Schreiber envisions ‘Home Affairs from home’ as he pushes digitalisation

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 Schreiber was speaking at the RMB Morgan Stanley Investor Conference, where he pointed out that outdated, manual, paper-based processes at Home Affairs increased the chances of human discretion and corruption, which he said was a “threat to national security.”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