The Department of International Relations and Co-operation has introduced a software system to help government track South Africans travelling abroad in case of emergencies.
Rosa - Registration of South Africans Abroad - is a software program developed by the department to enable travellers to register online. The information travellers register on Rosa will allow the department to assist citizens in the event of an emergency, says International Relations and Co-operation's director-general Ayanda Ntsaluba.
“During the past few years, we have assisted a growing number of our people who have become victims of crime, accidents, illness, death, natural/man-made disasters, civil unrest or whose family and or next-of-kin needed to contact them in emergency. By registering your trip online with Rosa you assist the department to locate you during an emergency, thus verifying your status and liaising with your next-of-kin.”
Ntsaluba emphasises that information on Rosa is not continuously monitored and will only be accessed during a declared consular emergency. Only authorised officers of the department will have access to information and these will be consular officers at head office, or at a South African mission abroad, he says.
The registration service is voluntary and should be used in case there is a need to contact travellers to offer urgent advice on a natural disaster or civil unrest or a family emergency, the department states. Travellers are able to use Rosa to register, update their profiles and de-register their profiles online.
Ntasluba notes the system was created with citizens' rights to privacy as stated in local law. He adds the department uses secure socket layer and firewall technology to protect data.
“The department is committed to ensuring any personal information received through the Rosa online registration process is safeguarded against unauthorised disclosure. The Internet site uses secure encryption to safeguard your privacy and, therefore, any unauthorised interception by third parties of the information you send via the Internet is unlikely.”
The department says it will not disclose the information provided through the registration application to any third parties, including family members, unless written authorisation has been given to do so. It adds that, in the event that family members make enquiries about a person's whereabouts, such requests will be forwarded to registered users who can then inform the mission of their decision.
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