Investment in a secure and digital Department of Home Affairs (DHA) that is staffed with professionals will go a long way in helping it perform its functions, says minister Hlengiwe Mkhize.
Mkhize, speaking in Midrand yesterday at a roundtable discussion on repositioning the department, noted she envisions a department that can secure and maintain a digital platform that is essential for the development of e-government and e-commerce.
Despite introducing technology to improve services, the DHA continues to be bogged down by legacy systems, overcrowded offices, as well as corruption and fraud.
According to Mkhize, the DHA still has largely out-of-date technology and the organisational model has few supervisors, a handful of technicians and almost no professionals.
The minister explained that both digital and paper records are held in unsuitable warehouses or captured on defunct systems. Even in the 179 offices where it has installed fully digital systems, there are often long queues because the network is often down, she said.
"I commit that we will do better and show you our plans...The overall impact on the fiscus will be very positive. We will work hard to ensure there is no fraud, bribery and corruption. This will create conditions for economic growth and creative solutions to social problems."
Cable workforce
Mkhize explained the DHA has been on an improvement trajectory that started 10 years ago, and there has been significant progress from a policy and legislation standpoint.
According to her, the department will be aggressively looking for partners to support the most critical project in repositioning the DHA.
The most important factor is always the human factor. The department has about 10 000 officials and the pledge is to leave nobody behind that demonstrates commitment to achieving the vision and lives its values, she stated.
"60% of our staff have matric as their highest qualification, but experience has taught us that committed staff can broaden and build on their knowledge and skills and achieve the levels required. Enabling conditions have to be created and sustained...
"In addition, what is not negotiable is the need for the DHA to rapidly acquire a critical number of specialists and professionals. Departments carrying out our functions in countries that are less developed than South Africa have economists, managers who handle commercial relationships and units developing new technology and products."
She concluded that the department's immediate priority is to seek IT experts, a statistician, business process analysts, policy and legal specialists and security specialists.
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