‘Institutional vandalism’ crippled departments, says Home Affairs’ Schreiber

Minister of Home Affairs Leon Schreiber has claimed he is breaking away from pre-election standards.

The Home Affairs boss said a combination of neglect and corruption had “hollowed out” vital mechanisms, leaving his and other government departments playing catch-up.

Speaking at the Cape Town Press Club on 3 September, Schreiber said his department still had the opportunity to “leapfrog” these shortcomings into the future.

Digitisation could curb corruption

Schreiber accused his predecessors of relying on platitudes to paper over the shortcomings of an “antiquated” system.

“What we have experienced in South Africa for too long, is a form of institutional vandalism,” said Schreiber.

“This vandalism rapidly accelerated during the period of state capture, which itself was the product of complicity and disinterest,” he added, blaming the previous state custodians.

Among the various operational challenges at Home Affairs, he lists a workforce operating at 40%, manual paperwork leaving room for corruption and slow processing times, as major stumbling blocks.

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Digitisation, Schreiber said, would not only solve these issues but would alter “the very meaning of government in South Africa.”

“It will close all processes off to human intervention, from beginning to end, so that no one can pick up a paper file and demand a bribe in exchange for processing it,” he stated

Meeting financial institution benchmarks

The minister cited the South African Reserve Bank and South African Revenue Service (SARS) as the standards of excellence that must be reached.

Home Affairs collaborated with SARS during the 2010 FIFA World, but he lamented how those smart programmes had been left to stagnate.

Reiterating his claims of institutional vandalism, he said, “I am not interested in defining the vision for the future of this department according to the standards that existed at Home Affairs before 29 May,” he said

Trusted Tour Operator Scheme

Schreiber claimed tourism is one of South Africa’s great drawcards and that an efficient Home Affairs department was key in unlocking its full potential.

Earlier this week, Home Affairs launched the Trusted Tour Operator Scheme (TTOS) to promote tourism from China and India.

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Chinese nationals made 100 million outbound trips last year, with just 1% of those coming to South Africa.

The TTOS will fast-track tourist visa applications made with approved foreign tour operators.

“The ironic result of all this, however, is that Home Affairs now has an opportunity to not only catch up – but to leapfrog into the future,” Schrieber concluded.