17 Jul Home Affairs Commences Digitisation of Records
The Department of Home Affairs (DHA) is transforming the paper-based civic records to digital records. First announced in 2022 by President Cyril Ramaphosa during his State of the Nation address, the project is set to digitise 350 million paper records. The project has two main objectives. To digitise paper-based civic records and to act as an employment vehicle for 10,000 unemployed youth graduates.
This is a fantastic initiative to not only modernise the Department of Home Affairs’ records but to create jobs for the youth, who are the majority of the unemployed.
Digitisation of Records
The first objective is to convert paper records to digital records. The records being digitised are those relating to birth, marriage, death, and amendments. Some of these documents date back as far as 1895, making the digitisation process not only a step toward modernisation but a preservation measure of essential records. The records are located across the nine provinces, with the bulk in Gauteng, the North West, and the Western Cape.
The project will preserve these records and create a more reliable and effective system. The search for important records will now be electronic, increasing efficiency and accuracy.
Home Affairs is looking to bid farewell to paper-based civic records by digitising 340 million paper records. The goal is for the project to be complete by the 2025/2026 financial year.
The project started in Gauteng. This is where the initial testing phase and setting began. The first phase of the digitisation project focused on the preparation of records—detailed indexing and condition assessment of records. The second phase included scanning and indexing records in the production environment; this started in June 2023 in Gauteng at the New Cooperation Building, Pretoria.
By 23 June 2023, 35,000 records had been digitised. As of 31 August 2023, the total number of records digitised was 328,800. This was way ahead of the schedule, where the initial target was to reach an extra 12,000 records by the second quarter of the 2023/24 financial year.
As of 29 February 2024, the DHA has digitised 31.4 million images, which is 714 016 records. These records are a combination of paper records and microfilms. According to the Department of Home Affairs, according to the current planning structure, the digitalisation of the records will be completed by January 2026, in line with the project deadlines.
Unemployment Vehicle
The project’s secondary goal has also proved successful. The goal was not to just employ youth but to enhance their employability.
As of the first quarter of 2024, South Africa’s unemployment rate has risen to 32.9%, a 0.8% increase from the last quarter of 2023. Youth between the ages of 15 and 34 remain vulnerable in the labour market in an already weakening economy. To help combat unemployment, the DHA has invited unemployed graduates to apply for the digitisation of records project.
According to the Department, for the 3-year duration of the project, they will contribute to the upskilling and development of the youth they employ, equipping them for future opportunities. The Department has partnered with relevant stakeholders to facilitate the training of the recruits. The recruitment process is done in collaboration with the Department of Employment and Labour.
By December 2023, close to 3700 graduates had been employed for the digitisation project. According to the former Minister, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi, the first phase recruited 1405 graduates out of 2000 applicants. These graduates have been posted at various locations across all provinces. The second cohort employed 2951 qualified candidates. The third and last cohort will be recruited in the 2024/25 financial year.
The Importance of Digitisation
South Africans have long expressed their dismay at the delays they experience when applying for unabridged birth certificates, marriage certificates, amendments, and modifications of their biographic details. The Department has acknowledged these issues and through digitisation of the records, will resolve these concerns. The Department explains that to finalise applications, home affairs officials have to manually search for original documents among the 350 million manual records. By employing these youth, the department hopes to alleviate these challenges.
Another issue that has pushed the department to digitise records is that often people want to change important information on documents for the wrong reasons. Many need to change information for valid reasons, but some want to do so to escape creditors and criminal records.
The records cannot just be changed. Digitising paper records is a foolproof way to protect the system against fraudulent activity. Manual systems are very much exposed to corruption, from altering information to having records stolen and destroyed. By digitising the records, this cannot happen. It will also make the process more efficient, conjuring up immediate results, which in turn will cut down the long queues and speed up the application process for everyone.
The DHA is also working on other ICT modernisation projects over the medium term. These include rolling out biometric movement-controlled systems at identified ports of entry; developing a live-capture system for births, marriages, and deaths; managing asylum-seekers; and developing and rolling out the e-visa system.
At June Luna Immigration Attorneys we are committed to guiding applicants through the often complicated and tedious process of Home Affairs. For more information on the reforms of the Department of Home Affairs, visit our website. For assistance with visa applications and processes, don’t hesitate to reach out and contact us.