Intervention in the Department of Home Affairs: briefing by Minister

HOME AFFAIRS PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE
23 August 2006
INTERVENTION IN THE DEPARTMENT OF HOME AFFAIRS: BRIEFING BY MINISTER

Chairperson Mr HP Chauke (ANC)

Documents handed out:
Support Intervention in the Department of Home Affairs
Progress Report on the Intervention in Department of Home Affairs
Presentation on Department Business Plan 1 April 2006 -31 March 2009
Mpumulanga Border Control Operations
Progress on Issues Raised by the 2004/05 Audit Report

SUMMARY
The Minister of Home Affairs briefed the committee on the steps she had taken to rectify the problems that were detected in the department by the Auditor General’s report that led to a disclaimer. She had called in an intervention team consisting of representatives from National Treasury, Office of the Public Service Commission, and the Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA), and they had been working with the department for the past three months. Members enquired whether the intervention team would operate for more than six months if needed, and their intentions. Some members queried whether the problems would ever be addressed. The question of termination of employment of those without sufficient skills was discussed.

The Head of the Intervention team gave a presentation on support intervention. The Office of the Public Service Commission and the Department of Public Service and Administration would provide support for the next six months on key work areas. The current managerial team lacked understanding of the core responsibilities of the department, and there was a lack of effective and efficient human resources. It was essential to review information technology management. The main concern in service delivery was preventing the creation of backlogs, but this would not be addressed by increasing staff. There needed to be better interface between Head Office and provincial offices of the DHA. The monitoring system for programmes needed improvement. Several members expressed their disapproval that unqualified people were holding office and queried whether disciplinary measures would be taken. The necessity for a strategic HR plan was discussed. The lack of understanding of core functions was clarified. The need for good service unconnected with IT delivery was discussed. Numbers of staff were discussed and the IT system was queried, with the hope that it would soon be clarified.

Mr Freeman Nomvalo (Asset and Liability Management, National Treasury) informed the committee that National Treasury’s input would ensure that the disclaimer last year changed to a qualification, and then to a non qualified report. Internal audit would examine what steps had been taken to rectify problems and also would look into risk assessment. It would be necessary to work on formulating an interim plan. The four project areas being worked upon were revenue collection, aliens’ bank account control, travelling and subsistence allowances and interactions of head and regional offices. Risk management was being undertaken and a risk register was being drawn. In respect of the auditing, the intervention team would help with the issues identified by the A-G. National Treasury basically would offer support on solutions and set up better systems.
Members raised questions on government expenditure and the vehicle purchasing contracts, and on the capacity of the internal audit team. It was confirmed that no final reports could yet be given.

The Head of Immigration, Mpumulanga briefed the committee on the Mpumulanga border control operations at one of the busiest ports of entry. The committee expressed concern over the lack of demarcated borders and the lack of security at the border posts and increased illegal crossings. Further questions related to the length of training and the insufficient number of recruits, the Immigration Centre operation, the holding facilities at Johannesburg International Airport, the transportation of illegal immigrants and uniforms for this branch.

The Director General of Home Affairs) briefed the committee on the department’s three-year business plan from 2006 to 2009. He spoke on the planning process of the business plan, the national policy drivers, the planning levels, key strategic deliverables and strategic objectives. He reported that DHA had formulated nine objectives and strategic plans. IT systems of DHA were old and needed upgrading. Implementation of the plans by the Civic Services unit should be underway and that they hoped to show a turnaround as most measures should be in place and there would be better quality and service delivery. DHA planned to make changes to ID and refugee documentation, making collection more convenient. DHA aimed to strengthen and improve service. Refugees remained a huge challenge, and this was also a global issue. DHA planned to upgrade border towns so that they would be able to deal with visa issues adequately. Members expressed their concern over the length of time required to process an ID document and commented that the delays arose through insufficient planning of staffing.

MINUTES
Briefing by Minister of Home Affairs
The Hon. N M Nqukula, Minister of Home Affairs, attended the meeting to report back on the work of the Department of Home Affairs (DHA). She apologised that she would not be able to attend the whole meeting owing to a cabinet meeting.

