Home Affairs Minister, Dr Leon Schreiber, has emphasised the important role played by his department in ensuring the dignity of people.

‘The dignity of being able to travel beyond our borders. The dignity of giving your child their name on a birth certificate. The dignity of being able to have a bank account and to access an old age pension,’ Schreiber said.

Presenting the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) Budget Vote on Monday, Schreiber said he will restore the dignity of citizens’ interactions with the department, adding that many dedicated departmental officials serve the people of South Africa.

‘And there is nothing that brings dignity, like a job. There is a 1.25% increase in employment for South Africans for every 1% increase in skilled, legal immigration,’ Schreiber said.

Schreiber said the National Treasury has also found that increasing the availability of scarce skills in the labour market is the second most powerful step that can be taken to grow the economy and create jobs for South Africans.

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It is in fulfilment of this mandate of the GNU [Government of National Unity], that Home Affairs will enhance our role as an economic enabler by accelerating the implementation of Operation Vulindlela’s reforms.

‘Alongside steps that have already been taken, such as the streamlining of required documents and the introduction of the Trusted Employer Scheme, we will do much more,’ he said.

Operation Vulindlela is a government-driven initiative aimed at accelerating the implementation of structural reforms in key sectors to achieve inclusive growth in the economy.

Schreiber said the DHA must urgently clear the backlog in the processing of permits.

‘The department has set up a dedicated team to reduce the backlog. Our dedicated team has already reduced the backlog by processing 92 886 applications out of a total of 306 042. This is a reduction of 30%. But we must do more, because clearing this backlog is the only way to avoid another extension of the concession on visas, waivers and appeals that has already b
een granted three times.’

Schreiber said he has asked to be provided with daily reports on the state of the backlog until it is eradicated.

‘Another encouraging sign comes from the department’s partnership with Business Unity South Africa (BUSA), which will see the auditing firm Deloitte as well as First National Bank providing additional resources for the visa backlog team.

‘This not only lays the foundation for overcoming this key obstacle to economic growth and job creation, but also for a more constructive relationship with the private sector. Repairing our relationship with key stakeholders is vital to building trust and the partnerships we need to move forward,’ he said.

The crippling situation, he said, cannot be allowed to continue.

‘It consumes valuable resources that can be better spent on other critical priorities. I have therefore asked for a dashboard to be created that reflects all outstanding court orders so that the Department complies with orders before even more costly litigation is ins
tituted.

‘Clearing the permitting backlog will also help with this problem, as we are determined to issue outcomes more speedily once we have that breathing space,’ he said.

Source: South African Government News Agency