Big changes at home affairs

2009-10-09 19:27

Johannesburg - Home Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma said her department plans to change a number of its processes to turn around service delivery and to increase security.

"We have no choice to turn around as quickly and effectively as possible," Dlamini-Zuma, who had come from a funeral, told a meeting of Business Unity SA (Busa) in Sandton, Johannesburg on Friday afternoon.

"We can only do that with the help and partnerships with stakeholders," she said.

"We should be working together with business to create a better balance. We should be able to help every bank to know who the person in front of them is," she said, explaining that banks should be able to trust that identity documents are genuine.

Permit system

She also said South Africa should be looking at its permit system for students and foreign workers.

"We have to create an environment where scarce skills can come into South Africa easily and contribute to the economy."

There was no reason why foreign students, business people and people with scarce skills should not be able to get their work permits in their country of residence. She also said the department was looking at extending the working permits of people with scarce skills to five years.

"If I was a scarce skill I would want to know that if I go to a country I'll be able to get a permit that will last me for five years and not to have to chase the permit every year," she said.

Asylum seekers

Dlamini-Zuma said the department of home affairs would address the issue of economic immigrants coming to South Africa for work, but applying for asylum.

"That route has become ridiculous. Last year for instance we had over 100 000 people seeking asylum but only 10 000 qualified," she said.

The people who did not qualify were not asylum seekers, but only wanted to come to "greener pastures".

Dlamini-Zuma said the department is looking at changing the birth certificate to include more information as the current one is too easy to forge.

"We will be including the name of the mother in the unabridged birth certificate. There is no mother that gives birth in her absence," she said.

Single visa for SADC

The department was working with the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to create a system of free movement for SADC members, as well as a single visa - or 'univisa'.

"That is ideal. We should have free movement of people, goods, capital within SADC and South Africa is for that," she said, adding that all SADC countries needed to know their population for that to work.

There was pressure to issue a 'univisa' for SADC for the 2010 Fifa World Cup.

- SAPA