The Minister of Home Affairs, Malusi Gigaba, today, Thursday, 19 November 2015, opened the new Home Affairs in Somerset West, Western Cape.

 

The new office replaces the old and dilapidated structure that previously served as a service point and forms part of the Modernisation Programme of the Department of Home Affairs. Through the Moetapele Initiative, which seeks to provide convenience to our clients through a world class, efficient and professional service, the new office models are equipped with state-of-the art infrastructure with a key objective to migrate from a manual to a paperless environment. 

 

In particular, the infrastructure is fully digitised and will be extended to all 140 live capture enabled offices including the 38 to be added by 31 March 2015.

 

During the Budget Vote in Parliament in May this year, Minister Gigaba announced front office improvement as one of the key priorities for the Department for the 2015/16 financial year. 

 

Improvements to the Somerset West office include:

 

Live Capture system for Smart ID card and passport applications;

 

Point of sale for payment through debit and/or credit cards;

 

Electronic biometric systems; and

 

Electronic Queue Management System

 

Said Minister Gigaba: "The Department of Home Affairs will become the platform for e-governance for the whole of government in the near future. Home Affairs is a critical component for service delivery. In view of this, government will be in a position to plan better given the credibility of the data we provide for purposes of planning as Department of Home Affairs.

 

"We are building a new, different Home Affairs precisely because we are cognisant of the fact that we have multiple clients who have a need for multifaceted services."

For media enquiries kindly contact Thabo Mokgola on 060 962 4982

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Issued by the Department of Home Affairs