The Minister reported that at the time of presentation of the budget she had already begun the process of rectifying the problems in her department. Problems included difficulties in discharging duties and deficiency in fulfilling the requirements for the proper processing for the budget through failure to provide financial statements, resulting in a disclaimer by the Auditor General (AG). The disclaimer led her to invoke the provisions of PFMA and invite assistance of National Treasury (NT) to investigate the financial statements. She had also asked Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) and the Office of the Public Service Commission (OPSC) to intervene on the matter of efficiency. The project therefore was a joint venture between DHA, DPSA, NT and OPSC. It was driven by a steering committee of Director Generals that reported to a ministerial committee. There had already been improvements and she appreciated the support given.

Discussion
The Chairperson asked about the intention of the intervention team.

Hon Nqukula responded that she had needed to clarify the presence of the intervention team often. She assured the committee that this decision to call for help was needed as there were problems in DHA, including problems with NT and capacity from low level to managerial positions. There was need to professionalise the department and to conduct a head count, which had never been done by DHA. It was opportune also to invite DPSA to assist with capacity, help fill vacancies and conduct an assessment of numbers needed against budget. The intervention did not question the capabilities of the Director General of DHA but assist him with a huge department that was so often underestimated. The intervention should be brief but produce long lasting solutions.

The Chairperson inquired if this intervention would be prolonged if the desired results were not met, despite the fact that it was intended as a short process not exceeding six months.

Hon Nqukula stated that if the goals and intentions of the intervention team were not met its presence would definitely be extended, as she wanted more sustainable and long lasting solutions for the department. She would rather have a long lasting intervention than leave the problems in her department unsolved as there was still the question of the disclaimer.

Mr M Sikakane (ANC) was of the opinion that DHA would forever be plagued by problems since some of the problems under discussion had been on the table for the past 10 years. This arose from unanticipated challenges, like influx of immigration.

The Chairperson disagreed and commented that they should be appreciative of what the department had tried to do so far. Everyone was looking for solutions.

Ms S Kalyan (DA) asked the problem of unqualified personnel in jobs. She wanted to know if the department was prepared to dismiss people who might have qualifications on paper, but did not possess the skills for the job.

Hon Nqukula hoped she would not be put in a position where she would have to terminate employment. If recommendations were to be made then the recommendations should be more about deployment to other positions. She pointed out that the current changes were difficult and she would welcome support from all departments involved.

Support Intervention by the Intervention Task Team in the Department of Home Affairs
Ms Odette Ramsingh (Director General (DG):Office of the Public Service Commission (OPSC) and Head of the Intervention task team) gave a presentation on support intervention. The background had been presented by the Minister. She headed the team whose main area of focus was reviewing the financial management and internal controls. OPSC and the Department of Public Service Commission(DPSC) would provide support for the next six months on key work areas. Ms Ramsingh stated that her major concern so far was that the current managerial team lacked understanding of the core responsibilities of the department. There was a lack of effective and efficient human resources. Unfilled vacancies existed in some areas, and some senior officials did not hold qualifications. The area of information technology management was critical and there was need to review the current procedures and software that would eradicate current problems and meet long term solutions. Cost of acquisition and cost benefit would have to be measured. The main concern in the service delivery was preventing the creation of backlogs. She was quite clear that increasing staff and backup was not the answer. There also needed to be increased interface between the Head Offices and the provinces as there seemed to be a major bias towards the head office at the expense of the provincial offices. A strong monitoring system was needed for programmed management as one department could perform well while another failed to do so. This would create poor perceptions, which, in being defended, wasted time and effort.

Discussion
Mr F Beckman (ANC) thanked the department for a very thorough presentation of the core issues. He asked why previous studies that involved the skills auditing had excluded DHA and why there was no earlier intervention in skills, management and structure.

Ms Ramsingh responded that DPSA had done a skills audit in a number of departments and presented it to the cabinet, and she did not know why DHA had been excluded. The same methodology would now be used in the intervention. It was possible that the lack of strong monitoring had not indicated that DHA had problems.

