Chairperson, I want to start by saying that Cope is delighted with the Minister, who is adopting and implementing the slogan of Cope regarding a reliable, accountable and incorruptible government and department. [Interjections.]
The President and his executive profess to have at the top of their agenda the triple challenge of poverty, inequality and unemployment. It does not help when we pass legislation and regulations that are counterproductive to meeting the triple challenge.
The new regulations relating to the visa immigration requirements, as introduced by the Minister, are a case in point. Reports are surfacing that it is having a negative impact on our tourism - one of the very few good stories that we have to tell. The new regulations have ripped families apart and chased potential investors away. Whilst there was clearly a need to beef up our immigration management, were the negative consequences considered and why were these amendments processed in such haste?
What are we going to do about this? Our government has a responsibility to be responsive. So, why do those affected by government have to challenge them in court? Just in the Western Cape there have been more than 1 000 cases. Why can't the Minister admit that the regulations were made in haste? We are not saying they are wrong, but I think they were drawn up too hastily.
Shockingly, recent reports allege that the Chairperson of the NCOP has hired undocumented foreign workers to work on her farm. So, we need to ask the Minister how he is going to deal with these allegations against his colleagues and party loyalists.
Minister, through you, Chairperson, the R140 for a new ID card is of grave concern to Cope. How many pensioners, grant recipients, unemployed, and homeless people can actually afford to pay R140 for a new ID card? Moreover, did the department actually issue 100 000 ID cards by the end of March, as they anticipated doing? Or did the question of affordability actually impact on their producing the 100 000, as the first two and a half months was set aside for the roll-out to pensioners?
Then, is the turnaround time now 30 days instead of 54 days to issue an ID document?
Importantly, why will a border management agency be established only in 2017, considering that both the combating of transnational crime and terrorism, and the fostering of trade and tourism, are priorities of the present? The Minister and the Deputy Minister can smile.
Cope is concerned about the continued challenges experienced by the department. Firstly, there is the nonintegration of the IT system. Taking into consideration the millions that have been spent over the last couple of years, we still do not have an integrated IT system. [Interjections.] There is a lack of capacity in the inspectorate and financial management.
I hope that the Deputy Minister is right and that it is not who you know and where you are from that count. That, I suppose, would mean that we will not have any more Gupta landings at air force bases.
In conclusion, Cope believes that we need to see a detailed plan with goals and timeframes for how the Ministry and the department intend to give effect to the vision set out in the National Development Plan. I thank you.