Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber has introduced a rule to deliver the outcomes of visa waiver applications digitally via email, marking a significant step towards the department of Home Affair’s (DHA) digital transformation.
This initiative follows Schreiber’s recent alert regarding the critical condition of the department, which he has flagged as a national security issue.
In his address to Parliament’s portfolio committee on Home Affairs last week, Schreiber emphasised the pressing need for a thorough digital overhaul within the department.
He pointed out that the problems confronting the DHA extend beyond administrative concerns and reflect a more profound systemic crisis.
The minister called on Parliament to back the proposed digital transformation as an essential step to ensure national security.
Schrieber said the first phase of this rollout targets holders of Zimbabwe Exemption Permits (ZEPs), who will now receive their waiver application outcomes digitally, effective immediately.
Over time, this digital-first approach will be extended to other applicants within the visa and permit regime.
This means that applicants will no longer need to visit a DHA branch to collect physical, paper-based copies of their waiver letters. Instead, they will receive digital waiver letters in PDF format through email, which can be used to submit mainstream visa applications, he said.
“While this step on its own may be a small one, it is still meaningful as part of our larger quest to clamp down on corruption and enhance efficiency of services by transforming Home Affairs into a digital-first department. This simple embrace of a digital approach to processing waivers has also significantly accelerated our work to clear the permitting backlog that dates back a decade, which started out at over 306,000 unprocessed applications.”
According to Schreiber, the digital transformation has already led to the effective processing of 60,582 outstanding ZEP waiver applications, many of which date back to 2022.
“Another 22,529 ZEP waiver applications are set to be processed soon, further reducing the backlog and freeing up valuable resources in a department that has been financially gutted to the point of having only 40% of the staff resources. This step illustrates our absolute determination to use technology to do more with the little we have,” he said.
Dwayne Esau, spokesperson for the Department of Home Affairs, reassured applicants about the new process.
“We understand that some applicants might be wary of receiving their outcomes digitally via email, but we want to assure them that this method is secure and reliable. However, for those who still prefer to collect hard copies of their ZEP waiver letters at branches, that option remains available.’’
Politics
