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The Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs will next week receive a briefing from the Minister of Home Affairs on the circumstances that led to the precautionary suspension of the Department of Home Affairs’s Director General, Mr Mkuseli Apleni.

The Committee has noted the legal challenge by the DG and the proposed interaction with the Minister will seek to ensure that the legal limits are respected. The Committee is ordinarily concerned that his suspension has the potential of impacting on the implementation of targets as set out by the department.

Despite this, the Committee welcomes the improvement in the audit outcome of the Department of Home Affairs which received an unqualified audit opinion albeit with findings for the 2016/2017 financial year. The Committee welcomes this progress and is optimistic that the department will rectify the material findings.

The Committee welcomes the conclusion of discussions between the Department of Home Affairs and the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) in relations to collection of revenue by DIRCO overseas. The Committee has always been of the view that the collected revenue must be deposited into the National Revenue Fund and not into DHA accounts. The finalisation of this matter has resolved a longstanding item of concern for the department.

While the progress within the department is encouraging, the Committee is concerned by the uncertainty in relations to the future outcomes of litigation against the department. As a result, the Committee has resolved to strengthen oversight in relations to litigation against the department. In line with this resolution, the Committee will have a special meeting with the department at the end of October 2017 to receive a full briefing on cases against the department.

The Committee has also instructed the department to strengthen its Supply Chain Management system to ensure that payment of services takes place within the stipulated 30 days time to ensure that small businesses are not disadvantaged.          

On Thursday, the Committee will consider annual performance plans for the Government Printing Works and the Electoral Commission of South Africa.

Issued by Parliamentary Communication Services on behalf of the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs, Lemias Mashile