Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber said securing South Africa’s immigration and civics systems through automation and digital transformation will immediately boost confidence in South Africa’s ability to re-establish law and order, as he seeks to establish “Home Affairs from home”.

Schreiber was speaking at the RMB Morgan Stanley Investor Conference, where he pointed out that outdated, manual, paper-based processes at Home Affairs increased the chances of human discretion and corruption, which he said was a “threat to national security.”

But, he noted that this was not the only area where Home Affairs could be an economic enabler.

He pointed to his department as a “crucial flywheel” to generate investment, tourism and economic growth, and said the potential had been overlooked.

“That is why we are currently completely redefining the department’s strategic priorities to turn Home Affairs into a digital-first organisation where everything we do is automated and digitised,” he said.

Schreiber acknowledged a significant amount of work to restore internal security after what he said had been decades of neglect and, what he termed institutional vandalism, adding that both regulation and administration must be urgently addressed.

However, he pointed to positive developments in the form of new regulations for a new points-based work visa, and the remote working visa.

These regulations, he said, would bring the remote working visa to life after the department was able to iron out the tax implications of this new system.

“Our new remote working visa must be one of the best deals I’ve ever come across. South Africa carries none of the cost of employing these nomads, yet we reap all the benefits,” he explained.

He assured that the points-based work visa would revolutionise the South African economy.

However, he pointed out that Home Affairs still had significant administration work to carry out, to fulfil the department’s potential as an economic enabler.

He revealed that Home Affairs was “at least a decade behind the curve” in administration, noting inefficiency and corruption, which he said had maligned the department and could be traced back to manual and paper-based processes.

“The only way to turn Home Affairs into a department that supercharges economic growth, delivers dignified civic services and secures national security, is by urgently embracing automation and digital transformation,” he stated.

CIVIC SERVICES

Schreiber also wants to enable “Home Affairs from home”, to people to securely log onto a platform using facial recognition or other biometrics on a smartphone or computer, from the comfort of their own home or their local library.

“On that platform, they must be able to apply with the option of having their documents delivered to their doorstep. Instead of you having to go to Home Affairs, we must bring Home Affairs to you,” he said.

He noted that this would also free up resources for the department to use its existing physical infrastructure to better serve those who would still need to visit Home Affairs offices, including the 10% of South Africans who do not use smartphones, as well as those in rural or impoverished communities.

Schreiber also wants to digitise the visa adjudication process, so that tourists, skilled workers or investors, can apply online.

“Their application must then be adjudicated by an automated risk engine built on the latest machine learning technology. If an application is legitimate, the outcome must be issued immediately in digital form, including in the digital wallet on your smartphone,” he explained.

He said that this must all happen without any space for human intervention or discretion, to eliminate the space for fraudsters, explaining that such a digital system will be able to detect fraudulent documents and cross reference information far more effectively than any human ever could.

“It is through this vision for digital transformation, that we will restore national security, deliver dignified civic services, and reposition Home Affairs as the most powerful economic enabler in the country,” he said.