Minister of dysfunctional department takes flak

MPs heard yesterday that the department’s disciplinary backlog for suspended officials on full pay went back two years in some cases. Moreover, says a report in The Mercury, the department was also doing a head count to ensure there were no ‘ghost workers’ still on the payroll. Mapisa-Nqakula was replying to MPs’ concerns that corrupt officials who were suspended from the department still received a full salary while charges against them were being investigated. DA MP Sandy Kalyan also put it to the Minister that she was ‘protecting people’ in the department who were incompetent. Mapisa-Nqakula denied that officials were being protected. ‘We will take appropriate action at the appropriate time,’ she said. The Mercury report not available online

The Minister blamed managers in the department – but added that redeployments, mentoring and a changed management were all part of the way forward. Home Affairs has frequently received qualified reports from the Auditor-General, notes Business Day. It has been plagued by cases of corruption which have rendered SA’s identity documents untrustworthy. Mapisa-Nqakula launched a special intervention about six months ago, but said last week she would make the full results known after they had been revealed to Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs. She released some of the findings of the team, which were made up of officials from the Public Service Commission, the Public Service Department and the AG. Mapisa-Nqakula said there were ‘serious concerns’ expressed by the team about the leadership and management of the department. Full Business Day report

Other government employees have also been blamed for the problems besetting Home Affairs. The Sowetan quotes the Minister as saying police officers, teachers, priests and councillors were among those responsible for some of the corruption in her department. ‘We accept as a department that we have our own shortcomings and there are problems of corruption.’ But ’corruption starts with community leaders, teachers, priests, police and councillors who falsely sign documents claiming they know an applicant’. Mapisa-Nqakula added. Full Sowetan report

Corruption would be addressed. The department is introducing biometric testing, closed-circuit television and a document-tracking system in its buildings to crack down on graft, a News24 report quotes the Minister as saying ‘ the major challenge for us now ... is ensuring our systems themselves are not prone to corruption’. Full report on News24 site

Even a US report on SA points out that Home Affairs is perceived to be one of the most graft-ridden departments. The SA Government continued its efforts to curb corruption, although the public perception of widespread official corruption, particularly in the police and the Department of Home Affairs, continued, according to the latest US Department of State Human Rights Report, which adds that the government\'s anti-corruption actions included ongoing investigations into the alleged misconduct of public officials, which resulted in numerous convictions during the year. At least 10 agencies were engaged in anticorruption efforts. Full US Department of State Human Rights Report on SA

A Business Day editorial notes that Mapisa-Nqakula insists she is not responsible for the disaster that her department has become. Her Deputy Minister, Malusi Gigaba, says Mapisa-Nqakula has demonstrated her leadership by appointing a task team to investigate the deep-seated problems plaguing the department. But, notes the editorial, this point ignores that Mapisa-Nqakula has been integrally involved in the department for a total of five years – three as Minister and two as deputy. ‘She can no doubt testify, the problems in the department… did not begin last year. And yet it was only last year that the Minister got a special investigation under way. The aim was to probe and improve the department\'s financial management systems, as well as boost organisational efficiency. While it is clear she was reacting to huge public pressure in establishing the probe, it needs to be asked what took her so long. For two-and-a-half years the audit reports were qualified or emphasised, often on the same matters. Action should have been taken far earlier, but at least the Minister recognised the need for intervention at a high level.’ Full Business Day editorial

Meanwhile yet another corruption incident has surfaced in the department. Two employees of the Makhado department in Limpopo were arrested after they allegedly accepted a bribe from a man who wanted his marriage documents processed, says a report on the IoL site. The two allegedly tried to secure a R6 000 bribe from the man who wanted documents to get married this week. The man could not afford this amount and they settled for R2 000. Full report on IoL site