Home Affairs Ministry under fire in Parliament

PERMANENT secretaries came under fire from the Public Accounts Committee in the National Assembly on Tuesday for allowing audit reports of their ministries to gather dust in their offices without even looking at them.

Speaking on the report of the committee following its performance audit of the Ministry of Home Affairs, committee Chairperson Johan de Waal said the National Assembly appropriated millions of dollars to the Auditor General’s office to conduct audits and finalise reports that were being ignored. De Waal said the committee was unconvinced that Home Affairs permanent secretaries since 2000 had taken any notice of AG reports.”This situation cannot be tolerated to continue anymore, as the reports of the Auditor General are there to caution, guide and advise public officials on how public funds and resources should be utilised.The reports of the Auditor General should therefore be treated with the seriousness they deserve,” De Waal said.The National Assembly did not discuss but unanimously adopted the Public Accounts Committee report, which recommends that accounting officers consider the findings of audit reports and that that the Ministry of Home Affairs implement the AGs recommendations within six months.The Ministry of Home Affairs will also be required to provide feedback to the AG.Parliament approved that the Home Affairs permanent secretary travel to various Home Affairs offices in all the regions to monitor the conditions there and submit the findings to the AG and the Public Accounts committee.Home Affairs has been committed to start on the extensive training of its staff, especially those involved in public liaison, and tighten its control over the issuance of permits to foreigners.Late last year, the committee travelled to Home Affairs offices in the north of the country to familiarise themselves with the way in which the backlog of producing identity documents was being handled and the services rendered at immigration posts.The committee found that at several offices Home Affairs staff displayed unprofessional behaviour when providing services to customers.De Waal said committee investigations had revealed blatant corrupt practices at offices of the Ministry and had reported these cases to the Office of the Attorney General for possible action.A case had also been brought to the Minister of Home Affairs’ attention where a foreigner obtained permanent residence under dubious circumstances.De Waal said the circumstances people had to endure to obtain an identity document had led many to instead apply for passports purely for identification purposes and this had placed unnecessary pressure on this division.”We must accept that people need some form of identification and if they cannot get it through the normal channels, we are actually forcing them to make their own plans, whether legal or illegal,” said De Waal.He said the committee was pleased to note that as from next month, the Ministry planned to issue an ID within 24 working days and that all passports applied for up to March 13 were ready for collection.De Waal said the committee was unconvinced that Home Affairs permanent secretaries since 2000 had taken any notice of AG reports.”This situation cannot be tolerated to continue anymore, as the reports of the Auditor General are there to caution, guide and advise public officials on how public funds and resources should be utilised.The reports of the Auditor General should therefore be treated with the seriousness they deserve,” De Waal said.The National Assembly did not discuss but unanimously adopted the Public Accounts Committee report, which recommends that accounting officers consider the findings of audit reports and that that the Ministry of Home Affairs implement the AGs recommendations within six months.The Ministry of Home Affairs will also be required to provide feedback to the AG.Parliament approved that the Home Affairs permanent secretary travel to various Home Affairs offices in all the regions to monitor the conditions there and submit the findings to the AG and the Public Accounts committee.Home Affairs has been committed to start on the extensive training of its staff, especially those involved in public liaison, and tighten its control over the issuance of permits to foreigners.Late last year, the committee travelled to Home Affairs offices in the north of the country to familiarise themselves with the way in which the backlog of producing identity documents was being handled and the services rendered at immigration posts.The committee found that at several offices Home Affairs staff displayed unprofessional behaviour when providing services to customers.De Waal said committee investigations had revealed blatant corrupt practices at offices of the Ministry and had reported these cases to the Office of the Attorney General for possible action.A case had also been brought to the Minister of Home Affairs’ attention where a foreigner obtained permanent residence under dubious circumstances.De Waal said the circumstances people had to endure to obtain an identity document had led many to instead apply for passports purely for identification purposes and this had placed unnecessary pressure on this division.”We must accept that people need some form of identification and if they cannot get it through the normal channels, we are actually forcing them to make their own plans, whether legal or illegal,” said De Waal.He said the committee was pleased to note that as from next month, the Ministry planned to issue an ID within 24 working days and that all passports applied for up to March 13 were ready for collection.