I would like to thank you most sincerely for your audience tonight during this important and auspicious Service Excellence Awards Ceremony. 

This occasion allows us tonight to celebrate excellence; to elevate to a higher pedestal for recognition those amongst ourselves who have transcended the call of duty in their service to the nation – both our people and government! 

I can imagine the non-linear journey the recipients of tonight’s awards have had to traverse before today to get to this point where they are recognised for their modest and yet super-human efforts. 

I am certain that at times they must probably have been caught in moments of doubt and hesitation because the challenges were enormous, and tasks daunting. 

Yet they endured, and that resilience has paid off and tonight they stand as shining beacons on our firmament, up to whom we can look for inspiration. 

If we are proud of your achievements, one and all, I am sure that you, your families and loved ones must be even more! 

We hear stories all the time about bad and poor service at Home Affairs, about poor leadership, culture of service delivery as well as the culture of rampant corruption. 

Yet, because of you, we know that there are those amongst ourselves who refuse to let us all be painted with the brush of incompetence and corruption; who defy the common stereotypes about who and what we are and therefore serve as the flicker of hope as to what we can achieve, what we can be if we get down to it. 

Your dedication, strength and resilience provide hope to many South Africans who yearn for an improvement in the quality of their lives as a result of the service our Department renders, and to many young South Africans who aspire to be in leadership positions in the future, yearning to serve their people as thorough-going professionals in the public service. 

There are many among us who continue to hold on to the knowledge and conviction that public service is a calling and as such a calling, it requires people of stoical discipline and unwavering commitment to serving our people. 

None amongst us can and must doubt that the services our department renders are critical to the offensive against poverty, are at the very centre of enhancing social cohesion and restoring the dignity of the majority of South Africans and are the very heart-beat of our national security. 

Accordingly, we must all be of the same mind and purpose that the reason for our professional existence is to serve our fellow citizens and guests to our country with distinction.  

Consequently, a deep pride in and commitment to public service must be at the very core of our endeavours both as public servants in general and as Home Affairs official in particular. 

Such important work requires professional competence, and technical excellence, but as importantly, it requires us to be caring, and to respect the dignity of all our customers. 

Likewise, our treatment of immigrants must demonstrate our humanity and values.  

We value all human beings, whether they are South African or from another country.  

As part of a global community, we value our relationships with other countries, many of whom played an important role in our struggle for democracy.  

We are also cognizant that when they travel abroad for pleasure, business, or to visit families and friends, South Africans also become immigrants in other countries.  

For all these reasons, we are committed to treating immigrants in our country professionally, humanely, and with courtesy. 

And so today we gather to recognize the best among us.  

We recognize those colleagues who have inspired us by living the DHA values in everything that they do.  

All who have been nominated for awards should be proud of their achievements.  

They have led by example and walked the talk.  

They have persevered through adversity and carried themselves admirably and with dignity.  

They served the Department, our government and the people of South Africa with excellence and thus inspired all of us through their work to pursue greatness. 

I would like to see these awards grow from year to year, becoming the highlight of the DHA calendar and the pride of all our officials.  

I certainly am looking forward to seeing even more nominations next year.  

I would like to say just a few words about what our country requires of us going forward, as employees of the Department of Home Affairs.  

We find ourselves at an important moment in our nation’s development and the evolution of our society, particularly our government and Department. 

Twenty years after the hard-won birth of democracy, we appreciate the enormous strides we have taken as a country and as a state in service to society.  

We also realize that much awaits doing to create a better life for all our citizens.  

This is why the President has made radical socio-economic transformation the focus of the fifth democratic administration.  

Our goal is to dramatically accelerate the reduction of unemployment and inequality, and the eradication of poverty, with significant progress to be achieved over the next 5 years, and progressively thereafter towards the final realization of these goals by 2030 as envisioned by the National Development Plan. 

The work of the Department of Home Affairs is critical to our national development.  

Our work of maintaining an accurate, clean and credible National Population Register helps government plan appropriate services.  

Our work of securing the identity of all South Africans combats fraud and corruption and provides the platform of trust underlying our sophisticated economy.  

This is one of the main competitive advantages of our economy.  

