Home affairs needs connectivity

While IT forms part of the Department of Home Affairs' (DHA's) master plan to improve service delivery, connectivity is proving a major challenge.

The plan takes account of staffing, IT and equipment for offices, according to the DHA. However, presenting at a Parliamentary portfolio committee meeting this month, it added that cable theft hinders connectivity.

Members noted that Telkom is posing challenges in this regard and advised that alternatives must be sought.

Mpho Moloi, acting provincial manager of the Gauteng Provincial DHA, explained that IT connectivity is a challenge and said the department had entered into an agreement to improve the connectivity of mobile offices, but there were issues with satellite connectivity too.

He added that the department fully recognises the need to address connectivity in the long-term. Moloi also noted that the DHA is planning to replace the mobile offices with equipment that was better able, in the long term, to cope with the challenges of terrain, such as more 4x4 vehicles.

The department was presenting on its infrastructure expansion and maintenance plans.

The core processes and key objectives are geared to increase its footprint, and to improve access to ensure all South African citizens are within 25km of a home affairs office.

Moloi emphasised that the expansion of the DHA footprint is vital to redress the imbalances in access to services by previously-disadvantaged communities, and this would be achieved by use of mobile offices, hospital connectivity, Thusong centres, 4x4s and permanent service points.

The department intends to connect to health facilities and expand its footprint in the Thusong Centres since it currently has a presence in only 60%.

Committee members said mobile stations were found to lack operational IT services and they suggested the DHA mobile office follow the Department of Social Security's example of having consistent times and places where services can be accessed.

They also stressed that the ultimate aim of any department should be to become paperless and move into hi-tech services, since having self-service machines and fingerprinting facilities would improve efficiency.

The need to prioritise rural areas was an issue repeated throughout the meeting by the DHA and committee members.

It was noted that methods of doing this included mobile offices, provision of 4x4 vehicles to serve as non-computerised points, negotiating with tribal chiefs to release land, negotiating sharing of premises with courts, schools and council offices, and the use of temporary structures pending final permanent offices.

Moloi explained that the DHA planned to open 30 new offices by 2014. He stressed that the ideal number of service delivery points, to meet the standards of access levels, is 744. Currently, there are 407 fixed service delivery points of various sizes, five refugee centres, 68 ports of entry, 117 computerised mobile service trucks, and 25 4x4 vehicles.

The department said there are various challenges facing it in its attempt to increase its footprint. Overall, it is hampered by lack of funds to procure its own facilities.

The budget also fell short in respect of adequate provision for IT, security services and furniture and equipment for the back offices.

In order to implement the access model in full, more than double the current funding would be required. This is why the DHA is considering other solutions such as mobile offices, and SMS options.