Department of Home Affairs (South Africa)
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 Logo of the department | |
| Department overview | |
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| Formed | 31 May 1910 |
| Jurisdiction | Government of South Africa |
| Headquarters | Hallmark Building, Corner of Johannes Ramokhoase & Thabo Sehume Street, Pretoria 25°44′38.22″S 28°11′21.97″E / 25.7439500°S 28.1894361°E |
| Employees | 9,375 (2009) |
| Annual budget | R9,4 billion (2022/23) |
| Ministers responsible |
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| Department executive |
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| Website | www |
The Department of Home Affairs is a department of the South African government.
Duties
[edit]The department is responsible for:[citation needed]
- Maintenance of the National Population Register (the civil registry), including the recording of births, marriages/civil partnerships and deaths.
- Issuing identity documents and passports.
- Issuing visas for visitors to South Africa (although visa applications pass through embassies or consulates which are part of the Department of International Relations and Cooperation).
- Managing immigration to South Africa and naturalisation of permanent immigrants.
- Handling refugees and asylum seekers in South Africa.
- Controlling ports of entry at land borders, seaports and airports.
Budget
[edit]In the 2010 national budget, the department received an appropriation of 5,719.6 million rand, and had 9,375 employees.[1]
Criticisms
[edit]A report by the country's Public Service Commission found that the Department of Home Affairs accounted for 22 of the 260 financial misconduct cases for national departments in 2008/9.[2]
In May 2010 it was reported that the Department of Home Affairs had not paid its bill to the Government Printing Works, leading to a delay in the issuance of new passports, and that the department faced lawsuits from "people erroneously declared dead, people whom they failed to issue with identity documents and others arrested after their IDs were used in a fraudulent manner".[3] In the same year, the department was being sued for R 5 billion for various breaches of terms and contracts.[4]
There have been reports of corruption within Home Affairs. In February 2010 the department closed one of its Johannesburg offices due to corruption,[5] and in the same year, a number of officials and staff members appeared in court for alleged corruption and bribery.[6][7][8]
In January 2011 the department was criticised for its inefficiency, particularly in regard to processing documents. Eye Witness News reported that it would take two years to process visa requests from Zimbabwe citizens applying for work and study permits.[9] The Sowetan reported in January 2011 that a South African citizen has unsuccessfully tried to attain an identity document for four years.[10]
References
[edit]- ^ "Vote 4: Home Affairs" (PDF). Estimates of National Expenditure 2010. Pretoria: National Treasury. 17 February 2010. ISBN 978-0-621-39079-7. Retrieved 30 August 2010.
- ^ "Overview on Financial Misconduct for the 2008/2009 Financial Year", Public Service Commission, http://www.psc.gov.za/documents/2010/PSC%20Overview%20on%20financiaL.pdf
- ^ "DA statement on Home affairs's R126million debt to GPW", From the Old, http://fromtheold.com/news/da-statement-home-affairss-r126million-debt-gpw-2010031016905.html Archived 2011-07-11 at the Wayback Machine, 10 March 2010
- ^ "Home affairs being sued for R6.8bn". News 24. 30 September 2010.
- ^ "Home Affairs closes Jhb office due to corruption". Jacaranda 94.2. Johannesburg. 12 February 2010.
- ^ Mukhuthu, Evans (12 August 2010). "IT boss and home affairs official nabbed for corruption". Times Live.
- ^ "Three home affairs officials in court for corruption". The Citizen Online. 25 December 2010.
- ^ Essop, Rahima (16 July 2009). "More arrests expected for corruption in Home Affairs". Eye Witness News. Archived from the original on 6 October 2011. Retrieved 28 January 2011.
- ^ Rice, Catherine (3 January 2011). "Zim applications will take 2 years to process". Eye Witness News. Archived from the original on 8 October 2011. Retrieved 28 January 2011.
- ^ Sakuneka, Michael (5 January 2011). "Getting an ID book a struggle". The Sowetan. Johannesburg.