Our vigilant and effective management of immigration aids our development by ensuring that we derive maximum social and economic benefits from visitors and investors. 

Our Department is also central to our government’s ability to keep South Africans safe, responsible for ensuring criminal elements do not infiltrate our borders. 

In his reply to the recent State of the Nation debate in Parliament, President Zuma highlighted the new expectations which we must meet to move South Africa forward, when he said that: 

“While the economy will take centre stage in the next five years we will also invest our energies and resources in improving the performance of the state and in particular the public service. We want government to deliver services faster, and more efficiently. More importantly, we want members of the public seeking services to be treated with respect, patience, understanding and courtesy.” 

He went on to say: 

“To further improve performance and inculcate a culture of excellence, the Department of Performance Monitoring and Evaluation in the Presidency will continue to conduct unannounced visits to service delivery sites in order to monitor indicators such as queue management and waiting times, dignified treatment, cleanliness and comfort. 
 
The focus is on facilities where the public is directly served such as Home Affairs Offices, South African Social Security Agency offices, police stations, health facilities, drivers’ license centres, municipal customer care centres, schools and courts.” 

This should not come as a surprise, nor should it be a source of anxiety; it is an opportunity to demonstrate leadership and commitment to enhancing social cohesion.  

You, our officials and leaders, are our greatest asset.  

Ultimately, the Department of Home Affairs is not the Smart ID card printing machines, live capture systems, or any other technology.  

Those tools are made useful only insofar as they are in the hands of competent, committed leaders and officials.  

Moving South Africa forward requires leaders, and I believe you are those leaders. 

What is a leader?  

A leader is someone who does everything that they can, going beyond the call of duty, constantly pushing against the limits of their ability, context and circumstances, to accomplish things and make things better for a collective. 

A leader aspires to master his areas of responsibility.  

A leader does not think of training as a vacation from work, or worse, a punishment for poor performance; they actively look for opportunities to build their skills and expertise.  

They take charge of their learning and engage their manager, the human resources department and the Learning Academy on opportunities the further to develop their expertise and competency. 

A leader aims for excellence.  

A leader does not ask himself – “What is the minimum level of effort I can get away with without a customer complaining or a manager taking notice?”  

Instead, they think – “How can I get this done and done well?”  

A leader takes pride in seeing a customer smile, in exceeding someone’s expectations, in making someone’s day. 

A leader is a problem solver.  

A leader does not see a non-functional queue management screen, as I recently observed at the Wynberg office, and think – “It’s a shame that the screen doesn’t work, but it’s not my job!”  

A leader flags the issue to management, to IT, and follows up to ensure action is taken.  

A leader takes responsibility for their broader environment, not just their own responsibilities.  

Despite our best efforts, there will occasionally be weaknesses in systems, shortages in resources and frustrations experiences in the discharge of our mandate.  

I believe we have the ingenuity and creativity to find solutions to whatever problems that arise in the course of our work, but it starts with us taking ownership and responsibility. 

A leader sees the bigger picture, and acts accordingly.  

A leader does not leave a long, frustrated queue on their way for break, and think – “I’m due for break, it’s not my fault that we are short because Thabo is off sick, or Thandi is late coming back from lunch.”  

A leader lends a hand to deal with the queue, because she understands that our Department’s reputation is at stake during every interaction with a customer.  

A leader knows that they alone are the difference between someone leaving one of our offices having had a positive or negative experience, and knowing that matters. 

How does a leader go about their work? How would you go about your work on Monday if you got word that myself, or Minister Radebe from the Presidency, was in your office, observing our staff at work?  

There should not be a major change from business as usual; a leader puts their best foot forward every day because they believe our people deserve it; because they take pride in being the best Home Affairs staff they can be.  

So when you hear “unannounced visit”, you should not be anxious; rather you should be happy to have the opportunity to impress.  

I should leave your office thinking – “Wow, we have some really good people in our Kuruman office! They are doing great work!” 

I believe you are the leaders I am speaking about.  

Thank you for your contribution to service excellence and for your service to the Department of Home Affairs and the citizens of South Africa.  

Let us embrace the challenges before us and redouble our efforts to move South Africa forward.  

Thank you.