Chairperson, with respect to part (a) of the question, in the Minister's reply to Question 1631 on 8 August, the Minister alluded to the fact that discussions with the British High Commission would resume once the Olympics had been finalised. As we all know, the Olympics have just ended. We shall resume discussions with our counterparts in due course.
With regard to section (b), the Department of Home Affairs is negotiating with the following countries to do away with or to ease visa requirements for all levels of passport holders. The two countries that are currently in negotiations with us are Latvia and Lithuania.
Adjunkminister, ek dink ons sal almal saamstem dat die streng visumvereistes van lande soos Brittanje 'n groot struikelblok is vir Suid- Afrikaners wat gereeld moet reis, en dat dit interaksie tussen Suid-Afrika en Brittanje belemmer.
Terwyl 'n mens aanvaar dat lande soos Brittanje nie sommer oornag visumvereistes sal laat vaar nie, kan daar nie intussen met sulke lande beding word vir die verslapping van die vereistes nie, byvoorbeeld, dat visums teen 'n laer koste en vir langer tydperke - byvoorbeeld 10 jaar, soos in die geval van Amerika - uitgereik word?
Tweedens, in die lig daarvan dat ons nou ook samewerking tussen Brics-lande het, behoort die regering nie ook die verwydering van visumvereistes tussen Brics-lande as 'n prioriteit te beskou nie?
My Afrikaans is nie so goed nie ... (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[Adv A H GAUM: Deputy Minister, I think we would all agree that the strict visa requirements of countries such as Great Britain are a major obstacle for South Africans who have to travel regularly, and that they hamper interaction between South Africa and Great Britain.
While one accepts that countries such as Great Britain will not simply abandon visa requirements overnight, would it not be possible to negotiate the relaxation of the requirements with countries such as these in the meantime, for example, that visas be issued at a lower cost and for longer periods - for example for 10 years, as is the case with the United States of America?
Secondly, in light of the fact that we now also have co-operation among the Brics countries, should the government not also view the removal of visa requirements among Brics countries as a priority?
My Afrikaans is not very good ...]
... so, if you don't mind, hon member, I'll attempt to respond in English.
We certainly do agree that a range of issues - which may very well include the things that you are suggesting - need to be discussed with our British counterparts, but we also don't want to pre-empt any such negotiations with our counterparts, if that's in order. I assume that you will understand of that.
As to the issue of priorities, with regard to those countries where we are indeed consolidating very sound international relationships, yes, they certainly do feature among the countries that we will try to prioritise. Unfortunately, it's a bit of a sausage machine and almost a first-come, first-served type of situation. Clearly there are certain vested interests that we would need to protect and, as part of consolidating our overall international relationships with those countries, we will certainly pursue the relaxation of visas, on a reciprocal basis, with some vigour.
Chair, the fact that Britain found it necessary to impose visa requirements on South Africans visiting their country is an indictment of the rampant corruption in this department. Therefore, what measures, procedures and processes is the Ministry implementing to ensure that we are seen to be a secure and safe country when it comes to visa requirements, the easing thereof, and even doing away with those requirements altogether?
Chair, I can't presume to speak for anybody other than the South African government, and so I wouldn't know what led to the implementation of those requirements. As to the perception that you allude to, hon member, I don't imagine that anybody would want to negotiate with us if that were the perception that they had of South Africa. As it is, we have firm commitments to negotiate around these issues and, as I said previously, we intend pursuing them with some vigour.
Chair, I think South Africans spent almost R150 million on visa fees last year just to visit the United Kingdom. That is money that we could have spent in this country in a far better way. So this is a serious matter. Can the hon Deputy Minister assure us that they will not come back and say that they are not happy with the security of our passports and that is why they are returning this whole issue back to the department?
Chair, I am unfortunately unable to give the hon member any assurances as to what the British government may or may not say. As I have said, I speak only for the South African government. As far as we are concerned, there should be absolutely no reason why there should not be reciprocity from any country where we do not require visas from their nationals. That is the position we have and that is the position we will pursue. Of course, as to what the eventual outcome will be on that matter - we will get to that bridge and we will cross it at that point.
House Chair, just to follow up on her assurance that she speaks on behalf of the South African government, can the Deputy Minister assure this House that what had been a concern for Britain before - around the problem concerning the reliability of our passports - has now been addressed? Is it an issue that will no longer arise, given the systems that we have put in place to deal with it? There was also a previous debate concerning Gijima - the company that was responsible for the credit card visa issue - and that matter was supposed to be debated and resolved. Can you reassure this House that that issue has been resolved? Can you also provide this House with some information about the golden handshake that was given to Gijima in order for them to exit this credit card visa contract for not delivering in terms of that contract?
Chair, the issue of the smart card is certainly a matter that would resolve any outstanding concerns that people have with regard to the integrity of our systems. The hon member has the assurance that one of the positive aspects of the new ID smart card will be that, by and large, we will process those cards in-house and we will not be using consultants for that.
As to golden handshakes and so on, we have not moved away from any legal aspect - which you seem to be insinuating in your question. Of that I can give you an assurance. We have done nothing illegal. Whatever we did would have been done within the parameters of the law. That is the philosophy that we imbue in the department. In any case, it's certainly not something that we would be able to do by law. There was no golden handshake.
Insourcing of nutrition services
208. Mr V B Ndlovu (IFP) asked the Minister of Correctional Services:
(1) With reference to the reply in the National Council of Provinces to question 5 on 6 March 2012, what progress has been made with the insourcing of nutrition services; (2) when will his department's current contract with a certain company (name furnished) expire; (3) whether his department has begun to compile criteria for the new tender process to ensure that the contract is not extended again without it having been put to tender; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?