Mr M Swart(DA) commented disfavourably on the poor correspondence records and delivery of DHA , citing his own experiences.

Ms Ramsingh replied that requests ignored were symptomatic of the DHA’s problems at all levels. Some of the issues, such as tracking a piece of paper, could not be addressed by IT.

Mr Sikakane (ANC) requested that Ms Ramsingh elaborate on what she had meant when she commented that the senior managers did not understand the core functions of the department.

Ms Ramsingh clarified that whilst migration and civic services were core business functions of DHA, there were also other critical support functions such as IT, finance and human resources. Managers were focusing more on process areas such as how to employ the right person without looking at content issues as well. The general impression was that they lacked full understanding and appreciation of the whole mandate in a performance management system.

Mr Sikakane requested that the presenter elaborate on the issues of human resources; and how lack of a human resources plan impacted negatively on service delivery.

Ms Ramsingh responded that a strategic human resources plan and mapping was one of the critical challenges of DHA. Not only was it part of the Public Service Regulations, but also allowed for full understanding of the needs, which would then require matching to a profile of the type of employee for the posts. The selection drive was thus more specific and allied to work in progress.

The Chairperson asked the intervention team to comment whether there was indeed cooperation in DHA. One of the reasons for the disclaimer by the Auditor General was non cooperation.

Mr Jeff Maqethuka (D-G: DHA) answered that so far there was full co-operation that had produced results and he had not been required to intervene.

Ms Ramsingh confirmed that Mr Maqethuka was correct and added that any requests she made were responded to, including those on her sometimes irrational timeframes. She only hoped that there was genuine concern to make changes and that the changes would persist past the intervention team’s time. .

Ms Kalyan acknowledged the mammoth task the team had to overcome and congratulated them on their hands on approach and the expediency with which they dealt with the immigration issue. She asked why posts were being filled without advertisement and noted that there were a number of unqualified personnel. To her this seemed like nepotism and corruption and she would like to know if disciplinary measures would be taken.

The Chairperson also expressed concern at the growing number of unqualified personnel in the branch, even at senior positions.

Ms Ramsingh emphasized that she could not make a full comment since the issue was still under investigation and would have to wait for a comprehensive report. However, her findings did not suggest that there was nepotism. She said the first port of call was to address the unqualified employee and the post. Decisive action would be taken if required.

Ms Kalyan asked about the head count in DHA, which was still unclear. She asked the reasons for the uncertainty.

Ms Ramsingh replied that this issue has its own inherent problems but in a month or so they would have define parameters for the investigation. The main problem was whether the payroll matched the actual number of staff.

Mr Nkosana asked if there was still interaction between the Head Office and the Provincial Offices and whether problems at the head office with employment of staff were likely to spill spilling over to the provinces and how these would be rectified.

Ms Ramsingh stressed that province service delivery must get dedicated attention because this was where the citizen interfaced with the department. However, clarity was needed on functions and delegations that would cascade to provinces and there was a need to capacitate the provinces as well.

The Chairperson asked how the team would ensure that Head Office interacted with the provincial offices if they never set foot in the provinces.

Ms Ramsingh replied that head office needed to keep the pressure up until they had personnel.

Mr Maqethuka added that the devolution of functions to the province was a decision that had already been undertaken during their strategic review plan. Provincial managers for the first time were now attending Head Office meetings so that there would be better interaction both ways.

Mr F Beukman (ANC) commented that the IT situation still seemed uncertain. He hoped that in three months the committee would be able to distinguish between fact and fiction.

Ms Ramsingh replied that her team had also found that the situation was not really clear. They team would review ICT projects and orders and comment on them so that the Committee would have a final register of IT projects.

