Department of Home Affairs 2012 Strategic Plan

NCOP Health and Social Services

24 April 2012
Chairperson: Ms R Rasmeni (ANC, North West)
Share this page:

Meeting Summary

The Department of Home Affairs (DHA) presented its strategic and annual performance plan and budget for 2012. The budgeting process was described, and specific line item allocations were indicated. The DHA received funding of R5.8 billion in 2011/12, rising to R6.3 billion in 2014/15. Extra funding was allocated for re-training of immigration officials and civic officials on security awareness, security upgrades, profiling border community immigrants, advance-passenger processing and capacity, as well as funding of additional posts in Immigration Affairs and Counter-Corruption units, improvements to financial management, and for a new DHA head office and modernisation of systems. The DHA noted that its main challenges related to insufficient funding for implementation of the border post infrastructure, although this was not solely the responsibility of the DHA, and it had lack of capacity for sea and air ports of entry, and for the advance-passenger processing systems. It acknowledged that more financial skills were still needed.

Members asked whether there would be any further special dispensation for Zimbabwean nationals who had not applied for permits, including those whose children had been born in South Africa.  They asked what the DHA was doing to trying to ensure that the porous borders were better controlled, and suggested the need to make the public aware of how many people there were in the country, and the need to improve the register of births and deaths. The DHA was also asked to ensure better equity in its staffing.

Meeting report

Mr Mkuseli Apleni, Director General, Department of Home Affairs, noted that the planning and budgeting process in the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) was based on the strategic plan, covering the three years of the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF). The priorities for each of those three years were then listed in the Annual Performance Plan (APP), and the budget would be calculated on each of the key performance areas outlined in those plans.

He commented on the way in which the budgeting was done for a few selected line items. For instance, compensation of employees was calculated on an incremental budgeting approach, using the past year’s compensation multiplied by an inflationary increase determined by
National Treasury, plus a calculation for any additional staff needed to implement the APP. Contractual obligations such as leases were calculated taking into account escalation clauses in those agreements. Operating costs, such as telephone costs, were also calculated using incremental budgeting, and all other expenditure was calculated using zero based budgeting. Once the costing was completed, the DHA would present the budget to National Treasury for approval.

He outlined the amounts requested (see attached presentation for details) as well as the National Treasury allocations for the medium term, and noted that, in addition, specific programmes received some extra funding, bringing the total allocations to R5.8 billion in 2011/12, R5.3 billion in 2012/13, R6.3 billion in 2013/14 and R6.3 billion in 2014/15. The extra funding was allocated for
re-training of immigration officials and civic officials on security awareness, security upgrades, profiling border community immigrants, advance-passenger processing and capacity, as well as funding of additional posts in Immigration Affairs and Counter-Corruption units, improvements to financial management, and for a new DHA head office and modernisation of systems. The detailed budget and expenditure comparisons for the years 2009/10 to 2011/12, was set out in slide 16 of the attached presentation.

Mr Apleni noted that the challenges the DHA faced included insufficient funding for
the implementation of the Border Post Infrastructure, although this was not solely in the hands of the DHA. It had inadequate capacity within sea and air ports of entry. There was still a need for more skilled financial management capacity, and more people to work in this field. DHA needed to work on the advance-passenger processing system and to have adequate funding for it.

Discussion
NOTE: Not all the questions may be reflected, due to problems with the audio recording
Ms M Makgate (ANC, North West) asked what the Department would do so about the people who were originally from Zimbabwe, but had now been in South Africa for many years, and their children who may have been born in the country.

Mr Apleni noted that the DHA had set a time frame for Zimbabwean nationals to come and register formally, with a moratorium on deportations, but that window period had now closed. Anyone who was illegally in South Africa including those from Zimbabwe, was liable to be deported.

Mr T Mashamaite (ANC, Limpopo) asked what the Department would do to ensure that borders through which illegal immigrants passed most frequently would be better controlled.

Mr Apleni said that the issue of the borders was not something the DHA could handle on its own.

Mr S Plaatjie (COPE, North West) noted that the DHA’s demographic breakdown of staff seemed to be skewed, and that the white staff were definitely in a minority.

Mr Apleni agreed that there was not completely equity, but that would be rectified over time.

The Chairperson stated that in India, it was well-known and well-publicised as to how many people were in the country, but this was not the case in South Africa. She suggested that the national statistics be reviewed and publicised.

Ms B Mncube (ANC, Gauteng) noted that there was a need for the Department to have a proper register for births and deaths in the country.

The Chairperson thanked the Department for the presentation and the Committee members for the contributions.

The meeting was adjourned.

Audio

No related

Present

  • We don't have attendance info for this committee meeting

Download as PDF

You can download this page as a PDF using your browser's print functionality. Click on the "Print" button below and select the "PDF" option under destinations/printers.

See detailed instructions for your browser here.

Share this page: