele
* Staff development
* Skills development
* Employee well-being
* Gender equity
* Corruption
An interdepartmental plan to fight corruption is now in force. The most important aspect of the plan for us is the prevention of corruption through the introduction of systems, including better controls and technological support. We have however upgraded our anti corruption unit into a Chief Directorate top create capacity to respond to acts of corruption.
* Technology
We are intending to implement one of the most ambitious IT programmes in Government to support our business model: In the short term, we intend to:
* complete the procurement process for the new smart cards to over 30 million citizen and introduce the smart passport to ensure that we provide maximum security of our passport to foreign travellers as well as the enabling the fast tracking of citizen at our port of entry
* We will also scanned over 30 million papers birth marriage and death record into Electronic Document Management system
* We also introduce the ICS Consoles at our five refugee reception offices around the country
* We will also introduce smart cards for the refugees
* The introduce ICS Consoles at Lindela, enabling proper record keeping and management of the illegal foreigners.
* Child pornography
We are launching an all encompassing campaign against Child pornography involving a broad range of stakeholders including government, Internet Service providers, media Institutions, religious Communities, Business, Labour, Schools so that we are able to assist the safety of our children as well as the effectiveness of the law enforcement agencies. This will be within the auspices of the Film and Publications Board whose executive authority now lies with the Deputy Minister.
I must thank you for this opportunity.
Ke a leboga!
Issued by: Ministry of Home Affairs
30 July 2004
Source: Department of Home Affairs (http://www.home-affairs.gov.za)
Source: Ministry of Home Affairs
Title: N Mapisa-Nqakula: Networking breakfast meeting with editors
ADDRESS BY HON. NN MAPISA-NQAKULA, MINISTER OF HOME AFFAIRS, ON THE OCCASION OF NETWORKING BREAKFAST MEETING WITH EDITORS, Sheraton Hotel, Pretoria, 30 July 2004
I must thank the editors from the media for finding time to join us here this morning. If we had called this meeting ten days from today we would have been inviting you to what we could have called the "first 100 days review". For today marks exactly 91 days since the Deputy Minister and I were appointed to our respective positions in the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Many of you are aware that the at Home Affairs we inherited one of the biggest departments at the national sphere of Government. It is also true that this department is also at the centre of Government's ability to provide services to citizens. In the first place we are responsible for ensuring that the constitutionally enshrined right to citizenship is realised, thereby giving all our people an identity with this country and a claim to the services provided by government. Secondly, our work in the area of immigration establishes this department as a key security installation and custodian for much valuable data necessary for many of our planning processes.
So, even despite the political dynamics that have characterised the Department in the past ten years, we have always been aware that ours was going to be a challenging task as we assumed the leadership of the department. In the past year, the Department has been moving steadily towards the stabilisation of the administrative process and structures of the department as well as beginning the conceptual stages for a turn around in the department. The appointment of our new Director General, Mr. Barry Gilder added an important impetus into this process.
Since then we have had an opportunity to present our first budget to the Parliament as a new ministry and outlined several key intervention areas that are urgent if the turn around of the Department is to be sustained. This is the reason why we have invited you here today. We have planned this meeting not necessarily as a press conference, but just as equally it is not an off the record briefing. What we needed to do here is to share with you some of the issues that we flagged when we presented our budget to Parliament.
Amongst these issues were the following:
* Survey on Services to Citizens
We have raised our concern that the planning process for our approach to provision of civic services is not based on reliable research. There is a need for us to determine the extent of the need for services by citizens. For example, we need to know where the biggest concentration of people without IDs is by province and by municipality, how many South Africans have still not converted to the new green bar coded IDs, whether there is still a need to implement the policy of late registration for those adult South Africans who still do not appear on the population register, and so on.
We have undertaken to institute a survey to be finalised during this financial year aimed at determining the extent of the problem relating to these and other civic services related problems. The result of the survey will be useful in the Department's planning cycle and in determining the scope and nature of our campaigns, and most specifically in planning for the Local Government Election. This survey also relates to our collaboration with Statistics SA and in particular the Cabinet Memorandum regarding extending the census period to 10 years. However, in order to reduce the need for frequent census, the Department must be able to provide reliable and authentic data. Collaboration with Statistics South Africa must be ongoing.
* Marriage registrations
On Tuesday, 3 August, we will be launching the "Check your Status Campaign" as part of Government's activities for the Month of Women. The campaign is aimed at ensuring that women who are married are able to make sure that their status is so registered, in particular those that are married in terms of the Recognition of Customary Marriages Act.
* Fraudulent marriages
The Strategic Plan for the MTEF includes a campaign to assist women who find themselves trapped in a fraudulent marriage or marriages of convenience. We must also create the capacity for women to verify their marital status in our records. Dedicated counters have been opened in all our offices for women to assist women with these verifications. In a situation where reasonable proof exists that the marriage was registered fraudulently, the Department will expunge these. We already have permission from the department of Justice and Constitutional Development on less cumbersome process of expunging these unions without the cumbersome process of the courts.
* Registration of customary marriages
Women married in terms of customary unions will also be able to check registration of their marriages, in what we hope will become a standing programme of the Department. We will seek partnerships in implementing this programme, which will include an interrogation of the reasons behind the low rate of registration of customary marriages.
