Home Affairs staff problem

Home Affairs minister Leon Schreiber has announced his five-year Home Affairs @ Home initiative, through which he wants to make the department digital-first.

“After years of budget cuts, Home Affairs now only has 40% of the staff required to provide adequate services under the current model that requires every client to physically visit offices for even the most routine transactions,” he said.

“The existing business model is not financially sustainable nor future-proof, and needs to be replaced by a new model that enables clients to access our services wherever they are.”

Schreiber said he envisions a future where no South African has to visit a Department of Home Affairs (DHA) branch to access routine services.

“All of the department’s services must become fully automated, digitised and offered online at the fingertips of our clients, from the comfort of their own homes,” Schreiber said in a statement.

The minister explained how routine civic services like ID or passport applications will work.

Document holders must be allowed to apply online through a secure platform linked to their unique biometrics. The application will then be processed through an automated risk engine.

Schreiber emphasised that this will only require human intervention in situations where anomalies are detected.

“All other cases will be processed automatically, digitally and securely,” he stated.

His plan also includes shipping documents directly to clients, regardless of whether they live in South Africa or abroad. He noted that similar approaches are effective regarding bank cards and vehicle licence discs.

“Over time, these vital documents will also be made available in digital format on the client’s secure online profile — and in the wallet app on their phone.”

Schreiber envisions similar seamlessness for South Africa’s immigration services, with plans for applicants to apply for Electronic Travel Authorisation through the secure online platform.

However, he noted that these travellers must provide their biometrics to Home Affairs as part of the process.

“Over time, this system will replace paper-based visas by issuing the traveller with a unique digital code linked to their passport information,” the minister said.

“Once they arrive at a South African port-of-entry, travellers will be required to scan their ETA code and provide another copy of their biometric information, which will then be verified against their passport and the information provided at the time of application.”

He added that visitors must also be able to submit applications to extend their stay or modify their status through the same secure online platform.

Schreiber says the Home Affairs @ Home initiative will help restore the integrity of South Africa’s national security. The “risk engine” he mentioned previously will use machine learning technology to detect dodgy documents.

“The risk engine will instantly detect fraudulent documents or documents that have been re-used in multiple applications,” he said.

“Before issuing an outcome, it will also cross-reference all applications for visas against domestic and international criminal and other databases.”

Since his appointment as minister in July 2024, Schreiber has highlighted the issue of severe system downtime as a critical point for his department to address.

“I would like to be the minister where the system is online, not offline,” he said.

He highlighted below-par Internet connections as a major cause of system downtime and confirmed that some DHA branches still use 2Mbps connections.

A MyBroadband comparison revealed that the 2Mbps connection is slower than some of the country’s cheapest broadband packages available to households.

However, it should be noted that the DHA likely has a business product, which will come with additional benefits, including service-level agreements.