The Department of Home Affairs (DHA) lost over 14,500 work hours in the second quarter of the year – and only about a third of that lost time was due to load shedding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The bulk of the lost hours were due to system downtime, the department said – a major pain point that has plagued its offices for years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Responding to a parliamentary Q&A this past week, the department revealed that it had lost a total of 9,095 hours across all of its offices to system downtime between July and September this year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
By comparison, office hours lost to load shedding amounted to 5,003 hours – while water outages contributed to another loss of 424 hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The department said ten Home Affairs offices closed down during this time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The lost hours in the second quarter were an improvement on the first quarter – but this was thanks to lower stages of load shedding; system downtime got worse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
DHA\u2019s offices could not operate for 15,289 hours during the first quarter of the 2023\/24 financial year \u2014 April to June 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Of this, 8,672 hours (57%) were lost to system downtime, while DHA offices could not operate for 6,242 hours (41%) due to load-shedding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Over the same period, protest action contributed 46 lost hours (0.3%), and offices had to shut down for 329 hours (2%) due to water outages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While the department racked up more downtime hours, it claims its service availability was improved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n State IT Agency (Sita) workers went on strike in October, and it remains to be seen what impact that had on Home Affairs\u2019 uptime. This will become clear when third-quarter data is presented.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe system is down\u201d is a common phrase South Africans hear when visiting DHA branches. However, the department and Sita have been working to address the issues and make DHA services more accessible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n System downtime is one of the biggest reasons South Africa’s banks have been hesitant to conclude a private-partnership agreement with the DHA to offer more of the department’s services at satellite offices in bank branches (citing reputational damage) – but this is apparently no longer the case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Earlier in November, the DHA announced that the banks were ready to sign the service agreements and expand the branch network.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe Banking Association of South Africa has confirmed to the department after many years of deliberations that the banks are now ready to sign the partnership agreements,\u201d the department said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe signing of the partnership agreement will, therefore, increase the footprint of bank branches that will be activated, as the agreement comes with infrastructure and human resources from the banks.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\nCause<\/strong><\/td> Q1<\/strong><\/td> %<\/strong><\/td> Q2<\/strong><\/td> %<\/strong><\/td><\/tr> System downtime<\/td> 8 672<\/td> 57%<\/td> 9 095<\/td> 63%<\/td><\/tr> Load shedding<\/td> 6 242<\/td> 41%<\/td> 5 003<\/td> 34%<\/td><\/tr> Water outage<\/td> 329<\/td> 2%<\/td> 424<\/td> 3%<\/td><\/tr> Protest<\/td> 46<\/td> 0.3%<\/td> –<\/td> –<\/td><\/tr> Total<\/strong><\/td> 15 289<\/strong><\/td> <\/td> 14 522<\/strong><\/td> <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n Month<\/strong><\/td> Network Reachability<\/strong><\/td> Power Availability<\/strong><\/td><\/tr> April 2023<\/td> 87.68%<\/td> 85.34%<\/td><\/tr> May 2023<\/td> 85.62%<\/td> 82.95%<\/td><\/tr> June 2023<\/td> 94.51%<\/td> 91.89%<\/td><\/tr> July 2023<\/td> 99.47%<\/td> 90.30%<\/td><\/tr> August 2023<\/td> 99.34%<\/td> 93.54%<\/td><\/tr> September 2023<\/td> 99.13%<\/td> 90.42%<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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