* Birth registrations
Key to the Poverty Alleviation Campaign is the issue of registration of births. Our first partnership is with the Department of Social Development. We hope to broaden the partnership to other Departments and institutions such as the Department of Health in what is to be an ongoing campaign. A report from the Department assessing the partnership of the past 24 months, dealing with any teething problems, has now been received and will form part of our plans to expand this programme.
* Providing convenient access to services
The need to provide convenient access to all our clients particularly those who live outside the urban centres has necessitated a reconsideration of the location of our offices and our expansion strategy. An expansion plan that takes into consideration the scientific study on population dynamics, nodal points, and rural development strategy is being finalises to inform our expansion plans for this year. We are at the stages of finalising this plan on the expansion of Home Affairs offices to ensure convenient access to our services. The integrated plan includes the involvement of the Department of Public Works, local government and the private sector. This plan also includes a report on the utilisation of MPCCs, in particular, where these are situated and how many would be available for DHA use.
* Mobile units
The primary tool for improvement of access to services is the proposed mobile units. An amount of R67 million has been budgeted for the provision of these mobile units. These will be deployed in all our nine provinces during this financial year. The mobile units will include a fully computerised mobile office with satellite link to our main framework for real time verification and the ability to capture applications.
* Office Environment
The campaign to clean and renovate dilapidated offices is also ongoing. The importance of clean environment conducive for service delivery in our offices cannot be overemphasised. Simple thing attributes such as painted offices, where light bulbs are replaced and toilets work is important both to service delivery and staff morale.
* Foreign missions
The issue of Departmental staff and services at foreign missions, particularly in Africa and other countries of the South, is being dealt with in terms of the need to broaden access to services, particularly in those areas that have been neglected in the past.
* Policy review
In the short term, the President in his state of the nation address emphasised the need to finalise the regulations within a three-month deadline from the day of his address in Parliament. In order to do this, the Immigration Amendment Bill has been tabled in Parliament. There are other policy and legislative issues that may frustrate service delivery, or may not be in sync with other legislation or with the constitution. A Policy audit and review is therefore necessary in the long term. A Commission will be appointed for this purpose and will work with the Department to overhaul policy. While the need for a general policy audit exists a longer-term review of immigration policy has been prioritised.
* Other urgent policy issues
(a) Refugee status determination procedures
The unacceptable delays in refugee status determination procedures and the increased pressure on the asylum process must be addressed.
(b) Border control/illegal immigration
We have committed ourselves to the upgrading of ports of entry, and to working with other departments in the efficient administration of border posts. The issue of border control and illegal immigration generally must be addressed.
(c) Government Printing Works
The conversion of the GPW to a state-owned enterprise that specifically serves as Security Printing Agency will be finalised in this financial year.
(d) Electoral Task Team Report
We have already undertaken to present to introduce to cabinet the continuation of the discussions towards the finalisation of the report by the Task Team. We will also await the process of the appointment of the new Commissioners of the IEC, which is likely to be finalised by the beginning of September.
4.3 Outstanding legislation
(a) Citizenship Amendment Bill (b) Film and Publication Amendment Bill It is hoped that both these Bills will be passed in August.
* Staffing
There is a need to improve our Human Resources capacity. In this financial year we have already filled more than 600 posts and we intend to fill 1000 before the end of the year. We are also happy to announce that we have finalised the process of interviews for two DDg posts and we will also be filling all the management posts that were advertised last month in the coming month. We have also launched an internship programme that will see about 350 young people recruited into a mentorship programme for a period of 12 months while assisting in service delivery in our offices.
* Morale
The need to boost staff morale in the Department through the introduction of incentives and good human resource management, including emphasis on the following:
* Principle of Batho Pele
* Staff development
* Skills development
* Employee well-being
* Gender equity
* Corruption
An interdepartmental plan to fight corruption is now in force. The most important aspect of the plan for us is the prevention of corruption through the introduction of systems, including better controls and technological support. We have however upgraded our anti corruption unit into a Chief Directorate top create capacity to respond to acts of corruption.
* Technology
We are intending to implement one of the most ambitious IT programmes in Government to support our business model: In the short term, we intend to:
* complete the procurement process for the new smart cards to over 30 million citizen and introduce the smart passport to ensure that we provide maximum security of our passport to foreign travellers as well as the enabling the fast tracking of citizen at our port of entry
* We will also scanned over 30 million papers birth marriage and death record into Electronic Document Management system
* We also introduce the ICS Consoles at our five refugee reception offices around the country
* We will also introduce smart cards for the refugees
* The introduce ICS Consoles at Lindela, enabling proper record keeping and management of the illegal foreigners.
* Child pornography
We are launching an all encompassing campaign against Child pornography involving a broad range of stakeholders including government, Internet Service providers, media Institutions, religious Communities, Business, Labour, Schools so that we are able to assist the safety of our children as well as the effectiveness of the law enforcement agencies. This will be within the auspices of the Film and Publications Board whose executive authority now lies with the Deputy Minister.
I must thank you for this opportunity.
Ke a leboga!
Issued by: Ministry of Home Affairs
30 July 2004
Source: Department of Home Affairs (http://www.home-affairs.gov.za)
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