Progress Report by National Treasury on the Intervention in the Department of Home Affairs
Mr Freeman Nomvalo (Asset and Liability Management, National Treasury) informed the committee that the support mainly was to be provided in areas where it was possible to make immediate impact and with implementation of these solutions. The target was to change the position on the report from a disclaimer to a qualification and eventually to a non-qualified report. The internal audit would look into the department’s past reports and check to what extent issues identified had been followed through. Internal audit would also look into risk assessment. It would be necessary to work on formulating an interim plan. NT had identified four project areas: namely revenue collection, aliens’ bank account control, travelling and subsistence allowances and interactions of head and regional offices. Any findings made would then be followed up. Risk management was being undertaken because DHA was not able to deliver efficiently on services and a risk register was being drawn. A few areas would be used in their sample research, including Mpumulanga. In respect of the auditing, the audit was late and the intervention team would help with the issues identified by the A-G.

Discussion
Mr Sibande(ANC) asked about the expenditure on cars that were supposed to be delivered to the provinces. Although funds had been set aside some of the provinces were still battling with vehicles over ten years old.

Ms Maunye (ANC) also commented on the purchase of vehicles and especially the arrangements with the Gauteng government garage relating to the contracts. She asked if there was some way for relevant departments to deal with this issue.

Mr Nomvalo replied that the contracts and the relationship between the government garages and departments needed to be further investigated before a report could be made, which was why the presentation was so concise. The delay arose because the people involved were still actively participating in the audit at the end of the year within DHA. Removing them would do a disservice as they were still wanted to respond to the A-G’s audit investigation

The Chairperson asked about the capacity of the internal audit team as this had not been clearly outlined. He had spoken to some officials during a visit to the DHA and knew of their problems.

Mr Nomvalo said that some of the issues that he picked up, such as IT, were part of the Risk Assessment report and were therefore still subject to investigation. Information given by managers could not always be taken at face value and out of context. However, capacity was limited and there was a small audit staff. In the National Treasury office charged with assisting departments, he had a dedicated a unit that deals with the internal auditing, and one dedicated for the Central Government Cluster that included Home Affairs. Three or four people were working specifically on risk management. Another three were working with DHA on country issues. Therefore there were overall about eight people involved. It was important to realize that this investigation of financial management systems must take place concurrently with the other 155 units countrywide that NT must serve. It would no justice to the investigation of DHA to rely on their internal capacity, which was the reason the Minister had requested a team from the Auditor General.

Briefing on Mpumulanga Border Control Operations
Mr Johan Schreiber (Head of Immigration) informed the committee that currently the army were responsible for the Mpumulanga borderline security and patrols and that the South African Police Service (SAPS) would take up this role by 2008. DHA’s main challenge was to cope with the influx of foreigners while at the same time provide service delivery at the respective ports of entry. DHA needed an integrated IT system to ease this process. Furthermore DHA was under pressure to be ready for the 2010 World Cup influx. Mr Schreiber detailed the ports of entry in Mpumulanga. Lebombo was the busiest port between South Africa and Mozambique, which necessitated the building of a backup facility about eight kilometers from the border post. This facility mostly dealt with commercial transactions and was also a one stop bulk handling facility. It was shared with South African Revenue Service, and Mozambican immigration and customs. He detailed the operational hours, stakeholders, statistics on border traffic and other facilities available. He also gave this report on the border posts at Oshoek, Mahamba, and Jeppes Reef


Discussion
The Chairperson asked how long it took to train an immigration officer. There was already a shortage before even considering the pressures that 2010 might bring.

Mr Tshabalala (Deputy Director General: Civic Services, DHA) replied that the training lasted a year, of which a total of six months was in general training, interspersed with two 3-month stints at a border post..

Mr M Swart asked about the regional visa that was currently in its discussion stages.

Mr Maqethuka replied that what there was a proposal for a unified SADC for SADC members nationals only.

The Chairperson asked how many trainees were being taken in a year, bearing in mind the need to fill the 50 vacant posts in Mpumulanga.

Ms Lorraine Makola (Deputy Director General, National Immigration Branch, DHA) answered that DHA were training about six people per year.

The Chairperson commented that this was unsatisfactory as it required much greater training to cover the gaps in the department.

