Minister of Internal Affairs reports loss of 13,867 hours due to system failures in the last fiscal year

Internal Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber informed parliament in a written response that over the past fiscal year, Internal Affairs Ministry offices lost 13,867 hours due to system failures. This is equivalent to 578 full days of service downtime.

Additionally, 11,479 hours were lost due to failures in the national population register—the database that stores all records of births, deaths, marriages, and identification numbers in the country.

However, Schreiber also noted that the department cannot precisely state how much time citizens actually lost, as it has never had the opportunity to measure this. He stated: 'The department is not yet capable of providing a technically verified quantitative measure of the total elapsed time during which Internal Affairs services were unavailable at a national level since June 30, 2024.'

He explained that current monitoring tools record incidents separately by network, infrastructure, applications, biometric platforms, national population register, and external service providers. These tools do not yet measure service availability across the entire transaction path, starting from a citizen-facing office or channel, through all core systems and integrations.

These figures appeared in response to an inquiry from EFF member Tapelo Mogale, who asked about the number of hours lost since Schreiber took office on June 30, 2024, as well as which provinces and offices were most affected and what is being done to resolve the issue.

The department was able to provide daily reports maintained by provinces regarding lost hours in front-office operations. Both datasets show a sharp decrease compared to the previous year. Hours lost in front offices decreased from 35,426 in 2024/25, representing a 61% improvement, while population register hours dropped from 14,720, representing a 22% improvement.

Schreiber clarified that provincial reports indicate which offices experienced difficulties, but they do not constitute a national assessment. He added: 'These records give important insight into the impact at the office level, but they are not equivalent to nationwide downtime. For example, downtime experienced simultaneously by several offices accumulates as multiple office hours. The figures may also include partial outages where some services remained available.'

Every province recorded a reduction in overall front-office downtime. The North West Province was the most affected last year with a loss of 2,460 hours, followed by Gauteng with 2,296 hours and KwaZulu-Natal with 2,291 hours. Regarding the population register, Limpopo lost the highest number of hours—3,707 hours—surpassing KZN with 2,101 hours and the North West Province with 1,562 hours.

Three provinces worsened their performance on this metric: KZN, North West Province, and North Cape recorded more lost hours than in the previous year.

Schreiber emphasized that provincial data is used to determine the direction of departmental resource allocation, but it should not be viewed as a ranking. He noted: 'Differences in the number of offices, local infrastructure, and reporting methods mean that they cannot yet be considered a definitive comparative indicator of service availability across provinces.'

The response also outlined an action plan to prevent failures. The department's service level agreement with the State Information Technology Agency was upgraded from bronze to silver. 226 connections were moved to fiber optics, 12 to LTE, and 69 old Diginet lines still need replacement. A total of 182 offices were migrated from outdated desktop systems, 48 core application servers were replaced, and a power failure at a biometric verification site was resolved.

As of May this year, 439 offices have been migrated to the HANIS biometric platform, while 121 are still operating on ABIS and awaiting migration. Schreiber reported that a new monitoring system is under construction that will show whether the service is functioning from the public's perspective. 'This will allow for accurate reporting on service availability, incident duration, affected offices, and root causes of downtime.'

iol.co.zaAugust 10, 14:17

Home Affairs Minister reports 61% reduction in system downtime due to digital modernization

Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber stated that the implemented digital reforms have reduced system downtime by 61%, which has positively impacted service delivery and prevented thousands of hours previously lost due to technical failures in offices.

During the 2025/26 financial year, Home Affairs offices across South Africa recorded a 61% decrease in system downtime. The government attributes this improvement to a series of digital transformations aimed at updating the department's technological infrastructure and enhancing service quality.

Leon Schreiber announced on Monday that the number of incidents where offices were unable to function due to system failures has significantly decreased over the past year. He called this another important milestone in the department's digital transformation program.

According to departmental data, the total number of working hours lost due to system downtime decreased from 35,426 hours in the 2024/25 financial year to 13,867 hours in 2025/26.

This improvement resulted from targeted measures, including network infrastructure modernization, updating front-office applications, replacing outdated equipment, and eliminating single points of failure that previously caused prolonged service interruptions.

Regional Achievements

Improvement metrics were recorded in all nine provinces. Free State showed the greatest progress with a 79% reduction, followed by Mpumalanga with a 68% improvement. Gauteng demonstrated a 66% reduction in downtime, and the Western Cape saw a 65% reduction. Even the North West, which showed the smallest increase, achieved a 41% reduction.

Schreiber emphasized: "The remarkable 61% reduction in working hours lost due to system downtime represents the final stage of our digital transformation journey." He added that the reforms have initiated a positive cycle that not only expands access to Home Affairs services at unprecedented rates through the launch of Smart ID digital services in over 408 bank branches in the last five months but also simultaneously improves the quality of service in Home Affairs offices.

The Minister noted that the department's reforms are beginning to change public perception of Home Affairs, making services more reliable and accessible. Schreiber stated: "Although our work is not finished, South Africans using services in one of these 408 new bank branches or in departmental offices already have a much better experience compared to previous Home Affairs-related outages."

He concluded that the significant improvements achieved in just 24 months motivate the team to further refine access and service provision through digital transformation to ensure dignity for all citizens. The department reported that work continues to strengthen real-time system performance monitoring to further reduce failures and enhance the efficiency of Home Affairs offices nationwide.

iol.co.zaJuly 31, 17:22

Department of Home Affairs extends operating hours before last weekend to register voters due to uncollected documents

The Department of Home Affairs announced the extension of operating hours nationwide ahead of the final weekend for voter registration. This decision was made against the backdrop of over 360,000 identity documents remaining uncollected at Department offices across South Africa.

The Department stated that all its branches will operate from 8 am to 5 pm on Saturday and August 2, 2026. This is being done to assist eligible citizens in obtaining the necessary documents for registration.

This extension of working hours occurs during South Africa's preparation for the final voter registration campaign before the 2026 local government elections. Officials expressed concern that thousands of citizens might miss the opportunity to register because they have not yet collected their identification documents.

Home Affairs emphasized that over 360,000 identity documents are currently awaiting collection at offices nationwide and strongly urged affected citizens to do so as soon as possible. Citizens who have not yet applied for a Smart ID card were also advised to take advantage of the extended operating schedule this weekend.

A valid identity document is required for voting registration. The Minister of Home Affairs, Leon Schreiber, stated that the department is taking steps to ensure that access to identity documents does not become an obstacle to participation in democratic processes.

Schreiber noted: 'The right to vote is one of the cornerstones of our constitutional democracy.' He added: 'By extending operating hours this weekend, Home Affairs facilitates every eligible citizen of South Africa in obtaining the necessary documents for registration.' He also advised everyone whose documents are ready for collection, or those who still need to apply for a Smart ID card, to utilize the extended hours this weekend.

The department's intervention highlights the scale of the problem facing electoral bodies, as hundreds of thousands of identity documents remain unclaimed just days before the last weekend for voter registration in the country. Home Affairs assured that all branches nationwide will remain open throughout the weekend to assist citizens seeking registration documents and other related services.

Minister of Internal Affairs reports loss of 13,867 hours due to system failures in the last fiscal year

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