“The system is offline”

Dear Editor

Today, the national Department of Home Affairs briefed the legislature’s Standing Committee on Premier and Constitutional Matters on the long queues, understaffing and IT problems that consistently plague Home Affairs offices in the Western Cape. While important and necessary steps are being taken to improve servers, serious concerns about Western Cape Home Affairs Offices’ capacity in dealing with the ever growing demand and the accumulated backlog of services remains.

Home Affairs is supposed to give effect to some of the most foundational human rights, like citizenship, birth registration, and identification documents. But this is hamstrung because of capacity constraints at Home Affairs in the Western Cape. We continue to see a growth in our population, and currently a little more than 500 staff members are expected to meet the demands of the 7 million residents of the Western Cape who depend on the Department for various services. The cost cutting measures placed on the Department by National Treasury has meant that newly vacant posts are not filled and that the number of Home Affairs employees has decreased by an estimated 2 500 employees countrywide since 2013.

The Department’s solution is to automate its services but as nearly every South African has experienced, the IT system is more often than not “offline”, which slows down service delivery and leads to residents being turned away. Unless systemic deficiencies in the IT service is addressed and the infrastructure is updated and protected, automating services will not address the growing demand. The root of the problem and the solution remains the IT system, and this must remain the top priority of Minister Motsoaledi.

MPP Reagen Allen says: “We do support the efforts of Home Affairs’ provincial officials through the construction of additional facilities in Mitchells Plain as well as the installation of Long-Term Evolution (LTE) at the Nyanga office last week, which now sees to it that the office receives uninterrupted internet connection. We now need Minister Motsoaledi’s Department to step up and fix the administrative flaw which led to the existing problem in the first place. The IT infrastructure must be in place and ramped up so that services can be automated where necessary and, ultimately, so that residents receive better delivery. We will continue to monitor the situation at Home Affair offices throughout the province and particularly those in the rural areas to ensure that residents received the services they deserve.”

Regards

Reagen Allen, MPP
DA Western Cape Acting Spokesperson on Premier and Constitutional Affairs

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