Plans to solve long home affairs queues welcomed
Thus far, 176 modernised sites with the capability to run during loadshedding have been procured.
Plans to solve network downtimes at Department of Home Affairs offices have been welcomed by the portfolio committee on Home Affairs on Tuesday.
Downtimes had in the past caused long queues resulting in poor quality service at the department’s offices.
Portfolio committee chairperson Mosa Chabane said the plans were revealed during a recent presentation by the Department of Home Affairs and the State Information and Technology Agency (Sita).
This comes as the committee had been monitoring the reduction of queues, eradication of downtime and the completion of the Abis project.
“We appreciate the progress so far by various government stakeholders in resolving these challenges,” said Chabane.
“But have underscored the need to ensure adherence to timelines and heightened focus on the implementation of targets.”
The committee welcomed Sita’s announcement that the procurement processes had been concluded to enlist the services of a remote environmental management solution.
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Chabane said this would ensure proactive monitoring of the environmental systems on the Sita switching centres to prevent downtimes.
“We also welcome that a contract had been concluded and migration completed with a new internet service provider.”
This would reduce the impact of outages on card payments and online verification services, among other things.
Thus far, 176 modernised sites with the capability to run during loadshedding have been procured.
“The committee has called for the procurement process for the remaining 292 sites to be concluded soon.”
He said the committee welcomed the progress in implementing the branch appointment booking system, as well as plans to pilot the system in five high-volume offices.
Chabane said the committee further advised the department to include rural offices in the pilot phase to ensure that all challenges are resolved early.
“The inclusion of safeguards to ensure adherence to timeframes in the implementation of the automated biometric identification system (Abis) is welcomed. It will ensure that the service provider delivers as per the service level agreement and avoid the problems experienced with the previous service provider.”
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