Chairperson, Minister of Home Affairs, hon members, my task is to give you a progress report on some of the areas that I'm responsible for, one of them being asylum management.
We are pleased to report to the House that our refugee centres in Musina and Durban have seen massive improvements in both the accessibility and efficiency of processing applications, in the last two years. New applicants to these centres are processed and adjudicated in less than a week. Just four years ago, when these applicants arrived at these centres, they faced the prospect of having to wait years before their applications were finalised. In these reception offices, genuine refugees are assisted swiftly and efficiently. If they qualify, they can walk away with their refugee status in a matter of days.
However, both Durban and Musina are underutilised. Most asylum seekers register their applications at our Marabastad office, which processes approximately 70% of all new arrivals. In both the Musina and Durban refugee reception centres, there is no backlog in the adjudication of applications. This goes to prove that in an environment of efficiency and good management, corruption and other malpractices are eliminated. We have seen a concomitant decrease in the number of applicants in these refugee reception centres, as their productivity and efficiency levels have increased. As the numbers dwindled in Durban and Musina, we saw a concomitant rise in the number of asylum seekers at Marabastad.
Marabastad continues to have productivity challenges. We are concerned about these and the large numbers of complaints we still receive related to bad service ethic and alleged corruption. In this regard, at this point, I wish to state the following very clearly to the members who are present - because without a doubt, you are also approached by your constituencies.
Our approach is always, when people allege corruption, to ask them to please sign an affidavit for us because corruption involves two parties - somebody who offers the bribe and somebody who accepts the bribe. It cannot be that there is one complicit party. In this regard, I think it's time South Africans stood up for what is right. If they know of corruption, ask them to come and testify. Let us all confront this scourge.
It really does not matter and it does not help anybody when people merely say there is corruption somewhere. I think it is our responsibility, as leaders, to take them to task and ask for those details. From our side, the Minister and I are on record as saying that we will leave no stone unturned in that event, should people step forward and make use of our laws to enforce our laws.
We have agreed with the Chairperson of the Standing Committee on Refugee Affairs that the issue of the quality of decisions must be enhanced at our refugee reception centres. With the co-operation of that particular standing committee, the refugee status determination officers, RSDOs, will now be assessed and their decisions routinely quality-checked by the standing committee. We wish to thank the Chairperson and members of the Standing Committee on Refugee Affairs for their invaluable advice and support, despite their lack of capacity.
With regard to backlogs at our refugee centres, I'm happy to report that, together with the UNHCR, we are exploring options to deal with just under 100 000 files awaiting RSDO decisions and just over 100 000 cases awaiting appeals at the Refugee Appeals Board. These are backlogs that accumulated between 2006 and 2010.
In order to assist us in the backlog project, we will be approaching Parliament to effect some amendments to the South African Refugees Act in order to enable us to employ appropriately qualified RSDOs and Refugee Appeal Board members on a short contract basis. This is in order to beef up our capacity for the limited period that it will take to finalise the backlog, for now, and also to enable more flexibility and adequate responses to contingencies that appear regularly in the asylum seeker management process, as they occur into the future.
Our offices that are currently dedicated to backlogs, including Port Elizabeth, Cape Town and the Tshwane Interim Refugee Reception Office, in Pretoria, have reported a significant level of no-shows on the part of applicants. They've also reported rather significant numbers of what we call "dormant files". These pose risks and hamper efficiencies which we have to maintain when dealing with the large numbers of asylum seekers that we experience.
The proposed amendments will be tabled for consideration by hon members to deal effectively with these matters. We are also looking at improving our ability to locate failed asylum applicants who disappear into our communities and who then irregularly continue staying on in the country, adding to our socioeconomic challenges. In this regard, we shall need the support of both Parliament and our courts to effectively enforce our laws and to deport such persons.
With regard to the Moetapele project, I have been mandated by the Minister to improve the client experience at each of our front offices. Moetapele, meaning leadership at every level, is called for. We invite hon members, when they are next in the province of Gauteng, to visit our Edenvale office and get a first-hand look at what changes we envisage with this campaign. Edenvale is our pilot project office.
Chairperson Dlamini's concern about branding is also taken care of, in this regard. We hope to roll out this format to all offices where the online system is operational. Moetapele is aimed at extracting the best out of our people, refining our systems and developing secure products which must be held in high regard by South Africans. It is a massive task, but one that we tackle with zeal. Every day, we get closer to realising the full potential of our people, our moetapele, who in all they do, show leadership.
Speaking of leadership, may I take this moment to salute the leadership of the department, the director-general, in absentia, the deputy directors- general and the chief directors, some of whom are present here today? These are some of the most consummate professionals, whose contribution to our nation often goes unsung. As South Africans, we have a very negative image of the Public Service. However, I can assure the House that in an environment like home affairs, given the complexity of our work, the capacity constraints we have and the purview of our mandate, if these officials had to work in a more resourced country, like the UK, for example, they would all be knighted by the Queen of England.
I want to extend a special word of thanks to our leader, our Minister, for being the lightning rod of our department. In every crisis and controversy, he is what we call our moetapele. He is the leader in front, attracting and absorbing all the stress and through it all, shining the light ahead, pointing us to calmer waters. Thank you, Minister, for this, for being supportive of all that the Deputy Minister does and for always being the consummate gentleman. [Applause.]
I also echo the thanks to our select committee, to the chairperson and to each member, without exception. When you work hard at your task, you assist us to do better and greater things for our nation. Thank you so much. [Applause.]