Chair, the ACDP would have thought that this department, more than any other, could have been divided and restructured. Migration, immigration and related issues, for example, surely need a dedicated and more specific response.
South Africa's Home Affairs department has been crippled by corruption and inefficiency over many years. In 2005 a young man won the sympathy of many South Africans when he held a Home Affairs official hostage with a fake gun, demanding his identity document - which is vital in every aspect of daily life - after a two-year wait for it.
We do appreciate, however, that turning this department around is going to be a mammoth task, but we are concerned by the shocking number of documents and files being lost. It is now almost expected by document seekers that they will have to apply more than once, if not many times, which is a costly exercise in time and money. People are waiting up to three years for approval of citizenship and permanent residence only to be told that documents are lost.
We can only hope that this budget will address issues of poor administration and corruption highlighted in the recent report by the US state department regarding fraudulent passports; identity documents and work permits; border security challenges; and socio-cultural attitudes and document fraud, which negatively affect government's ability to pursue and intervene in counterterrorism initiatives.
The ACDP notes the additional allocation for the World Cup, and is pleased to see preparations for the free and speedy World Cup events visa, which include separate facilities for soccer fans at airports to avoid congestion.
We are however, concerned that, with the smoke screen of the World Cup to shelter trafficking and terrorist agendas, we need to increase our capacity in this regard. The ACDP has grave concerns, but we will be supporting this budget as the new Minister attempts to tackle these enormous challenges. Thank you.