The Independent Democrats (ID) has called on home affairs minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma to release a forensic audit report on the “Who am I (I am I said)” project.
The Department of Home Affairs' controversial project was awarded to a consortium headed by GijimaAst, in October 2007. However, the project had been plagued by various allegations of irregularities, including questions over its constantly increasing costs.
The initial tender for the project was R1.9 billion; however, when the contract was finally signed in mid-2008, the cost had increased to R2.5 billion.
It was subsequently referred for investigation to the auditor-general (AG) by then home affairs minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, on recommendation from the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee for Home Affairs.
At the time, home affairs DG Mavuso Msimang encouraged the AG to complete a report, and also foot the bill for it, in a bid to prove the project is clean. However, the resulting report has remained unseen since it was commissioned.
Joe Mcgluwa, ID spokesperson for home affairs, has called on Dlamini-Zuma to release the forensic audit report on the “Who am I online” project.
“One year later, we have still not heard anything about the outcome of the forensic audit. I find it very difficult to believe that it could take more than a year to uncover the truth. The longer the minister and her department remain silent, the more obvious it is becoming that there is a cover-up,” says Mcgluwa.
The ID has submitted a parliamentary question on the matter, asking whether the report was ever concluded. Mcgluwa has also asked to be given access to the report to determine whether corruption has actually beleaguered the project or not.
Saving DHA
The project could potentially revolutionise the DHA by providing access to two core systems to branch offices and field teams. The national population register (NPR) and the Home Affairs National Information System (Hanis) have, to date, only been accessible to officials at the DHA's Watloo, Pretoria, head office.
The lack of access to these systems has caused the issuance of urgent documentation to take up to a week. With positive biometric verification at DHA offices around the country, temporary identity documents can be issued immediately.
The NPR is a mainframe database that contains the identity records of every South African citizen, resident and deported illegal, while the Hanis automated fingerprint identification system contains their photographs and fingerprints. Hanis is used to verify identity and acts as a “guard dog” for the NPR.
“Who am I” will allow DHA officials, border guards and immigration officers countrywide to check anyone's identity against the NPR and Hanis. It will also simplify the visa application process for foreigners, which is why it is meant to be part of government's 2010 preparations.
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