The one and only Congress of the People. [Laughter.] [Interjections.] And the ANC knows that we would wallop them in court if they were to raise this issue and debate it negatively. We maintain that the Bill was, in fact, unconstitutional. We, however, trust that the new scarce skills list will address the issues of skilled migration.
The Department of Home Affairs has the mandate to ensure that the skills shortages in the six priority areas mentioned by President Zuma can be filled with foreign expertise in order to stimulate investment, enterprise and skilled labour. The United States of America is an excellent example of the value of skilled immigrants. In 1990 more than a third of engineers and other ICT professionals working there had been born elsewhere. Foreigners were responsible for more than 30% of biotechnology inventions, generated a quarter of all global patent applications originating in the USA in 2006, founded more than a quarter of American companies, including Intel, Yahoo and Google.
Secondly, there is the issue of service delivery. Apart from the Department of International Relations and Co-operation, the Department of Home Affairs is the face of South Africa. This department deals with tourists, immigrants, asylumseekers, refugees and South Africans alike on a daily basis. Therefore, the frontline staff in these areas must be on top form, well trained and equipped.
We live in the most unequal society in the world. Hence, the unequal access to services, especially in rural areas, remains a prominent issue. In addition, fraud and corruption, outdated IT infrastructure and systems and a legacy of contractual issues within the department, still need to be attended to properly.
The perceptions of the Department of Home Affairs, both internally and externally, are negative. This lack of confidence was reflected in the fact that only 24% of employees indicated knowledge of the positive changes in the department at the end of 2010.
The poor performance of the Department of Home Affairs in recent years is well known. It is profound that in precisely this department, where service delivery is so poor, 70% of workers had received an above-average evaluation mark in the past financial year, and therefore were eligible for bonuses. We, however, wish to commend the director-general for stepping up and questioning this. Those who abuse this system of hard work with reward must be made an example of.
Furthermore, the department suffers from a shortage of adequate staff capacity. A study by the African Centre for Migration and Society found that the process of documenting Zimbabweans is dogged by administrative challenges and poor communication within the department. Many Zimbabweans have simply been unable to navigate the documentation process because of its administrative challenges and the lack of effective communication, as well as misinformation from the regional offices. As a result, many are excluded and will remain undocumented.
The study found that the short time period for the project was the greatest obstacle to its success. While we commend the department for these efforts, the department did not set a realistic timeframe for implementing the process. The deadline has now been extended to July 2011. We trust that this deadline will be met without further extensions.
Inasmuch as our country must provide for its own citizens, it must also address the plight of refugees and effectively provide for their safety, health and general wellbeing. In this regard, it is vital to strengthen co- operation within the Southern African Development Community region.
South Africa receives the largest number of asylum requests in the world. Well over 400 000 individual asylum claims have been received since 2008. On top of this are the applications by migrant workers seeking to regularise their stay and access the employment market. Most of these applicants settle in urban areas. This fuels xenophobia, as they compete with host communities for scarce resources.
We are, however, refreshed to hear that the Minister indicated that this year particular attention will be given to the immigration personnel because this has been of serious concern. And, indeed, Madam Minister, we will monitor developments in this regard.
In 2009, the Department of Home Affairs was named the most corrupt department in South Africa. This is slowly changing. However, corruption remains a cancer. We can no longer be sure whether the person in possession of a South African passport is 100% South African or whether his documents were obtained fraudulently. In addition to this, the National Population Register must be cleaned up. Cope will, however, support the Budget Vote. [Time expired.] [Applause.]