IT central to Home Affairs turnaround

By Paul Vecchiatto, ITWeb Cape Town correspondent

Cape Town, 07 Jun 2007

Home Affairs` spending on IT-related projects comprises 19%, or about R600 million, of the department`s R3.054 billion budget, says Home Affairs minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula.

The Department of Home Affairs is considered one of the country`s most dysfunctional government departments. It is reportedly riddled with corruption, lack of leadership and is also responsible for a number of languishing projects, such as the Home Affairs National Identification System (Hanis).

Delivering her budget vote speech before Parliament today, Mapisa-Nqakula said the appointment of the Turnaround Action Team is one of the key instruments in turning around the department. The unit consists of private and public sector experts who will help ensure money is spent correctly.

She said it is not an end in itself, but "...about new technologies synchronised with existing infrastructure to enhance our ability to oversee, direct and, where necessary, speed up delivery".

The Turnaround Action Team, appointed to oversee the changes in the department, will report directly to newly-appointed Home Affairs director-general Mavuso Msimang.

The team will comprise former SA Chamber of Business chairman Kevin Wakeford, who will manage the turnaround process, and Sven de Kock, who heads the consultancy consortium of AT Kearny/Fever Tree.

Improving efficiency

Mapisa-Nqakula said the team has been tasked with creating a "radically more efficient, customer- and business-friendly department".

An important IT-related project is a track and trace system that will allow departmental managers to trace and, if necessary, speed up the progress of an ID application, she said.

Other IT-related projects under way include the new digital version of the 29 million fingerprints the department holds. This, explained Mapisa-Nquakula, allows the department to pinpoint people trying to obtain a second ID number to use for criminal purposes.

As far as Hanis is concerned, the minister said the ID smart card is a future project, and it also comprises the automated fingerprint identification system and the integration of these systems.

"Getting Hanis right will provide us with the necessary technical platform to move towards the smart ID card."

Mapisa-Nqakula noted the department is continuing its work to analyse and refine its understanding of the potential benefits of the smart ID card as a central element of its upgraded, more secure and more reliable identity system.

"At the heart of the smart card system must be more data integration, which is less vulnerable to tampering.

"Progress is being made on digitally capturing birth, marriage and death records under the electronic data management system, and a total of 57 million records have been scanned," the minister added.