The Department of Home Affairs has slammed the statements of a former senior official who described the department as suffering from “a national crisis” over the issuing of passports.
Departmental spokesperson Nkosana Sibuyi said on behalf of Director General of Home Affairs Mzuvukile Maqetuka on Tuesday that the department has observed “the theatrics performed” by former senior official Attie Tredoux.
The embattled department noted that Tredoux had worked as director of legal services and later as chief director of immigration before becoming chief director of residence.
“He later resigned from the department,” the statement noted, and worked for a firm of attorneys and was “among one of the people who recently threatened to report the department to the Office of the Public Protector”.
“Accordingly, we are looking forward to the report of the public protector.”
The director general’s statement also said: “It is our view that the attempts made by these people are aimed at undermining the credibility of the department and we will not allow them to divert our attention from the strategic objective of providing a service to the South African public.
“We also would like to take this opportunity to reject with contempt the calls being made for the resignation of the minister [Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula] and the deputy minister [Malusi Gigaba].”
Official opposition MP Sandy Kalyan — who has called for the axing of the two political office-bearers — said in a statement: “The litany of problems affecting the service delivery in her [the minister’s] department is such that only a new minister and deputy minister would be able to solve the problems.”
Kalyan said the department’s current political heads are incapable of ensuring that fraud is stamped out, that refugees are treated fairly, that staff are well looked after and that ordinary members of the public receive an adequate level of service delivery.
This follows media reports late last month that the department had run out of paper to print passports at the required rate, denied at the time by the department.
In a statement, its communications office said at the time: “The claim that there is a crisis in the issuing of passports cannot be sustained. Accordingly, we have been and continue to print passports as expected in order to afford South Africans an opportunity to travel to other countries.”
Sibuyi said the department will receive a consignment of 300 000 end papers for passport printing. “Another consignment of 600 000 will be delivered … in June to assist in the production and ultimate distribution of passports.
“It is our firm belief that this consignment will further assist us to produce passports and provide them to their rightful owners,” Sibuyi said.
Defending the department’s record, Sibuyi added: “Over the past three months, the department produced and distributed 200 841 passports to their rightful owners.” — I-Net Bridge