Mr Sibande asked whether the SCOPA issued had been dealt with

Mr Tshabalala replied that SCOPA had already dealt with these issues.

Mr Maqethuka acknowledged that currently the service of the Immigration Centre was less than satisfactory and that it was not operative on a 24 hour basis, having merely an answering machine on at night. However, he argued that one of the purposes of the Center was to receive feedback and to try to find out about any complaints from the public. DHA was now trying to reconceptualize the Centre in an effort to upgrade.

Ms Kalyan said she did not think that re conceptualizing and redefining was the way to proceed.

Mr Maqethuka answered that reconceptualization did not mean a complete overhaul. DHA would build on what was currently available and this would involve noting the kind of service currently under offer and how it should be perfected.

Ms Kalyan asked what the department was planning to do in connection with the holding facilities that catered for people with invalid documentation at Johannesburg International Airport. She said currently these were poor and they did not have proper ventilation. She believed this was a downright violation of people’s rights, irrespective of whether they had entered the country legally.

Mr Maqethuka replied that the people in these holding facilities were the responsibility of the airlines. However, DHA had raised this issue and he was happy to inform members that ABSA was prepared to rectify the situation and this was in the pipeline.

The Chairperson remarked that the transportation of illegal immigrants was very expensive, and took its toll on DHA finances. He asked what had been planned to rectify the situation.

Mr Maqethuka replied that the original plan was to return the immigrants to the border, and that their governments should take care of their transportation home. Those governments argued that they did not have the means to do so. He added further that the only real solution that would halt illegal immigration was if their own countries’ economies turned around so that the immigrants had no need to leave. .

Mr T Skhosana(ANC) asked what had been proposed by way of border security. There were 108 airstrips in Mpumulanga and it was eminently easy to transport illegal goods.

Mr Maquethuka replied that monitoring would be very difficult since some of the airstrips were privately owned and the radar system asked the pilots to identify themselves and the cargo. This in itself was not safe as pilots could tell lies. This was indeed a great challenge.

The Chairperson asked whether there was progress on the new uniforms for the immigration officers.

Ms Makola replied that Cape Town airports had received some uniforms, and DHA were waiting on supplies in order to deliver to other areas.

Mr Mkambule added that DHA had issued a period contract for supply over a period of two years depending upon demand for the available immigration officers in employment at the time. Ensuring fulfillment of mandates was one of the problems of tenders.

Presentation on Department’s Business Plan 1 April 2006- 31 March 2009
Mr Jeff Maqethuka (Director General, DHA) gave a presentation on the planning process of the business plan, the national policy drivers, how to improve the organisation of DHA’s business plan, the planning levels, key strategic deliverables and strategic objectives. He reported that DHA had formulated nine objectives and strategic plans after the Committee had complained that the objectives were not clear. He indicated that the IT systems of DHA were old and needed upgrading. He stated that implementation of the plans by the Civic Service unit should be underway and that they hoped to show a turnaround as most measures should be in place and there would be better quality and service delivery. DHA planned to make changes to ID documentation, making collection more convenient and easier by bringing it nearer to the people. There would also be changes made to the refugee documentation systems.

Mr Maqethuka stated that DHA aimed to have a strengthened and quality managed service provider department. He acknowledged that one of DHA’s shortcomings was that it did not have a standing service provider for the nametags of staff, which would meet the turnover of people in and out of the department. He agreed with the committee that refugees remained a huge challenge, and was also a global issue. DHA planned to upgrade border towns so that they would be able to deal with visa issues adequately to obviate an applicant having to travel somewhere else for the visa. .

The Chairperson asked how long it took to process an ID document. He was still receiving complaints about the delay.

Mr Tshabalala said he thought it took approximately about four weeks. He described the process

Mr Beukmann remarked that the delays still came from under planning staffing and limited research capacity in the department. He asked how this was being remedied

Mr Maqethuka answered that appointment of staff was the domain of the Minister. Although the matter has been raised on the panel this issue is yet to be resolved by the cabinet

The meeting was adjourned.