(Debate in parliament: Adjustment Budget for the Department of Home Affairs)
The Department of Home Affairs' ability to execute its mandate to protect the identity of South African citizens, regulate the migration of people and perform the country's international duties regarding the regulation of movement is currently under immense pressure due to the international and domestic lockdown regulations and ban on travel.
This mandate, however, remains central to domestic safety as well as the protection of South African citizens, wherever they may find themselves abroad.
The fact that the Covid-19 lockdown regulations forced the Department to function with skeleton staff had a detrimental impact on the Department's ability to perform its duties and this particularly affected South African citizens who were stranded abroad without valid travel documents.
During the period of lockdown, the demand for the issuing of ID documents and temporary ID certificates, the registration of births and deaths and the issuing of passports to those involved in export and cargo export far exceeded the Department's processing ability.
The reduction of R562 million in the Department's budget will only limit its capabilities further.
The FF Plus is concerned about the impact that the smaller budget may have on the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) in its preparation for by-elections and the local government elections in 2021.
An e-voting system is being considered as an alternative way to ensure the electoral system's efficiency. The FF Plus will keep a close eye on the developments.
The task to amend the Electoral Act (no 78 of 1998), as determined by the Constitutional Court in June 2020, will also pose a challenge to the Department's budget. The FF Plus will not support the budget.
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