DHA prioritises security tech

The Department of Home Affairs (DHA) highlighted IT and ICT in its 2009/10 annual report as some of its key achievements and future aspirations, especially regarding security.

In a presentation to the home affairs parliamentary committee on the annual report, DG Mkuseli Apleni reflected on priorities, achievements and challenges still facing the department.

“The department in the past year focused on three priorities: to ensure the integrity and security of the National Population Register (NPR), that it fulfils its guarantees for the 2010 Soccer World Cup, and to build on the achievements of the turnaround regarding the transformation of service delivery. We have delivered on each of these priorities.”

Apleni said apart from the successful launch of the NPR campaign in March, the department also implemented a biometric access control system that will ensure the users of the NPR can be traced, in order to ensure the integrity and security of the register.

Piloting of child fingerprinting was also a key achievement. This is aimed at securing a child's identity and processing them securely and rapidly when they are 16, according to the department.

It added that the turnaround programme launched in June 2007 resulted in a number of gains that were further entrenched and developed in 2009/10.

These gains include the extension of the Track and Trace and SMS system to births, marriages and deaths; the use of live verification (IDs and passports) and live capture (passports) which speeded up service delivery and enhanced security; the improvement of security features on key documents, such as birth certificates; and improved financial and related management, controls and systems.

The department explained that live capture technology has been implemented at the 40 highest volume offices. It reduces exchanging of biometric images and the turnaround time to issue passports from 29 days to 14 days. Online verification of fingerprints was also a key factor in speeding up the process.

The Customer Service Centre attended to 1 509 036 contacts (calls, faxes and e-mails) during the reporting period, according to the DHA. “99% of calls were answered in less than 20 seconds with an abandonment rate of 0.74%.”

Apleni added that the pilot project to assess the feasibility of introducing online fingerprint verification in banks is also of significance. “Seven banks participated in the pilot following the agreement of intent signed between the South African Banking Risk Information Centre (Sabric) and the department. The agreement provides Sabric with the opportunity to verify bank clients against personal information held by the department.”

The DHA noted it had to ensure it could fulfil certain guarantees relating to the 2010 Fifa Soccer World Cup, and this included well-functioning telecommunications and IT residing in the department.

Key activities surrounding the World Cup included the implementation of the first Event Visa to facilitate the movement of spectators and visitors; introduction of the Advance Passenger Processing system for airlines flying into SA to screen passengers before they leave; and piloting an enhanced Movement Control System.

“A new passport production system was implemented. In addition, a new South African passport was also introduced with unique South African quality features and improved security features,” added Apleni.

“However, despite significant improvements, the uneven quality of front-office service delivery and staff attitudes remains a serious challenge,” said Apleni.

He added that out-dated IT infrastructure and systems, including the lack of a functioning document management system and an old NPR system, impacts negatively on operational efficiency and security.

The department commented that this is why the establishment and maintenance of secure, effective, efficient, accurate and integrated data systems is one of its strategic priorities.

“A number of information system projects have been identified that will be essential in building secure and efficient systems: document management, including electronic; live capture of biometric data; and integration of systems,” said the department with regards to key priorities for the 2010/11 period.

Other priorities include moving beyond the pilot phase for the fingerprinting of children; conducting a feasibility study on identification through scanning of irises at ports of entry; and rolling out the high security Crew Member Certificate that replaces a paper document with a card on which biometric data is captured on a chip.

The department also aims to finalise MOUs with the SA Social Security Agency and the Department of Human Settlements to provide them with facilities to verify the identity of clients.